This past Friday was our last day of school before break. In the Lower School, it's a half day, and the classrooms are filled with fun holiday themed activities and parties, mostly coordinated and orchestrated by the AMAZING room parents at our school! My second grader ate LOTS of pancakes! (For such a small child, she really impressed the room parent in her classroom by how many pancakes she could put away! (Thank goodness for a rapid metabolic rate)! :-) I think that all of the teachers were also overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity shown by the parents. Much of my morning was filled with receiving gifts, giving hugs, and writing (and handing out) thank you notes.
In addition, a very VERY special visitor came to our school and brought some magic with him! Yes, indeed--it was Santa Claus himself! He took the time to talk to (and have his photo taken with) every child in our school! I'm sure his lap was rather tired after that morning was over! And...he brought snow with him too! (Well, "Florida snow" that is...otherwise known as soap bubbles). The wonder and joy on the childrens' faces was priceless. I was most amused seeing the children who stuck their tongues out trying to catch a snowflake on their tongues (we advised them not to try and that it wouldn't taste very good). ;-)
We truly had so much to be thankful for that day...and every day. A wonderful, warm, supportive school to work in, parents who care, and do so much to support the teachers the school and the students, and wonderful, sweet, enthusiastic students. Indeed, there is much to be thankful for. And for this incredible day, words cannot express my gratitude for the parents at my school who made such an amazing experience possible for the students, and made the teachers feel loved and appreciated.
Sometimes I know I need a reminder of how I should always, (not just during the holidays) have an attitude of gratitude in whatever I do. I know that there are many blessings in my life, but with the busyness of life, sometimes it's easy to take people and things for granted. One of the books I read to my students last week gives children a good reminder that we need to be grateful for what we have...and also that it's not always about us. Sam and the Lucky Money by Karen Chinn is a book about a little boy who receives 紅包 (hóng bāo) or lucky red envelopes from his grandparents for Chinese New Year, what he thinks he wants to do with it, and what he ends up doing with his lucky money.
As an aside, Chinese New Year 2012 is January 23rd. I was teaching about Chinese New Year early to my students because this was my last week with them--and then we change classes in January, so I knew I had to talk about the most important holiday in Chinese culture. Also, instead of talking about Christmas and Hanukkah--which are traditionally not celebrated by a majority of Chinese, so the holiday that is most similar to Christmas and Hanukkah would be Chinese New Year. This covers both "comparisons" and "culture" --two of the "5 Cs" in foreign language education. :-)
Back to Sam and the Lucky Money--one of the key points in the book is that Sam realizes just how lucky he is to have what he does (a home, socks, warm boots). This is one of my favorite books to read when talking about Chinese New Year because it takes the focus off of the "stuff." When I teach using this book, I have the students make their own 紅包 (hóng bāo) and then they are instructed to put something special in it and then give it to someone else. One of the best lines in the book is when Sam's mother says to him, "When someone gives you something, you should be grateful for it." True words to live by for all of us. They can make 紅包 (hóng bāo) using templates here: Chinese "Lucky" Red Money Envelopes Template. (or you can search for other templates--I used these templates in the past but the links didn't seem to be working properly--I hope they are fixed by the new year in time for Chinese New Year)!
I kind of put together my own lesson based on this book, but when "Googled" the book, I found several other lessons already written including discussion questions and reader response questions that you can use. Hope these links help!
Lee and Low Publishers Classroom Guide
Kids Econ Posters: Lesson in Scarcity
Learning to Give.org LIterature Guide
May we all be grateful for the blessings and gifts we are given this holiday season and throughout the year.