The Great Christmas Card Exchange
The Plan
In elementary school, I vividly remember making homemade Christmas cards out of red and green construction paper, scissors, crayons, and a poor sense of aesthetic quality. Although my cards were far from pretty, I still enjoyed making them for others. About a month ago, I decided that I wanted to provide a card-making opportunity for my students. It would be a great chance for them to learn more about Christmas and to practice their English in a more organic environment. I could’ve had the kids just exchange the cards amongst themselves, but I figured it was possible to make the experience even more special.
Students and teachers at Bethel Hill Charter School and Oxford Preparatory School, as well as members of Sharon Baptist Church, have graciously agreed to help me pull off what I’m now dubbing “The Great International Christmas Card Exchange.” Essentially, people in America are making and mailing Christmas cards to my students here in Thailand. Inversely, my students here are making and mailing cards back to America. Of course, with winter break and the way international mail works—or doesn’t—the cards won’t be delivered until well after Christmas. Nevertheless, it’s more about the experience than the actual time frame of the cards. I’m just hoping that the students, both in Thailand and America, enjoy the opportunity to communicate with and interact with students on the other side of the world and are able to see that we all have way more similarities than differences.
Making the Cards
My students became instantly excited when they learned about the card exchange. Firstly, they all love Christmas, so they were excited for a Christmas-centric lesson where they could be crafty and listen to music. Secondly, for a lot of them, I’m the first foreigner that they’ve interacted with, so they were really excited about being able to interact with American students. I also could tell that some of them were excited about being able to actually use English in a real setting. Before I could turn them all loose on card duty, however, I did have to do some teaching—how shocking!
The lesson was nothing too crazy. I wanted to review personal introductions to make sure they could write about themselves (the typical things like their name, age, and where they go to school). We also discussed how to write about things they like to do. I taught them the model “I like to…” and we went over some different activities and hobbies that they enjoy. In case you were wondering, some popular answers were playing soccer, volleyball, and video games; singing, dancing, and fishing. Lastly, we went over the structure of a letter, and I provided them with a simple model to use. Then I passed out the materials and gave them creative reign.
I have to say, watching them make their cards was such a heartwarming experience. Every student carefully picked a Christmas image to decorate their card with and made sure to do their best at drawing it. Some students absolutely exceeded my expectations and made stunning cards that could be sold commercially. I am also so proud of their English usage. Almost all the cards had writing that made sense (even if there was the occasional instance of someone directly copying the model, my name included), and some students were even trying to ask me questions in English. At the end of the class, everyone was so happy with the cards they made, and I’m so glad that they enjoyed the experience.
Gallery
Christmas Decorations
I was finally able to fully embrace my newfound Christmas spirit by purchasing some Christmas decorations. I went to the twenty-baht store and was like a kid in a candy shop. I ran around the store, picking up all the different colors of garland, stars, and anything Christmas-related. I then went to Lotus’s and stumbled upon the Christmas tree section. I had a brief internal conflict about spending that kind of money on a decoration, but I eventually determined that the joy it would bring was worth the cost. Of course, I also had to get decorations for the tree, so Mae Air and Pi Eye helped me pick out the lights, ornaments, and star.
Once home, I couldn’t control my excitement and immediately put on some Christmas music and got to work setting up the tree. It was only a five-foot tree, but boy did I struggle with fluffing it. After a couple of fights with some branches, I was finally able to put the lights on. I tried my best to put them on evenly, but my frantic excitement and lack of artistic vision resulted in haphazard wrapping. I was a little concerned that I had bought faulty lights as they wouldn’t stop blinking, but my mother informed me that some lights are made to do that. After finding the red-tipped blinker light, I was able to confirm her theory. Once my fears were relieved, I wrapped the tree in garland and decorated it with red, silver, and gold ornaments. Lastly, I topped it with the ever-essential star. It’s not the best-looking tree in the world, but I sure did have a great time decorating it, and every time I look at it, I’m instantly overcome with joy.
Enjoyed the post? The best way you can show your support is by sharing the article and liking and commenting below.
comments powered by Disqus