countdown to christmas

Monday, December 14, began our week of holiday activities at ISB. The first was the kindergarten party. I took in our cookie tin filled with snickerdoodles. Mary's teacher let me lead the class and parents in some holiday singing. The kids were able to move among the kindergarten classrooms to play with toys or make crafts. Mary's teacher asked me to help the children make star ornaments. At snack time, all the parents and children from the four or five kindergarten classes gathered in the Little Dragon theatre to enjoy the treats we had all brought to share.



Tuesday, the second graders presented "December Lights." Bethany had been excited about it for weeks, giving us little previews. She loved learning songs in several different languages. They sang a song in Hindi for Diwali, a Santa Lucia song in Swedish, a Christmas song in Spanish and a Hanukkah song.

Wednesday, Bethany's teacher prepared a pancake breakfast for the class. The moms brought in side dishes. I brought Bethany's favorite pigs-in-a-blanket. When I arrived the children were helping Ms. West decorate the table with fancy plates and glasses. They had designed their own decorations to garnish the table cloth.

Thursday afternoon I returned to ISB for Kyle's holiday celebrations. They had eaten pizza and watched a movie at lunch time,then they returned to the classroom for an hour or so of crafts and games. Here are Kyle and his friends playing a Hanukkah game and rolling bananas in chocolate and candy toppings.

Friday, Olivia and Bethany wore their pajamas to school for "celebrate reading day." I sent more cookies in for Olivia to share with her class while they read. Ben and Sam took some cookies in to contribute to their class parties, which of course, didn't involve parents. I felt like a bakery! I was grateful for a great week of activities. We were all excited about Christmas and three weeks of winter break.