At the end of their morning work cycle, the children gathered together on the floor in a circle for group time. Mary was seated in a chair, in a position of prominence, and there was a chair next to her waiting for me. In the center of the circle there was a table with a lit candle, a small globe, and a card with the number 3 printed on it. Mary introduced me to each child in the circle. She was quiet and shy about it--her teacher helped a little bit--but I was impressed that she knew all 25 or so names.
First, I was invited to share stories about Mary. I brought lots of pictures, and Mary held them up at the appropriate times, as I talked to the children all about Mary. (Anna, Mary's teacher, was impressed with how well I was able to hold the attention of the class, and she asked if I was a teacher by training. I responded in the affirmative, but I think Anna was seeing the fruits of having spent many a Sunday with toddlers and preschoolers at church.)
After I finished, the children were asked if they had anything they wanted to share with Mary. Hands shot up in the air. They said things like, "Mary, I hope you have a happy birthday," or "Mary, I have a bike too," or "Mary, I like it when you eat snack with me," or "I like to play on the playground with you." My favorite was when a little girl said, "Mary, I love it when you come to school with a big smile on your face because I love your smile." Some of the littlest ones simply said, "I love you, Mary." Trust me, I was choking back the tears. There was sincere caring and respect among the children.
Next Mary was invited the center of the circle. She held up the number three to show us all how old she was. Then she took the earth and walked three times around the candle, which represented the sun, to commemorate the three years she has been with us on earth. I thought this was marvelous! As she walked, the children sang her a song. After her journey around the sun, the children sang her "What a Wonderful World" (accompanied by Louis Armstrong). It was so cute!
Then Mary helped me pass out her treat. (I made my mom's yummy fudge bars.) After all of the children had been served, Mary was invited to sit at the table in the center to eat hers. The class sang "Happy Birthday" to Mary and then counted to three in Spanish. All of the children waited to eat until Mary took her first bite. As they were eating, they discussed the things they had learned about Mary from the pictures and stories I shared.
When they were finished with their treat, Mary got to choose a song the whole class would dance to for fun. Mary chose the "Wiggle Worm" song. It was great fun--and Mary insisted that I join in too.
Afterwards, Mary dismissed each child one by one. As her classmates left the room, they each shook her hand and wished her a happy birthday.
Mary felt so special!! I loved seeing her feel proud and appreciated. I guess I'm so used to the idea of the mom showing up at school, throwing cupcakes at the class, and singing a quick happy birthday, that it never really occurred to me that a school birthday celebration could be so meaningful. Their entire group time that day was devoted to Mary. It was wonderful! I had really wanted Mary to feel special as we celebrated her birthday this year, and her classroom celebration was the perfect way to top off our festivities.
(I still wish I'd brought my camera!)
