December 2024
By Helene Welsing, Preschool Director
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Advent is a special time at POPPs as we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birthday, sing while we carefully light the candles on our advent wreaths at snack time, learn about other cultures’ traditions when parents visit to share “Christmas around the World” activities, make cards for members of our Armed Forces who are serving away from their families, create gifts and cards for our families and learn all about the Christmas story. While reading books about Jesus’ birth we explain that this all happened a long time ago, before airplanes and minivans and before hotels with swimming pools and elevators! This helps them understand why Mary and Joseph traveled with a donkey, and why the family was relieved to find room to sleep in a stable. The students continue experiencing the story by playing with preschool nativities, learning songs for our Christmas family get together, and trying on costumes of the characters and animals in the story.
Do we also talk about Santa, stockings, elves and presents while enjoying a festive Christmas pajama day and covering every surface of our classrooms with glitter and other fun things? You bet we do! But as Santa explains to the animals who are concerned that there might not be a Christmas if Santa is too tired to deliver presents in Santa’s Favorite Story*, “And that is what happened in Bethlehem when the Christ child came. It’s my favorite story because it reminds me why we are so happy at this time of year. Love was the gift God gave to us on the first Christmas, and it still is, you know. And this love is far better than any presents I can ever deliver.”
From everyone at Prince of Peace Preschool, we wish you a Merry Christmas and the hope that God’s love is with you always.
*Aoki, H. (1982/English text 1988) Santa’s Favorite Story Picture Book Studio Ltd, Saxonville, MA
For more information about Prince of Peace Preschool, please visit princeofpeacenj.org, call 201 965-3354, or visit our fb page at Facebook.
