Getting Close to Christmas

As we get closer and closer, the children get more and more excited, and we teachers and volunteers need to remember as we get more stressed about getting ready for the season, the children are getting more excited about the season.  Today, I am going to focus on preparation for the season, preparation for us and the children.  I personally am getting excited about my eldest daughter coming home from college 2500 miles away.  My other  four children are also anxiously awaiting her arrival.  Sounds a bit like the "reason" for the season. We are waiting on a wonderful arrival and going to celebrate that arrival with much merry-making.

At the center we are making ornaments for our own Christmas tree which was generously donated by Brenda and Jim Houston.  We already completed our tree at Trees on the Square, a community display at the Heritage Center.  We decorated it with paper rings, ornaments made by the children, and ornaments with the children's picture.  Any community exposure that includes the children's learning and creativity is a big bonus. One short anecdote:  I was talking to a business woman friend of mine, and she asked what I was doing now.  I told her my position here at the Center.  She said, "My boys would probably rather go there then come to the store every day after school."  I told her our monthly dues and then proceeded to tell her what we offer, and her mouth dropped open before I made it through half of our program offerings.  This is why community exposure is so important.  We need the business/patron exposure and the opportunity to have our membership grow.

Sears of Paris was also very good to us in several ways.  First, they donated two percent of all sales last Saturday.  Most importantly, though, their event also provided us with more exposure through the community.  They did this with a piece in the local paper and by displaying our posters and information board at the store the day of the event.

The children are also making gifts for family members and will wrap them next week.  They have made stockings out of construction paper and sewn them together with yarn, and each day we fill out slips of paper with something nice about each student.  When they leave for Christmas break, they will get to take their stockings home and read what each person has to say about them.  Especially for a child who feels unloved or unappreciated these kind words can be the best gift.  Of course, the most popular compliment is "Johnny is cool."  We have been working on being a bit more specific.  : )

There is much we want to do with the children during this time of holiday preparation.  It is important for us to remember that we want them to feel good while still retaining some control.  Now we just try to go with the flow.  Our structure is not as strict as we try to understand what the children need and how to continue to encourage their creativity and to expose them to as many learning opportunities as possible.

Please keep all of our children in your prayers as some will have a limited Christmas or stress levels will be much heightened during this season.  We wish all our supporters a big thank you and a stress-free holiday preparation period.