PreKandKSharing: Christmas Traditions: Crafts and Resources for Young Children

December. Traditions. Memories.

I just had the great good fortune to be with my three grand-children for a week. One evening while my daughter, a single mom was attending her night class, WonderBoy said casually, "I need to take a shoe box to school tomorrow." How hard could that be?

As a 'saver' of stuff I figured we would easily be able to locate a diorama skeleton in no time. WRONG. We were going from one end of the house to the other. While in the basement together he spotted the artificial Christmas tree and lights...... you know where this is going, right?

"GeeGee!!!! Let's surprise mom!!!"

And just like that we started on a mission. We had two hours to get the whole thing assembled, lit and decorated. WHAT FUN! It was such a thrill to watch the three of them sorting through the box of memories.

"Look! I made that in preschool!"

"GeeGee! MOM MADE THAT IN PRESCHOOL!"

Ceramic lumps. Crinkled construction paper. Glitter. Bent pipe cleaners..... all adorned with photos of the day.

How we laughed. The stories. The memories. We made new memories, together, too!

It made me want to hug EACH and EVERY one of those early childhood educators, that in their own exhaustion of the wild rush of December -- they had taken the time to create an heirloom that would be treasured!