Christmas comes to GEOS Isesaki

The lobby - that little window looks into the office.

Another shot of the lobby, looking out onto the street.

Our library (ha ha).

Our Christmas tree. A little Charlie Brown-esque, isn't it? Well, it's what we could find in the back storage room, so it's what we've got.

My Christmas wall.

Decorations for Christmas have been put up and enjoyed by all. They're hardly spectacular, but they're ours and we're proud of them. I actually really like my wall, and it was nice to put on some Christmas music and decorate it. I don't have a tree this year, so that kind of made up for it. Every time the kids color a new Christmas picture, I put it up on the wall for everyone to see. I let the kids pick where they want it to go - they seem to like that.

Our Christmas party for the kids is this coming weekend, and Benni-sensei asked me to come up with a mini-lesson idea to give to the kids. Putting a historical-purist like me in charge of Christmas is not a stupendous idea. I get hung up on details. Like the origins of the holiday. And the symbolism of it. And why we do the things we do when it comes to decorating. I have to remind myself to keep things simple because Christmas is really a rather vague concept to the Japanese, especially if they've never been exposed to an American Christmas.

(Which is why we have a menorah mixed in with all of those other Christmas coloring pictures, because it was easier to leave it in than to try to explain to Hitomi-san what Hanukkah is and why it's different from Christmas. I have nothing against Hanukkah, in fact I think it's disrespectful to it to lump it in with Christmas when it is most decidedly NOT Christmas. I'd like to include it, but I have only limited knowledge of it, and nobody's all that interested anyway.)

The problem is not avoiding talking about religion. You can talk about Christmas all you want without really touching upon the Christian aspect of it, which is what I plan on doing. These kids aren't Christian, and they don't care and aren't interested, and I'm not here to convert them. Nor am I trying to belittle the holiday, because I like it, and I have my own interpretations of it. My main goal is to be fair all around and make sure that the kids enjoy themselves and aren't overwhelmed with information.

So, my focus is on Santa Claus - he's a figure they all recognize and like, so that's a good start. I'm thinking I will create a template for them to write letters to him, and then next week, I will give them each a little something in their stockings (which I'm having them work on this week). Benni-sensei also wants me to do something having to do with Christmas trees, and I'm working on that. Maybe I'll make a big paper tree for the lobby and have them make ornaments. Or maybe I'll have them make their own individual trees. I like the big tree idea, but the problem is making the tree. Makes me wish I had some sort of artistic talent.