Christmas Craziness!

Today was my last day of work for 2006, thanks to our London trip! I wore a festive shirt in celebration of Christmas. I only had one student today, as my other families were already out of town. I decided to take him to another classroom where they were having a Christmas party!

We had a great time. He fit right in with the other kids, and had a great time making Christmas crafts to take home. The other teachers in there liked having another set of hands to help with the madness that is a Christmas party! At one point, one of the teachers had me running around outside with the kids, to help them get out some of their energy!

As they were getting ready for their naps, I took my student back to our classroom, along with some candy that was given to us. We had been working on some Christmas songs, so we went around the school and serenaded the other classrooms. They enjoyed the singing, and fun was had by all!

Marathon Day

Today was a long day at work! I was asked a few weeks ago to start coming in at seven to help in the mornings. I still get off at the same time, but the two extra hours a day looks really nice when I receive my paychecks! The other teacher and I have lotsa fun in the mornings. We call it our morning show, and we really do enjoy it!

Then I went across the hall to Heather's classroom to help in there until my kids came. My class went quite well today. I brought in a small tree for us to decorate in class. We made ornaments yesterday, I threaded some floss through the hole, and ta-da, a great ornament! We also have a Star of David that goes on the top, also made by a student. Tomorrow we are making pinecone ornaments. I think the tree will be quite pretty!

Our activities today included gluing marshmallows on an igloo coloring page. They really liked that, and also enjoyed sampling a few of the marshmallows! We also did a next project with a plastic golf ball. I put a sheet of paper in a shoebox, put a smidge of paint on the paper, then we put the ball in the box. We tilted the box several different ways and watched the cool designs that it made!

After cleaning up my room as usual, I left at my normal time to go teach a piano lesson. I had been asked a couple of days ago if I was able to stay late today, or if I could come back later. After my lesson, I drove back up to work to assist with closing. This won't be a regular occurence, but I don't mind helping out when I can.

I was first sent to one of the two year-old rooms. I was immediately greeted by all the kids who all had very important things to tell me, all at the same time. They then all wanted me to read them various books. I was familiar with most of the kids and enjoyed the time in there.

I then went to the 0-6 month old room. I enjoyed playing with the babies and talking with the other teacher in there! My last stop was the gym. I had kids from 18 months to five years old. Granted, there were only about six kids in there. I stayed with them until their parents came. I enjoyed it, but now I am pooped!

Bob the Kindness Tree

One of our themes this month is giving & kindness. I read on some website, an idea to promote kind behavior in preschoolers. I got a large sheet of brown butcher paper, then drew an outline of a tree on it. I had told the kids what I was making, and they were all excited about it!

They watched me draw the tree, then I cut it out and we had a big to-do of me taping the tree on the door leading to the bathroom. This is the best location, as parents can see the tree when they walk in the door! Every time I catch a kid being kind, such as sharing a toy or helping someone, I write their name on a leaf, and we put it on the tree! So far, it has done well at helping the kids remember to be kind to our friends! They even will go so far as to apologize to and hug the tree if they aren't being kind. I have no idea where they came up with that idea, I certainly didn't tell them to do that! They also get very upset if I say that their behavior is making the tree sad. Apparently it is very bad to make the tree sad.

Since everything has to have a name, we decided to name the tree Bob. Bob the Kindness Tree. I even made up a song for it that goes to the tune of "Deep & Wide." It goes like this:

Bob the Tree
Bob the Tree
It's Bob the Kindness Tree!

Bob the Tree
Bob the Tree
Let's Put Some Leaves on Bob the Tree!

I admit, it's not the best song in the world, but the kids seem to like it! They will start singing it at random! Hooray for Bob the Kindness Tree!