Countdown to Christmas Break

Paul's school starts its Christmas break this Friday at noon. Our family break actually starts Thursday night as soon as the Winter concert is over, as we are heading up to New York City early Friday morning to enjoy the holiday sights and see the Rockette's Christmas show. Paul has five tests this week, so it's a strenuous stretch and we are all looking forward to a respite from schoolwork. Even so, the last week before Christmas break is a fun one, with several lively activities.

Yesterday in Story Time we read stories and poems about the visit of the Three Kings to the manger.


I love this story of Humphrey, one of the camels who is part of the Kings' caravan. When we first meet him he is complaining about his name, saying he should be called "Beauteous," "Wondrous," and "Exalted" instead of just plain Humphrey. Then he whines about losing his warm, soft blanket. When he gets a new blanket, he whines about carrying the heavy chests that house the Kings' gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Heyer's words and illustrations highlight Humphrey's comic goofiness and make him quite sympathetic. He is surprised when the caravan arrives at a stable rather than a wealthy palace, and more surprised to find that they have come to see a baby. But then Humphrey sees the baby and is struck with such wonder and love that he is moved to give him his precious blanket as a gift. In the last two pages he tells us that the child should be called "Beauteous," "Wondrous," and "Exalted." "Instead, he is called Jesus."

Langston Hughes' Nativity Poems made a wonderful companion to this story, especially Carol of the Brown King.

Of the three wise men
Who came to the King,
One was a brown man,
So they sing.

Of the three wise men
Who followed the star,
One was a brown king
From afar.

They brought fine gifts
Of spices and gold
In jeweled boxes
Of beauty untold.

Unto His humble
Manger they came
And bowed their heads
In Jesus' name.

Three wise men,
One dark like me -
Part of His Nativity.


Today I took photographs of Santa's visit to the Preschool children. I shared this fun task with a colleague who then doctored one up in Photoshop and emailed it to the Middle School staff.

Today was "Wrapping Day," when students wrap the toys and clothes they have bought for children whose families needed some help to make Christmas happen in their homes this year. Every student was given the name, age, and short wish list for a local child, given a price limit, and was told to go shop, along with one or two other students on their team. Many faculty members took on the surplus children, and today everything was wrapped, marked with names, and put in bags for distribution.

Wrapping Day is noisy and chaotic, but very productive!

In the middle of this, my wonderful library aide and I decided it was time to make a real work space for her. For years she's been sitting at a "standing height" work counter on a tall stool with her back to the library. It was high time to give her a proper desk to sit at with a real chair, facing the action. This would clean up our overall work area, make her more approachable to students, and, we hope, make her physically more comfortable.

To accomplish this, we cleared out old AV equipment, got rid of an unneeded projector cart, and ruthlessly culled through old instruction manuals and training notebooks. It was worth it. Not only does the aide have a comfortable work area that is easily approached by students, but we have a long efficient work area for book processing and maintenance, with most supplies tucked away in easily accessible cupboards. We were both quite tickled with the result.