December 14, 2018 at 4:08 p.m.
All I want for Christmas: FBLA/DECA 'elves' help youngsters write letters to Santa
All I want for Christmas: FBLA/DECA 'elves' help youngsters write letters to Santa
By Kayla Thomason-
On Dec. 7, a group of FBLA/DECA elves visited Mandi Olson's kindergarten class to help the youngsters organize their correspondence to Santa.
Olson said the visits from older students are very beneficial for the little ones, who enjoy the attention of the "big kids" and often need help spelling words and composing sentences.
"It gives (the kindergarten students) an opportunity to get their thoughts on paper," Olson said. "It empowers them to have meaning behind their work, it kind of helps them see that they can get their thoughts from their head down onto the paper and that it matters. So they enjoy that, they like to see the finished product."
"It's exciting and I think it provides a lot of motivation for them, they like to show the big kids what they can do," she added.
First, the kindergarten students thought about what they'd want Santa to know about them and then they drew pictures of their Christmas wishes, with the assistance of the FBLA/DECA members.
Olson said the letter-writing project also offers an opportunity for kids to learn about the various types of gifts, including those that are not material things.
"This year we talked about how gifts don't have to be something you can play with or come in a box," Olson explained.
"The students talked about having their family visit would be a great gift or they talked about getting a cat for their grandma and things that they had wishes for, something they wished they could give."
Simon Katzke is hoping for a nerf gun this year and a snake when he turns 18. He also listed some gifts he wished he could give his family.
"I'd give my sister an ABC pad, and my dad a pincher and my mom a $100 bill and my other sister I'd give her a unicorn," he said.
Another student, Charlee Melby, asked Santa for an elephant, a unicorn and a teddy bear.
She said she needed help from the big kids on "spelling some words (like) unicorn."
FBLA/DECA member Tatum Pols said helping the kindergarten kids brought back memories of when she was small.
"I think it's fun for them and exciting because they get to see high schoolers," she said of the project. " I remember when I was little I always loved when older kids came in to read to us."
Emma Wendt, a senior and the president of the local FBLA chapter, liked the interaction.
"I think it's a great opportunity for our members to get involved in our local elementary schools with kids that they wouldn't usually see on a daily basis, and I think it's a good opportunity for the kids to get a little interaction with our high school students that they don't usually see," she said.
Seven FBLA/DECA students visited each classroom.
"I think it's amazing we have this many people who want to come and help the kids write letters and they all really enjoy it," said Wendt. "They all have a lot of fun, all of our members and I think all the kids, too."
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