Prepping for V-Day
The Nugget's preschool doesn't "do" Valentine's Day. The teachers must thank their lucky stars come Feb 14th, because can you imagine a roomful of 3 yos hopped up on sugar? Yikes! The real reason is that they prefer to do generic celebrations, like Fall, Friendship, etc. to respect the diversity in the classroom. I can dig it. (You know what I think would be even cooler though? If a school could celebrate holidays from all represented cultures and maybe even those not represented in the student body, like Chinese New Year, Kwanzaa, Eid, Purim, Christmas, Halloween, Solstice, etc. I know if this actually happened, there'd be a good chance of parents protesting basically every holiday or complaining if one faith had more holidays during the school year than others...but I think if the adults could keep an open mind, it would be such a great education about respect and culture for the children.) We still get to celebrate V-Day with the my mom's meetup group though, so I am deep into the preparation for handouts. I know that the kids will receive plenty of candy, so I'm going to go a different route.
I have a bunch of animal cracker soaps leftover from Baby Cabbage's shower, so I'm going to repurpose them for the older kids. Potty learners burn through soap, it is crazy! The note is, "Wild about you!"
There are a lot of under 3's coming to the party too, and the soaps would just be choking hazards. So they'll get their own little pack of Baby Mum Mums, tied up with a bow and tag that reads, "Hey, Baby!"
I sign each one, "Love, Nugget" but I don't write the recipient's name on it. This might seem impersonal, but a moms' group is a fluid thing, especially in winter. Cold and flu season and toddlers who pitch hour long tantrums about outerwear means that the RSVPs can change from 40 kids down to 12 or the other way around. The no-name arrangement allows me some flexibility when some kids skip the party at the last minute and others fill in their spots.
Do you have any creative Valentine's plans?
No, and I've been wracking my brain for a couple of weeks on what to get the kids in his room. There's not an "official" celebration, but they decorate the rooms. For Christmas Josh gave all of his 'roomies' an ornament that holds a picture. $1 each at Michael's. Three different varieties, each with a note that said "You can use this to display your picture with Santa like I did" (which he did). Of course, I run the risk of people that don't celebrate a specific holiday, but then, if someone gave Josh a present for Hannukah, I wouldn't be offended. I don't get why people think that everyone else can ONLY celebrate THEIR holiday. OK, I'm not Jewish, but does that mean I don't wish people Happy Hannukah? Ugh, I totally get what you're saying. Why can't we celebrate all of the holidays and learn about different religions and cultures, so that everyone understands what everyone else believes, and not feel so threatened by it? Human nature I suppose.
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