Santa Lives Here

 I've been sharing my posts from my early childhood education blog here for the past week or two. Christmas and children just belong together, and so I think you might enjoy to read some of the things me and my children have been doing this month.

Santa Lives Here:

The Christmas spirit is alive and well, in my small group of young children at the Daycare center where I work.

This is where Santa hangs up his working clothes every day, when's he's finished with them.

These clothes also get put into service, when one young boy in my group chooses to be "Mr. Grinch"..

This well loved book has been read every day, by request, and as well is often taken off the bookshelf by the children throughout the day. As you can see this book is quite worn. I've been reading it to my young children in day care, every Christmas season for about 21 years now.

This "Thanksgiving" story has returned to our bookshelf by special request. It had been taken home by me, after our Thanksgiving, back in October, but my children suddenly began asking for "Gobble gobble, wibble wobble - Do the Noodle Dance" (the first lines of each page).

I'm pleased my children are enjoying stories. Storytime is one of my favourite times. I've learned over the years, that it is counter productive to be too formal with story time, or to expect all the children to come and sit together as a group. My children are just 2 years old, and I find that I need to read stories when the best opportunity arises, and to accept that some of the children will prefer to be moving around, or playing nearby. However, I've learned that the children are listening, and enjoying in their own way...and within a few months even those who were least interested in coming to sit for story, start to come sit for longer and longer periods.

This book is the most requested and looked at book right now in our small room. We usually start the day at 8:00, just sitting quietly, with our new Beta fish, named Danny. We then have been reading this book - and this happens EVERY morning, like a small needed routine - for over a month now. Although I borrowed three Rainbow Fish books from the library, this is the one my children are fascinated with. I have a mixed age group in the early morning, and everyone enjoys the story.

We made some paper plate fish back in early November, when our fish Danny came to live in our room.

We also made some paper plate Santa's in early December - they look very jolly I think.

We made this handprint wreath together, and had lots of fun using our thumb prints to make the berries.


Next week on Wednesday Hanukkah begins and we'll be enjoying some beautiful Hanukkah stories. We'll learn "The Dreidal Song", and play with a dreidal. And we may get to making some candle art.

I'm glad we have these wonderful celebrations in December - to provide us merriment and light.