Christmas In Holland

 

 

 

 Christmas in Holland looks a little different than here in Lexington, South Carolina... but somehow... we got a visit from Sinterklass!  He traditionally visits boys & girls on December 6 and leaves treats in their shoes...but we must have been extra good this year because he visited us a day early.  Sinterklass looks a lot like our Santa Claus but he only has one horse to hurry him around to share his goodies with boys & girls.  You can see that we had lots of fun leaving our real shoes in the hall to hopefully find it filled with treats while we away from our classroom.  You can see our paper wooden shoes to help Sinterklaas know exactly who he was leaving treats for.  (PS --- we are super happy that we do not have to wear wooden shoes.)

 We had a super awesome chapel with Pastor John.  He always shares a Bible story with us and sings some really fun songs.  (Did you know that Pastor John  knows the Reindeer Pokey?)

 And what a surprise!  Sinterklaas did stop by Pilgrim Preschool... we returned from chapel and found a treat bag in our shoes.

 

Boys & Girls in Holland say "Vrolijk Kerstfeest" on Sinterklass day...  In English this means Merry Christmas, however, this is not something that Mrs. Laura can say... so we'll leave it at "Happy Sinterklass Day!"

Whew! What A Busy Week!

 We are in full Christmas mode in our classroom, but we are having a blast!  We are learning how children around the world celebrate Christmas and are also hard at work making ornaments to help us remember that the true reason for Christmas is the birth of Christ.

 

   We are making lots of cards for friends and family members in our art center.  (You'll be finding these amazing creations for the next two weeks in your child's bag.)  The tradition of sending Christmas greetings in the mail originated in England, where boys and girls say "Happy Christmas!"

 

 

But don't worry we are still working on our kindergarten skills by cutting, counting, coloring and writing!  Pretty soon we will write letters to Santa!

 

 

 

 

 The cookie station has been really busy with lots of baking ... and hot cocoa!  (complete with pom pom marshmallows.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was even busy for Jingles... who has been hard at work watching our boys & girls do their best work!!!

Santa Countdown... & A Santa Camera????

 

Yes... a Santa countdown.... There are "so many" days in December... it's hard to keep up and know exactly how many days there are until Christmas... so we made these to help us keep up.  (Ha! Ha!)  The children did a really great job coloring their Santa face and could hardly wait to get these home and cut off the first two days!!! 

AND... have you ever heard of a Santa camera?  Apparently this was delivered into our classroom when Jingles arrived this morning.  I have no idea what the rules are regarding the "Santa cam" but won't be touching it and will definitely be on my very best behavior... because teachers need good reports to Santa too.

Christmas Cookies... Any Time

 

Our farm stand and fall market have magically transformed into a cookie baking station... AND WE LOVE IT!!!!!!  If I would not have been so busy with learning activities today I could have taken a million pictures.  The children had a blast using their imaginations to cook & serve lots of treats.

 

They even got so carried away they forgot to leave their dress up clothes in the center when they came to work at the tables. 

"Oh Christmas Tree...."

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.... REALLY!!!  Tomorrow we will light our preschool Christmas tree and each class made some really adorable ornaments.  This is such an exciting time of year for all of the boys and girls in our preschool!  We are so blessed to get to share this magical time of year together.

A Gift From Santa & The Elf

 

 

 

Who knew there were elves that visited classrooms like elves at home?  Well here we are!!!  Welcome Jingles!  We arrived this morning to find a gift bag in our classroom and a letter from Santa.  We did exactly as Santa instructed and promptly voted on a name for our elf... and yes... I really liked the name Sugar... but teachers don't get a vote.  It was pretty cool that we got a little gift from Santa and Jingles to remind us of the real reason for Christmas.  Mary & Joseph will be waiting on baby Jesus just like us.  What a wonderful way to start our week!

 

Reindeer Fun

 

 

 So... it really is that time!!!  We started some Christmas fun before we left for the Thanksgiving holidays.  These sweet reindeer will be working hard and letting let God's light shine as the holidays approach!