It’s Christmas time. All through the school we work with there is the charge of festivity in the air. The tree of excitement includes some kids getting set for Christmas and all the merriment that comes with the season. Some others are getting ready to throw their hands up in the air and yell in sheer joy of imminent holidays and the star atop of this great tree of excitement- preparation for sport day, annual day or one of the many, many ,many festivities, that all get planned in December.
It’s basically a month of great excitement for the kids, stress for the staff and utter chaos for Bookworm’s LiS team! This month for us means changed schedules, drastically shortened periods, phenomenal energy levels from the students that are hard to contain and so many cancelled periods! Yes…this is the last month of the year for us. (As if competing with the regular school time table is not hard enough!)
With noise in our ears and singing and dancing happening outside our classrooms, we’ve been conducting story sessions, trying to bring in the connect of the season meaningfully into the classrooms with the books we read and the activities that follow.
The kids have excitedly sung ‘Jingle bells’ at the top of their voices! They’ve come rushing into class to tell us that they are dancing, and singing and acting as angels in the various plays and programs for the concert! They’ve excitedly drawn Christmas pictures for us.
But more than these….it’s the excitement for storybooks that has remained despite all the other distractions and activities. The hush that falls in the classroom (even if not outside) when we bring out the storybook we’re reading and the rapt attention as we turn the pages. The responses and feedback to our conversations and discussions. The joy with which they come up to take storybooks home.
Ah yes…December has been a month to reckon with. But unwrapping these precious book moments….priceless presents! I hope the tree of excitement is bright for readers everywhere.
