My Love-Hate Relationship with December

The arrival of Santa Claus at the end of the Thanksgiving Day Parade signifies the start of the Christmas season in the real world and the start of "super hyper mode" in the kindergarten classroom.  The students are on a constant high from excitement (made worse with the occasional sugary Christmas treat).  The schedule is thrown out the window because of special events, parties, and programs and with it goes the students' good behavior (which wasn't even necessarily that good to begin with).  This results in a teacher that feels and acts like the Grinch by the time Friday rolls around:

     Student: Mrs. Q, will you call us for lunch using your Santa voice?

     Mrs. Q:  No! Not until you listen to me using my real voice!

     Student:  I got a video on my computer from Santa and he actually talked to me!                  

     Mrs. Q:  Great...did he remind you stay in your seat at school?

     Student: I like your Christmas tree.           

     Mrs. Q: Don't touch it.

     Students:  Can we play the Rudolph hot potato game?

     Mrs. Q: No! It's too noisy!

Luckily, the weekend gives me time to reflect on all the things to love about spending the holiday season with 27 five year olds. Their excitement can be contagious and they help me get into the Christmas spirit as we create Christmas decorations and presents, practice Christmas carols, and countdown using our Advent calendar.  There is always a Christmas video to show or book to read if you have too much time on your hands (or can't take the talking one more minute).  I also get a ton of enjoyment hearing what their parents have hiding under their bed for me, or the "secret" project they are working on for us.  Or, the student who thinks he will be spending Christmas with me at school (sorry, sweetie, but no).  And parents, you aren't the only ones who can use Santa as a threat.  He is always watching, you know, and I have his email addresses...all 27 of them. 

And finally, there's always that one student who shows the real spirit of Christmas and reminds everyone, including me, that Christmas is about being selfless.  This year's moment came as two girls who share the same name were disagreeing over which ornament belonged to who.  They both claimed to have made a red glitter ball, but we had one red and one gold.  As I tried to think of ways to appease them, none of which were working, one boy came over and offered his ornament, which was red, stating that he "decided he didn't care what color his ornament was."  Both girls now wore smiles, and this Grinch's heart grew three sizes that day.  And that boy, well let's just say I talked to Santa about him. *wink*