During the festive period I
decided to do a variety of Christmas-themed lessons with all of my grades,
varying dependant on what they had just been learning.
At my junior high, thanks to
the wonderful Hannah Lynn, I’ve managed to set up a Christmas card exchange
with Wye School in Kent. My 3rd graders have been writing Christmas
cards which I will be sending over shortly, and the LRU (Literacy Response
Unit) now set up at Hannah’s school, especially for this, will give them to
their lower level ability students to help with their grammar and English.
I’ve been overwhelmed by the
response I’ve had from my 3rd grade classes, with students spending
their lunch breaks and finishing them after school. I was especially surprised
by the amount of boys who have got involved too, as I honestly thought after
the lesson was over they’d throw them straight in the bin. Some have turned
into proclamations of love to me, or to unknown school children in England.
Nevertheless, here’s a few of my favourites for your enjoyment.
I also got my special needs
class involved too, however since this is a more manageable class size of 15,
I’m sending those cards to my cousins back in Liverpool, who, along with a few
friends, can pen some responses.
In my elementary schools, I
decided to make Christmas decorations, and it’s safe to say I will definitely
not be doing that next year! I had a selection of gingerbread men, Santa hats,
reindeer, candy canes and snowmen; of which I must have cut out at least 2,000
during the course of the month. I have to say, it almost pushed me over the
edge, but I refused to let a paper snowman be the cause of a
mental breakdown. I’ve been covered in “kira kira”, or glitter, for the
majority of the month and genuinely think it’s embedded in my skin. I wouldn’t
be surprised, my tatami back home has a wonderful festive sparkle now that
I’ll never be able to get out.
Despite the pain and hate,
my little munchkins seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves, having little chats
with me, and especially loved when I’d sprinkle glitter in their hair... I’m sure
their parents love me for that one. I took pictures with all of my Christmas
classes too, and only realised now the true scale of how many kids I teach in
these elementary schools. This comprised of only 22 classes from 5 schools,
meaning around 600 students (not including the other grades I usually teach,
but didn’t on that visit).
All I want
for Christmas is the ability to remember their names.
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