Child Development Class Throws Holiday Party for Staff and Children
December 12, 2016
To start this holiday season with a bang, the students in the child development class threw the SDA staff and their children a holiday party in the Mosaic Cafe last week. Filled with exciting games, fun crafts, and tasty treats, this holiday party was the child development class’s first attempt at something of this nature and it was a huge success.
To spice things up and give her students a chance to apply what they’ve learned in class to something fun and interactive, teacher Christine Corrao gave her students the chance to plan a child-centered holiday party. Her inspiration came from Assistant Principal Jeanne Jones when she mentioned that a few years back the school held a holiday staff party. The students from child development spent a week planning and organizing the event; they looked for kid-friendly games on Pinterest and invited as many parents with young children that they could find.
At this winter wonderland party they had games that were geared towards the development of younger and older children. Snacks that were decorated as snowmen and snowflakes let the kids have a cute treat in between taking pictures and running around to Christmas music. It gave the students in child development a chance to observe how SDA teachers interacted with their own kids, while learning how to plan for children and interact with them hands on.
With kids running around the Mosaic Cafe, the students were in charge of organizing and leading the games and activities, while the parents stood back and caught up with each other. Along with planning and setting up the party, the students also filled the Mosaic Cafe with adorable wintery decorations that the children loved.
At 4 p.m. teachers arrived with their cute toddlers and chubby-faced babies. Along with a snack table, the child development students had a Polaroid camera and took pictures of the parents with their kids. Later when the photograph was ready, the parents could head to the crafting station and decorate the picture. Kids also had a chance to create their own ornaments and bring them home to decorate their own house.
The older kids had a blast with freeze dancing, pin the beak on the penguin, ornament making and balloons. For the babies there was a sensory corner with bottles filled with glitter and beads. Bags of brightly colored shaving cream delighted both the infants and their parents; the students of child development put hard work into creating fun activities and it showed.
The party was a success. Many teachers and kids attended and partook in the festivities. It was a great opportunity for teachers to make memories with their kids at their place of work, and for the students of child development to put their skills to the test with adorable children.