I may say the same thing each week – but your children are truly wonderful!  Yesterday was so full of excitement and energy, and it was also full of thoughtfulness and work. We continued talking about the habits for success – specifically optimism and gratitude, because those were two of the three habits we hadn’t considered much before.  Now that we are thinking of them – we can see them everywhere: in our work, in our play, in our friendship.

Celebration of Friendship

            Thank you so much for supporting friendship in 3E. Yesterday we had our “Celebration of Friendship”.  The children had drawn their names randomly from a hat for this project and that combination couldn’t have gone better.  The work they did to write a letter, poem or story for their classmate was wonderful.  They thought about favorites and kindnesses they have seen or felt through the year.  Along with the writing they created a piece of art for their friend, wrapped it and brought it to swap.

Those gifts were beautiful!  The expression on the faces of the giver and the receiver were precious.  I wish I could fully capture the joy and excitement of each of the children as they discovered who their secret friend had been.  The joke in the circle was “thanks, a box…” the light in their eyes when the box was opened and they shear happiness on their faces was magical.   Each friend truly shared gratitude and appreciation for all that had done for him or her.  Each friend was thrilled by the time and effort. The letters, sharing how important they are to each other and to the class were beautiful.  They are something to keep forever.  They are truly a wonderful class of kind and caring friends.

The expressions, comments and affirmations were wonderful gifts in and of themselves.  “Wow!  I would like that…  Oh, look she included… It’s beautiful… thank you!”  We have an amazing group of friends. What a wonderful way to move into a new year.