COLD HANDS, WARM HEART!

On this cold November day, I was invited into school today because Mrs J and Miss P, the two Reception teachers, were going to show the children the Nativity set I had knitted, and which I blipped on 22nd November.

The children had seen an enactment of "The Christmas Story" on the white board, beautifully told by Mrs. J and then she invited me to come to the front and help her. I had wrapped all the characters in tissue paper, so took them out one by one and after a few clues, the children guessed who they were; they were then placed on the straw, in the stable. The children knew the story very well and when Mrs J asked at the end who they thought had made the characters, they shouted "Mrs Iles" and then they all started clapping. To say I was touched by all that I had seen and heard and especially the applause, would be an understatement. After all, these little ones are only 5 years old and Mrs. J assured me afterwards that she had nothing to do with the applause - it was truly spontaneous!

I had taken some knitting with me, so that the children could see how it was done and then I explained how it had taken me some time to knit the characters. I told them that Mr. HCB used to get very hungry, but I needed to keep knitting in order that they would be ready in time for Christmas, so sometimes I told him to make his own tea, and all the children laughed - not sure they believed me, but at times, it was true!

So, the Nativity set is in the classroom and I hope will be enjoyed and be a blessing to many children and staff for years to come. I am so pleased that this school has a traditional Nativity play every year and I'm sure I will enjoy going in to see these little ones performing theirs on 10th December.

For obvious reasons, I cannot publish a photograph of the children, but instead this collage shows the sterling work done by the teaching assistants, who make the corridor look wonderful. I am always inspired by everyone when I go into this school, so I hope you enjoy the nursery rhymes and if you have school-age children (or grandchildren), be thankful that there are such wonderful people around, not only teaching them, but also making their environment happy, safe and secure.

“The mediocre teacher tells.
The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires.”
William Arthur Ward