NIXA, Mo.– Christmas is the time to think of others, but one teacher is reminding her students to think of the environment around them as well.
“We’re putting our apples on the tree to feed the squirrels and the birds and all those kind of animals.” said first-grader, Kellison Leach.
Katie Hoesch is a first-grade teacher at Century Elementary School in Nixa. Her class is reading Night Tree, which is a book about family traditions and placing food around a tree for animals.
Following the theme of the book, first-grade students made ornaments for animals and placed them on a tree outside the school for the animals to eat.
Students were also joined by their parents to sing Christmas carols at the tree.
Hoesch says being able to do this brings a sense of community back. “We were really excited when we were giving permission to safely distance and still be able to involve our parents. We haven’t been able to do anything together since we started school.”
