Christmas in the Classroom

Daniel's class party was today & once again, I am amazed by his teacher. Between teaching myself & going to all of Daniel & Laura Ann's class parties over the years, I have been to a bunch of them & they are always wild & chaotic, but not this year. It was never loud & the kids were totally calm. They had blast, just minus the chaos. Mrs. Johnson is so cool & calm and her class is the same way! They came in from P.E. and we served them 'brunch' (I love how she doesn't let them eat until everyone is served, she does this every time they eat in the room). Then it was time for Christmas stations where they decorated cookies, made ornaments, played pin the nose on Rudolph & played musical chairs to Christmas music. It was finally time to open gifts (each student brought a golden book). Mrs. Johnson read a Christmas poem & every time she said the word 'left' or 'right', they were supposed to pass their book that direction. The poem was very long & filled with those two words, which made the game really funny. Each student opened whatever book they were holding at the end of the poem. Before they started opening gifts, she reminded them to be grateful for their gift, even if it was a book they didn't like and to thank the person it was from.......love to hear some of the things we are working on at home being enforced at school, too. So, every single kid opened their book, acted happy and grateful with no complaints......even the girls who got boy themed books & the boys who got girl themed books. She told them that later in the day, she would give them a chance to swap with a friend if they wanted. I'm convinced she has some kind of magical powers! Ha! Almost 2 hours later, the party ended as calmly as it started with a classroom full of happy kids. W.O.W.!!!

Oh, and how cute are their shirts?? I went last week & helped them paint their shirts. The kids all did great.....no one got paint (fabric paint is nonwashable) on their clothes except for ME......got it ALL OVER my favorite jeans!! So now, when you see me wearing those jeans with green smears all over them, you'll know how they got there!