Sterling's Snippets: Holiday Globe Trot

Have you heard the news? Has your 1st grader told you about the packages that have arrived in our classroom this week? I told the 1st graders that on my trip to Orlando I met a boy named Scott. Scott and I got to visiting about Christmas and I told him I wondered about what other children around the world did to celebrate the holidays. It just so happened, that Scott was on his way around the world to learn about other countries and cultures, what a coincidence! During the week, two packages have arrived to our classroom each day from Scott. Each package is carefully postmarked from a country (I even did my research in formatting the return address correctly) around the world.

Adrien and Sonja make their "Sandman" from Australia.

So far we have received packages from France, Uganda, Italy, Germany, Israel, Sweden, Australia, Russia, China, and England. We have read stories, sampled treats, made crafts, played games, and even found special treats in our shoes. After learning about each country, we fill out a page in our travel journal and label the country on our map. The students are so excited to see if a package has arrived in the office each day. They also can't wait to see what is inside!

This is our Tomten from Sweden.

Aiden found a special treat in his shoe left by Pere Noel from France.

Tinah decorates her gingerbread man and samples some cookies.

Aubrey's Drum from Uganda.

Carter's drum from Uganda.

Will more packages arrive next week? Perhaps!

This week our class was also responsible for ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. Check out these great bell ringers! Mrs. Baarstad even got in on the action and joined us (with her coffee, of course)!

Finally, the class snapped a photo with Cydney, our Jet Student from North High, who only has a couple more weeks with us. Cydney has been such a help in the classroom when she visits each morning. She helps me with projects, prep work, and works with the students. We have appreciated Cydney this year!