I’m going to be honest with you: Nothing really notable or exciting happened this week. It mostly consisted of me either standing in front of a classroom or sitting behind my computer. Regardless, I didn’t want to leave you hanging, so here’s a brief post about me rushing in the Christmas season. This is a shorter post than usual, but I assure you that the remainder of the month will be filled with exciting stories.
Christmas Time is Here
December is well underway, which naturally means that it’s time to hang the stockings, decorate the tree, and usher in that beloved Christmas cheer. Unfortunately for me, stockings and trees are hard to come by here, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve fallen into my old humbug ways. I’ve taken up scissors, tape, markers, and a bit of a crafty spirit to create some simple decorations. I’m not an artist by any means, but kids enjoy seeing the decor on the wall. Plus, it allows me to try out some potential crafts to use in class. Oh, and before you ask, I did not make that Christmas tree from scratch. My wonderful parents mailed the pieces to me, and some of my students colored them. A big thank you to them all!
I’ve also started planning some pretty festive Christmas lessons for the next few weeks, and I was actually able to try out some of these plans during my private English lesson on Saturday. Once we reviewed some of the conversational phrases we’ve been working on, I started the Yuletide lesson by introducing some fun Christmas vocabulary (think Santa Claus, Rudolph, Christmas tree, etc.). My students enjoyed playing a game where they had to run to the board and identify the picture of the given vocabulary word. Yeah, this wasn’t exactly a holiday game, but the pretty Christmas PowerPoint theme and background music sure fooled them.
Once they had the vocabulary down, it was time to teach them a modified version of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” that encompassed the new words from the lesson. To my surprise, the kids picked up on this very quickly and had a great time with it too. I also can’t complain about having the opportunity to actually play guitar for people again, even if it was for four nine-year-olds—performance withdrawals are real. If I were to do this again, I would probably incorporate some type of dancing. I could tell they struggled a bit with some of the words, so some practical chorography might help them remember.
Next, we transition into the main activity of the lesson: Christmas tree decorating. Of course, I haven’t had enough time to procure a proper Christmas tree, so I improvised by having my students make one out of paper. Before I set them loose with the crayons and scissors, I went over the different parts of a Christmas tree (you know, the star, lights, and ornaments). They had a hard time with that last word, and I can’t blame them. Try saying “ornaments” five times fast without sounding like a silly alien.
With my obligatory instructions out of the way, the kids were allowed to start making the tree. At first, they all worked together to color the tree itself, but eventually it was clear that they wanted something a little more creatively stimulating than the color green. I then passed out sheets of paper, and they began making their ornaments. I even joined in as well; I’m not going to let Thailand ruin my 19-year streak of tree decorating. Eventually, everyone was content with their ornaments, so I instructed them to construct a star. Once done, everyone memorialized their participation in this colossal feat of tree construction by signing their name around their newly minted work of art.
Sure, our tree isn’t the prettiest thing to behold, but the memories surrounding it are priceless. I had such a great time with this holiday-themed lesson, and the kids had a blast learning under the guise of Christmas spirit as well. I’m still figuring out this whole Christmas cheer thing as I go, so please let me know of any ideas you have. Oh, and just for fun, let me know which ornaments on the tree you think are mine. It’s an embarrassingly difficult challenge. There’s some big things in the works for the next few weeks, so be sure to stay tuned. Take care everyone.
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