Christ Church, Consett are holding their second Christmas Tree Festival this year and we were delighted to be given the opportunity to contribute our very own tree, which every single one of our Bridges children contributed to. The intent of the festival is to bring together the local community whilst raising money for the wonderful cause that is Food 4U – Consett’s foodbank.

Here at Shotley Bridge Nursery school, we strongly believe in the concept of ‘process over product’ and wanted our contribution to be a true reflection of the ethos of our setting. We choose authenticity this festive season and through opportunities for play, wonder and discovery, we say no to the same old ‘carbon-copy Christmas crafts’ and say yes to free expression and celebration of our children’s unique voices. We support the children in developing autonomy by encouraging them to make their own decisions and to articulate their thoughts. By allowing them to express and spark their creativity while giving them permission to take the lead, the true childhood magic of curiosity, investigation, and discovery is ignited. In our strive towards a more sustainable future for our children, we embrace opportunities for re-using and recycling, eliminating one-use resources and celebrating the possibilities of open-ended materials.

Our tree is a celebration of the children’s curiosity and wonder for the world around them, embracing their own unique style of learning and allowing them the joy of DOING and being truly in the moment, rather than focusing on the end result. It is our Christmas wish to nurture the essential elements of childhood – such as play, relationships, exploration, discovery, wonder and joy!

“The basic law of children’s creativity, is that its value lies not in its results, but in the process itself”

– Lev Vygotsky

We are very grateful to our wonderful parents for their part in this experience, with many of our children being lucky enough to attend the Festival during its first weekend and see the results of their efforts displayed alongside many other, beautiful trees. We are very excited to have been awarded First Place for the School category of the tree competition and some of the children who helped create the tree were present when this was awarded! The children were delighted to hear the news of their achievement and we look forward to bringing the tree, and our winner’s rosette, back to Nursery to celebrate following the Festival’s conclusion on Saturday 9th December at 8pm.