The week before Christmas!

T'was the week before Christmas and all through the house there were boxes a-plenty which were annoying my spouse.  Well not really (at least it rhymed), but if you are like I am, many boxes have come to your door via on-line Christmas shopping!  I love the ease of shopping on-line, but what to do with all those boxes.  In case you were curious, making robots is a great way to use up many of them.  Here are just a few of the amazing family creations we have received here at the center, just in time for the Holidays.  We are doing our study starter on boxes.  Enjoy the pictures.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!

Beautiful

I find that this time of year brings out the best/worst in all of us.  I had a wonderful random act of kindness happen to me this weekend.  Where I work, I feel like a rock star! My kids think I'm great and they are so excited to see me whenever I go into a class or walk down the hall at "the big school".  I get smiles and hugs from children I may or may not remember from year to year.  They change so much from when they are three.  That being said, this weekend I was in our local Walmart, just browsing and using up time before I had to go to a meeting.  All of a sudden I heard "Ma'am, Ma'am."  I thought it might be a student or former student's parent.  When I turned around there was a charming little girl looking at my glittery red sweater.  Her mom said ,"Go ahead, tell her."  This was not one of my students, but she looked up at me and said "You're beautiful!"  I was so touched.  I thanked her and asked if I could give her a hug.  We hugged and I told her (and mom and dad) how much I appreciated her compliment and that she had made my week!

I don't know about you, but it's not often that someone stops me and tells me I'm beautiful.  I had such a warm, fuzzy feeling when I left the store for my meeting.  That feeling has remained and I continue to say thank you for that small child and her parents.  What a great way to feel when everything else around me is chaotic and hectic.  Just a kind word can make all the difference.  I hope that you find a way to feel "beautiful" this season.  Enjoy the warmth and the joy all around you.  Take some time to shut out the noise and relax, at least for a few minutes.

21 Days? Oh my...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  Actually, it has looked a lot like Christmas in some places since September.  Now, however, it looks like that almost everywhere.  With that look comes the anticipation.  When my kids were little I thought it was great because I could use it as a "bargaining chip" of sorts.  "Better be good, Santa is watching."  Nowadays, not so much.

Here at Head Start my babies are excited about Christmas, but they are also passing around a large number of diseases.  Anything from colds to stomach viruses are spreading at an alarming rate. Considering the weather, it's not a big surprise. I haven't had a voice since Friday.  It is always challenging to read a story with little to no voice.  I find that the normal "voices" I am able to do, don't quite come out the way I want them to.  A gobble ends up like a squawk.  Oh well, I think they get the idea, it just makes it a little more challenging for me.

I find that even when I don't feel well, I still have to be on top of things.  This kiddos are ready for their story, ready for their routines, and most of all, ready for me to be my animated self.  So no matter what, "the show must go on," (unless of course, there is a fever involved)! We try to keep things as normal as possible during this time of year.  Actually, we try to keep things as normal as possible all year.  It is so beneficial for the children to have a routine and structure.  I call it "flexible" structure.

So I think I'm the one who is concerned about only 21 more days until Christmas and as long as I stay in my routines, just like the students, we will all do just fine!!