Holiday Helpers

The holiday season is such an amazing time of the year! Once you hit December, your kids are in countdown mode for the big day, as well as their holiday break!

Teachers are no exception. 

We all enjoy time with our families to share memories and create new ones with the people we care about the most.

The holiday season also means shopping. For some people more than others, but shopping has become a huge part of what we relate to this special time of the year.

Usually, just before Thanksgiving, kids in my classroom start asking me what I would like for Christmas. They are so thoughtful! 

I think many of them are confused when I tell them that I would rather have them donate money to a worthy charity or give a couple dollars to a kind soul ringing a bell with a red bucket at the mall. 

About 8 years ago, I finally had the chance to re-direct their kindness in a way that would make a difference in their life and the lives of others.

One of my amazing teacher friends spends a couple nights a week working at a place that helps single moms earn their high school diploma. She tutors them and begins to become part of their family. 

On a random day in November, she emailed me to see if my class would be interested in helping out a family for the holidays. Now, I had been a part of this sort of thing before and I loved it, so I jumped all over it. 

That was 8 years ago.

Essentially, the task is becoming Santa Claus for some boys and girls that he might miss that year because mom cannot afford gifts.

NO KID should be missed by Santa!

So, about a week before the Thanksgiving holiday, I have made it a tradition in my classroom to present this chance to my kids in class. I share the list of gift ideas, clothing sizes, ages and interest areas of the kids we will be buying for. We post the list on the back counter and start watching the pile of gifts grow. When someone brings something in, we update the list and do our best to get everything on it. 

They all want to know if we get to meet the kids we are buying gifts for. That opens the door for me to share with them that's not what it's all about. 

I have never met a single kid my students were Santa for. That's not the point.

The best part about this idea is on Christmas morning. When my kids are enjoying their special day with their family, I want them to stop and think about a little boy or little girl opening up the gift they donated. Think about the joy, magic, and wonder they created for that kid. Santa was there because they helped someone else. 

That's magic. That's special. That's what this season is all about. 

I want the students in my classroom to understand the idea of kindness. That can come in many forms. The holiday season just lends itself very well to the idea of sharing with other people simply because it's the right thing to do. It also shows my students that you do not have to be the one receiving the gift to feel good. 

It's so important for kids to learn about perspective. Helping a family in need during the holidays allows me to put my kids in someone else's shoes. 

We are not judging, but merely thinking about being a parent who cannot provide a holiday experience for their kids. We think about being a little kid and Santa missing your house. These are powerful ideas that nudge our kids to want to do the right thing.

Kindness always matters. That's what the holiday season is all about!

I would encourage you to lead a mission like this in your own kid's classroom. Imagine the good we could put out into the world if more people simply helped others. 

Teachers don't need gifts you can buy. Their gift is the time off during the holiday break to spend with their family. 

Take the money you'd spend on a teacher gift and make it have a bigger impact this year!