Christmas Part I

Well, I guess I will start my Christmas blogging now even though I know there will be much more on the topic in the days to come. I have spent the last week explaining how Christmas is celebrated in the United States. The main differences that I have been able to see between an American Christmas and a Spanish Christmas are the pastries - Spaniards eat things called "mantecados" and "turron". Mantecados are pastries which come in a variety of flavors and resemble a very crumbly cookie. Turron is something similar to fudge. And here is one of the perks of being a teacher and never having tried these pastries before......

However, after looking up a recipe for "mantecados" and the absurd amount of butter one needs to use to make them....I think I'll be sharing my wealth of mantecados!
One other difference in the way Christmas is celebrated is that the Spanish people celebrate the coming of the Three Wise Men on January 6th. This is the day they normally open presents from family. They also have big parades in some cities. For the most part, the celebrations are the same (plus or minus a few details).
This week, I had two of my classes make a Christmas tree by cutting out their hand prints on green card stock and assembling them as a tree. They are both 4th grade classes.
Here is the tree that Pilar's class made

Here is the tree that Arturo's class made....we had to spill the presents onto the side of the wall!



Other than giving me a ton of sweets, I have also been receiving other gifts from students.
Here is a gift from a girl in one of my 5th grade classes....she had folded a piece of paper and inside was a "silly band" (they are becoming very popular here and kids wear them by the 20's on their wrists....I think my collection is nearing 20.

Here is a sign that a boy made me in the same 5th grade class


This present was my favorite by faaarrrrrr. One of my 6th grade English classes was getting all packed up to leave class today and a boy approached me and sheepishly handed me a piece of paper and this is what it was.....

Here is a close-up of the message!

How adorable is that?!! I absolutely love it and it is certainly hanging on the refrigerator (for once, something that I didn't have to color as a decoration for our apartment).
I was trying to upload a video of my students singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" but it isn't working :-( I'll keep trying!