by Florence B.
Happy December! Time is ticking by fast, and we only have a few more weeks to enjoy together before ringing in 2018! The school will be closed for Winter Break from Dec 18 to Jan 2, so make sure your calendars are updated. Before jumping into our Dec activities, I just wanted to say I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday. The school ended up not having just one Turkey Board, but TWO! Take a look below for some of the stylish fowls decorated by the 2/3s class.
Well, the curriculum team has already used their creative magic to transform the dramatic play area into a holiday home, complete with a gift wrapping station! Thanks to everyone who donated wrapping paper, bows, and other goodies to make the wrapping station so much fun! When not wrapping gifts, our kiddos can hop to the baking station and whip up some yummy, pretend treats!
During parent ed, get ready to share family traditions with your fellow classmates; you might even discover a new tradition you’d like to add to your own! By the way, parent ed groups will be shuffling a bit, so get ready to share your parenting journey with a different group of friends in your class. Other themes this month include Gingerbread People (mmmmm… you know you’re thinking it, too) and light celebrations! Keep an eye out for books from Jan Brett, December’s author of the month. Alas, no excursions for this short school month, but the older two classes will continue to bring items from home for a little “show and tell” with Teacher Kathy.
Before ending the post, I wanted to share a link from Teacher Kathy (it’s already been posted on the Facebook page in case it looks familiar)! Here’s what she says about it: “ I really like that it has links for most of the 15 tips for a FUN filled family holiday. I have had fun pursuing it tonight and got lots of ideas for my own family.” You can find it here: https://newdream.org/downloads/15-Tips-for-Commercial-Free-Fun-Filled-Family-Holidays.pdf
And here’s the title and intro:
“15 TIPS FOR COMMERCIAL-FREE, FUN-FILLED FAMILY HOLIDAYS
If you want to make this year’s holidays more meaningful, memorable, and rejuvenating for your family, these tips will help you opt out of the commercial hype and create a truly special (and sustainable) celebration for your kids. Whether your family includes toddlers, elementary-aged children, or young adults, we have ideas for you. Less stress, less stuff, and way more connection and fun—what’s not to love?!”
Personally, my favorite is number 13: Get Relatives on Board with “Less is More.” There’s even a handy little sheet you can lovingly share with grandparents who love to bury grandkids with gifts and then complain to you that said kiddo has too many toys (Not from my experience, a story from a friend. No really. OK, not really.).
Enjoy! If you have any topics you want explored on the blog, let me know at blog@bothellfamilycoop.org or shoot me a comment below!