ASHLAND — A fun annual Christmas event returned to Mapleton Elementary School this year with a literacy twist.
Around 400 students from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade and their parents visited the school Saturday morning from 8 to 11 a.m. to meet Mr. and Mrs. Claus, write letters, listen to a story and decorate cards to be sent to area nursing homes.
“It’s all part of learning to read and write,” said Cassie Swanson, a literacy coach for the district.
Swanson is part of the school district’s newly formed Leadership Literacy Team, which is tasked with improving literacy at all grade levels.
This year, Swanson and a team of literacy coaches coordinated the school’s annual Breakfast with Santa with the Mapleton Elementary PTO.
That’s why this year the breakfast tables served two functions. It was a place for families to eat breakfast, but it was also a place to write a letter to Santa. The younger students had prompts on their worksheets, while older students filled blank sheets with wish lists that included words like “pop its, toys for horses, drone, train.”
“I want a hover board and a drone,” said Bobby Keating, between bites of a syrup-drenched pancake and a half-filled out wish list to Saint Nick. The 5-year-old said his favorite part of Christmas is “Santa delivering presents.”
“Oh — and Santa and snow. And giving Santa huggies,” he said.
His brother, Max Keating, 6, said he also wanted a drone. And a train.
His father, Todd, chuckled, pointing out how sophisticated his children’s wish lists get every year.
Delilah Boerwinkle and her friend, Maloree Leiby both said — without hesitation — they were asking Santa for pop its, a popular fidgeting toy made of silicone, often arranged in trays with “bubbles” to pop.
Many students waited in line to take a photo with Santa. Sitting next to him was Mrs. Claus, who showed the students to a table full of books from Ashland Public Library.
“You can choose three,” she informed a wide-eyed toddler.
Each student was promised a book from the table to encourage reading. Later on during the three-hour event, Mrs. Claus huddled the children together for a story she read aloud. Swanson said the writing, listening to a story and even the decorating of Christmas cards were all elements to encourage literacy skills.
Susie Schwartz, the school’s art teacher, greeted kids and parents as they entered the decorated and Christmas-y music-filled room. Her room had three tables decked out with markers, green and red card stock, glue — everything you’d need to make the perfect Christmas card.
“They’re decorating cards and then we’ll send them to nursing homes,” Schwartz said. When the students finished, the cards were dropped in a labeled box.
The free event produced 380 RSVPs, Swanson said. But she expected more to show by the time it ended. She expects the COVID-19 pandemic had something to do with that.
“People just are glad to be able to have something to do again,” she said.
