December 2021


Happy Christmas to all and Happy First Day of Kwanzaa. 
Kwanzaa celebrates family and important principles of humanity. Today- Umoja/Unity. From the Official Kwanzaa Website: It begins with ourselves, but expands outward to include others and the world. It reaffirms Anna Julia Cooper’s assertion that “We take our stand on the solidarity of humanity, the oneness of life, and the unnaturalness of all special favoritism whether of race, sex, country or condition. Umoja urges a moral sensitivity and caring kinship with each other, other human beings, all living beings.” 

One of the traditions of Kwanzaa is to create a display of bounty and prosperity featured on an Mkeka...a mat, that is placed underneath the other items. The children were very open to trying their hand at paper weaving to create an Mkeka. 






We also learned about St. Lucia Day, as celebrated in Scandinavian Countries. My class traditionally makes candle wreaths which we wear on St. Lucia day as we parade down the hall bringing gingerbread cookies to Mrs. Engstrom's Kindergarten class. Mrs. Engstrom celebrates St. Lucia Day with her family, and as she is our K team leader, it is fun to be able to bring her some joy.

We learned about the legend of the poinsettia and another celebration, Las Posadas, from Mexico. The children learned how to roll paper on their pencil to curl the edges of their flowers.









We learned about the Solstice and the origin of the "Christmas tree." We learned why some trees stay green all year while others go dormant. The Evergreen was a symbol of life since ancient times. It was brought into homes and decorated with orbs and candles to honor the vanishing and returning sun, even before the common era.
We created mini decorated tree triangles, then put them together to create one large tree. The children were excited to locate their tree in the bigger creation. 









December is a very busy time. The children enjoyed creating crafts for their family and also painting their own holiday scene shirt.







Can you believe we have already had 60 days of school? It will be 70 the week we return to school in January. I love the children's 60 day Santa's.
















It was parachute games week with Mr. Kirby in PE . This a a very fun week but it is also a week where teamwork is so important. Everyone has to follow directions and do her/his part to make the games work. 







We will close with a picture of all the children and their holiday shirts. I hope they enjoy them!











Teddy wanted me to be sure to tell you that he is making his Grinch face.




Thank you for all of the lovely gifts and holiday wishes. I know how busy you all are and it touches my heart that you include me in your remembrances. 
Stay warm and safe. Happy New Year to you all from my home in Yelm.




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