Favorite holiday with students?

Big Time Blogging Challenge day number 18. I was late to the game, so I have not done all 18 days. Today's prompt is: What holiday do you like to celebrate with your students? I am not sure I have a good answer for that. I almost wanted to skip this one. As I sit here thinking about it, I think that probably the "holiday" I most enjoy celebrating with my class is Veteran's Day. When I was in Oklahoma, I asked my parents to come visit for Veteran's day and Dad, who is a Navy veteran, came to our class and visited. Our Third and Fourth Grade students put on heart-wrenching performance in the gym and we talked about the sacrifices our military make. My students made cards for "Mr. Suderman" and gave them to him. I think that there will be so much more we can do this year, with a project based learning focus, than I did then. I also think Christmas may be a grand adventure this year. I loved it my first year of teaching because I got the students books for Christmas when Scholastic was having one of their sales, and I loved seeing them realize that they got to take the book home. One thing my partner (in crime... heh heh) and I have been talking about is that we don't do "traditional" Christmas program of sing a song and be done. Last year the older students researched Christmas past in America and dressed the part and I am not sure what all else. I will be excited to see how we meet our Social Studies standards in regard to Christmas this year! The world is our for the taking! So look out!

Now, if you have asked what holiday I enjoy most with my colleagues, it is definitely Christmas and it is definitely about the food. So much good food seems to show up around Christmas time! And I love finding a little trinket that is appropriate and fitting for my peers. But mostly, it is the food. In case you are wondering, it is the making of stuff that intrigues me most about Christmas and I love doing that with my children as well. My favorite Christmas with my own kids was the one where we made tons of goodies and make our gifts and stamped our own wrapping paper.  Super fun. We hope to start some new traditions this year, like going to church on Christmas Eve and serving in a soup kitchen or some other kitchen for the homeless or down-trodden.

Today we are headed to the school to start making my room "my room." I am excited, but not nearly as excited as the Punkin. She sketched out where everything is supposed to go! Wheee! I am pretty pumped too. I know my brain will "make it mine" on so many levels when I get to take actual control and move furniture and whatnot.

I guess I better get moving. This morning will disappear quickly and I have plans with "the fam" tonight! And plans to mow and do stuff here tomorrow.

Happy weekend everyone. I know some of you don't distinguish the days so much anymore, but since I am a working girl this summer, I cherish the weekend! Two more weeks of "work" (and it's in parenthesis because after work, then I work on school stuff and in my "spare" time I plan and go to the school) and one more after that until school starts.

Don't forget to head over and read everyone's post at Big Time Literacy's blogging challenge.