It's Christmas.....
Festive fun :)
Christmas is a really fun time of year, and many schools fully embrace the festive season. When a beautifully dressed Christmas tree appeared in my school's lobby, it was a strong indicator that Christmas had arrived. It stood bold and proud and created a buzz among my year 1 pupils. I loved hearing Christmas songs being sung around the school, and the anticipation of a two-week Christmas break was really exciting.
Classrooms get a sprinkling of fairy dust in December, and my book corner had quite a Christmas makeover. There was fake snow, holly, lights and lots of festive fiction. I loved decorating my classroom, and it was quite emotional when I had to take it all down in January. To add more joy to the season, my class had a chocolate advent calendar, and a different pupil had the chocolate each day.
I love Christmas, and getting a Christmas tree is something that I look forward to each year. I usually buy my tree during the first weekend in December, and I enjoy the whole process of digging out my neatly stored decorations and thoughtfully transforming a pine. Growing up in a family of four, my parents always had a fireplace full of Christmas cards, and I really missed that as an adult. However, during my teacher training year, I got to relive the memories of an influx of Christmas cards.
My Christmas tree & card-filled window sill
As a child, I had a satchel full of Christmas cards each December, and I loved giving out my own crimbo cards. It was a huge annual event, and I enjoyed the whole process of choosing them, writing them and going to school with my box full. It seems like that's a rite of passage for most children, and my Year 1 pupils loved giving out their Christmas cards. It was quite an event at the end of each day.
Christmas is a busy time of the year in schools, as classes prepare for a nativity or an end-of-year show. Because of COVID (the omicron variant, to be specific), my school had a scaled-back virtual Christmas show. Pupils still enjoyed taking part, but it was recorded during school time and then put on the school's website. My class made nativity-themed masks for their performances, and they looked fantastic.
Christmas dinner at school is a big event. Pupils really look forward to it, and the school cooks do a wonderful job. In my school, it really was a lunch like no other. There was music, mince pies, Christmas crackers and plenty of gravy. The staff also got to enjoy the fun, and it was a real treat. The Christmas pud and custard were my personal favourites :).
During the last week of term, my pupils enjoyed a Christmas classroom party. It was hosted by moi and there was popcorn, jam sandwiches and plenty of dancing. It was lovely to see my class let loose and enjoy themselves. I was amazed by some of their dance moves, and they all looked fabulous in their party clothes. We played musical statues and pass the parcel, and there was a festive sing-along. It was a really fun afternoon and got us all feeling super Christmasy.
At Christmas, there's no escaping chocolate. My class enjoyed a few chocolatey treats at their class party, and lots of circular tins, brimming with chocolate, appeared in the staff room. Pupils and parents were super generous with gifts, and a tsunami of boxed chocolates tumbled into school. Thankfully, I didn't receive them all on the last day of term, and I took a few home each evening. On the last day of school, I gave my pupils some chocolate coins as a small Christmas gift in addition to their 'curiosity project'. At the end of each term, pupils were always given a topic to explore in preparation for the following term. We called them curiosity projects, and pupils always returned to school with amazing creations and posters that they'd made.
Some of the Christmas gifts from my pupils
When our pupils finally all went home for Christmas, the key stage 1 team met in a classroom to open our Secret Santa gifts. I had a wonderful collection of gifts from my Secret Santa and I still wear the beautiful eyeshadows :).
September to Christmas is the longest term, and you really feel it. By mid-December, everyone is ready for a break, and the two-week holiday is within touching distance. The dark days of October, November and December leave you feeling daylight-starved, and the dip in temperature makes you desperate for spring. If you can endure the first full term, the rest of the year will fly by. Honestly. I lived it.
It was amazing to have a two-week break, and I spent Christmas with my family. I arrived home on 23 December, and my sister and I went to the cinema on Christmas Eve. This has become a bit of a festive tradition for us, and we thoroughly enjoyed Spielberg's West Side Story. I had a few days of festive fun with my family and then immersed myself in my first assignment. The submission date was less than a month away, and I earmarked Christmas to get the bulk of it done.
Christmas is probably my favourite time of the year, and I'm really glad that my school fully embraced the festive season. There's a definite sense of joy and anticipation around Christmas, and I love the recurring theme of caring, sharing and thankfulness. As Christmas approaches, people always seem a little happier, and you can't help but smile when children arrive at school wearing reindeer ears. Christmas really is the season to be jolly :).
