Page 65 of The Santa Rules
“He’s helping me with the workshop, and I’m helping him with The Santa Rules,” I say, lowering my voice, repeating the line I used on her the last time she asked this.
“Okaaaay,” Lucy says, drawing out the word as though she doesn’t believe me.
Lunch and recess pass too quickly, but luckily Lucy doesn’t ask any more questions about Hardy.
There’s a lively discussion in the afternoon as we practice working on our handwriting. When I ask for different words that start with S, the topic soon changes to Santa, and I decide it’s a great opportunity to see if I can get Avery to open up about her favorite traditions.
I walk around the room and ask students what they like to do during the holidays, and it’s always fascinating to hear everyone’s plans. Not everyone celebrates Christmas, but most of the kids talk about hanging out with their family and playing with siblings and friends. Every so often I glance over at Avery, and she has her head down like she’s concentrating on her writing extra hard.
When I walk over to her table, I squat next to her. “Those are some beautiful Ss.” I point to her writing.
“Thanks.”
“I didn’t hear you share your favorite holiday traditions.” I speak softly for only her to hear, not wanting to draw attention as the rest of the class works.
“My mommy used to sing all the songs. I liked that.”
“What was your favorite?” I ask, hoping I can get her to share more, not just so I can help Hardy, but also so she knows that it’s okay to share her big feelings.
“The under the tree one.”
“Kelly Clarkson. I love that one. Did you two ever go caroling?”
“What’s that?”
“It’s when you walk around and sing Christmas songs. You can go door to door and spread Christmas cheer. Would you like to do that?”
She nods her head.
“Do you have any other fun traditions that your family does?”
“Cookies. But Daddy burned them last year, and Santathrew them in the trash.”
“Oh no. We will have to make sure that you have some good cookies for Santa this year, then.”
“What’s your favorite tradition?” she asks, finally looking up from her paper.
“My favorite is something cool Santa used to do for Isaac. He’s too old for it now so I asked him to stop, but Santa used to leave him a paper wall to run through.”
“That’s so cool! How come Santa doesn’t do that for me?”
“Well, there are certain rules that Santa has to follow.”
“Because Daddy is the boss of our house?”
“That’s right. And Santa can’t just make a mess in your house without your daddy’s approval.”
“Is that why Sprinkle didn’t come last year?”
“Maybe,” I say, trying to stifle a laugh since I know exactly why her elf went missing. “There are Santa Rules. And if you want Santa to leave you a paper wall, you have to make sure your daddy opts into that with Santa, then Santa knows he has permission to leave one,” I tell her quietly, making sure no other students hear.
Avery gets quiet like she’s thinking over what else she could ask Santa for, so I push up and continue wandering the room. As I walk around my students, I devise my own plan for how I could bring more cheer to this little girl’s holiday.
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How good is your singing voice?
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