Advent
And so comes the gradual (or not so gradual) build of of excitement as we get closer to Christmas. Tomorrow brings the first day that the children get to open their advent calendars and eat chocolate with their breakfast. This means an inevitable decline in their attention span and interest in anything that does not have to do with angels, Christmas trees or presents.
I wish I could have a pound for every child tomorrow who tells me they opened their advent calendar that morning. I’d make enough to go out for a nice meal tomorrow evening at the very least!
We have a few lovely Christmassy things planned for the remaining three weeks of term. We will be going to see a pantomime in two weeks out of school. This is something we do for the juniors every year and it really is a lovely treat for them. I think I see more of the magic than a lot of the other teachers though because the children in my class are only just juniors this year and this will be their first trip to the theatre with school. For a lot of the children this will be their first trip to the theatre ever, and the pantomime is always so much fun and so magical when you’re only seven years old. They look at me in amazement when I boo and hiss at the baddies, and shout the classic panto phrases like “He’s behind you!” at the top of my voice, and it takes at least until the interval until they begin to realise it’s okay to join in.
Beyond the fun and the magic though, panto day is one of my most stressful days in the lead up to Christmas every year. We take the children on five or six coaches and at the end of the performance have to battle through the hundred or so other schools in the theatre to get back to our coach which could be anywhere up to about a mile down the road from the theatre doors. Add to this the bustle in the city from Christmas shoppers and people trying to get home from work at 5.30pm, and consider that I have to get 29 children safely onto the same coach through the crowds and you begin to understand why I get so stressed. I have them walking in a line like elephants, each holding onto the hood of the person in front of them in the line.
Other Christmas things planned are Father Christmas Day where all the children dress up as Santa for the day. I’ll tell you, looking out of the window onto the playground at lunchtime and seeing 350 Santas running around is a very surreal experience!
We are also having a Victorian Christmas Crafts Day linked to our topic work for this term. Throughout the day each child will be making a decorating salt dough tree decorations, making a snow globe (using jam jars and glitter!), making Victorian style Christmas cards, and one other activity which has yet to be finalised! Possibly calendars, possibly something to do with Christmas trees, we’re not entirely sure yet.
We will also be having a school Christmas dinner, as well as a Christmas party. There will be a carol service and a Christmas Mass. We will be watching both the Nursery and Reception Nativity plays, as well as many more activities I should think. We are holding a Christmas raffle and an attendance raffle. I am also planning to make time to watch Miracle on 34th Street and maybe A Christmas Carol if I can get hold of it.
Amongst all this I also have to finish the curriculum for this half term.
It promises to be a very busy three weeks!