Emily's Preschool Christmas Celebration

Am finally catching up with blogging the backlog of Christmas
activities this year! We had a wonderful Christmas and now
a few quiet days before the new year. It is snowing outside
again as I type and it's the sort of lazy day made for hot tea
and some carb-rich confections. But first, some much-delayed
photos and video clips of Emily's preschool Christmas
celebration a week before Christmas. All the families were
invited for a morning of, well, celebrating, beginning with a
half hour in the sanctuary where the kids
presented songs and rhymes.

Here is Emily with her classmates performing the last verse of

"Three Little Christmas Trees":
One little Christmas tree, standing all alone
It's heart was very sad cos it didn't have a home.
Then chop! went the axe and down went the tree
And off it went with a happy family.
No little Christmas trees, standing all alone
Their hearts were very glad cos they now had a home!

and here she is again with a less traditional version of
We Wish You A Merry Christmas.

Then it was off to her classroom of which she very excitedly
gave us the grand tour

before completing a couple of projects at the craft stations.
There were enough supplies for siblings, too, so Jenna
also worked on a little something to take home.

We suspect that Jenna can hardly wait to begin preschool herself.

Finally we went to what Emily calls The Big Room, which is
where she plays indoors on schooldays when the weather
outside is inhospitable. Here, tables were set up with
refreshments and a special surprise present the kids had
worked on for us- wrapped up in a beautiful package was
a decorated paper-framed picture of Emily. We were very
proud, to say the least, not just to receive something
completely hand-made, down to the wrapping paper and
sand-paper gingerbread man gift tag but also that
she kept it a secret from us till the day itself!

Emily herself received a present from her teachers: a storybook
in a Christmas stocking (her left hand is resting on it in the
picture). And then it was time to leave, so we said goodbye
to her friends, at least till school resumes in January!