Classroom Christmas

For one thing:  we are in Orem, Utah and we don't mince words.  It's not "happy holidays" or "winter celebrations" at school, it's the Christmas Season.  We're not even sorry.

I decorated a tiny tree that Emma let me use.  (One of my students asked me where I got the tree.  When I told her it was my daughter's and I was borrowing it, she said, "Did you ask her first?"  They totally trust my integrity.)

I had them write what brought them joy on the wall hanging (some of them added illustrations until I made them stop and get back to school work).

It looks like all we're getting for Christmas is a pencil sharpener and some pencils. 

I made them each an ornament they can take home out of Scrabble tiles.

During December, I want to read them Christmas stories.  I purposely chose books from my collection that wouldn't make me cry.  One slipped through the cracks, Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck.  What was I thinking?

I cried.

I looked up at my students and a few of the girls had teary eyes too.  All of them sat with rapt attention though and I could tell they were all touched a little (or maybe they were just freaked out that I was crying).

Besides the occasional crying jags, it's a holly jolly time.  We have Christmas music crooning over the speakers in the hallway, the third graders are practicing their song for the Christmas Sing and they're also researching countries for their Christmas Around the World projects.  (One girl proudly showed me a map of the world where she had colored in her assigned country, Russia.  I pointed out she'd actually colored in North America.  "I got confused," she said, vaguely waving her hand.  "I knew it was up somewhere.")