Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Pajama Day: Stella, a 1-year-old pug, dressed in her best nightie, along with her owner, Old Orchard School kindergarten teacher Paige Martinez, participating in pajama day in the kindergarten classroom while the class read the Christmas book, 'The Polar Express.'
Kindergartners celebrate holiday with their class before winter break
Paige Martinez's students take well-deserved break from advanced lessons
By Erin Mayes
In Chris Van Allsburg's book, The Polar Express, a young boy who lies awake on Christmas Eve in anticipation of the coming gift smorgasbord ends up being invited by Santa Claus on a train ride to the North Pole.
Paige Martinez' kindergarten students fantasize that they, too, are on the train, heading for colder climates while lounging in their pajamas and sipping hot cocoa. Allsburg's magnificent illustrations, for which he won the Randolph Caldecott Medal in 1986, help them on their imaginary journey.
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of 19th-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott and is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
Now in her fifth year as the kindergarten teacher at Old Orchard School in Campbell, Martinez says the tradition of reading The Polar Express each December was passed on to her from a previous kindergarten teacher.
In the book, the little boy asks for a bell from Santa Claus' sleigh. He is given a bell and then loses it, only to find it under the Christmas tree the next morning. Martinez says the story teaches children that material things are not as important as they may have thought.
"They start thinking about what's important and what isn't," she says. "They start thinking less about toys and more about the well-being of their families. I definitely make sure the conversation ends in that way."
Martinez' kindergarten class may sound like all fun and games, but she says she incorporates games into her curriculum because her students need some down time. As kindergarten students at Old Orchard, which is a private school for kindergarten through junior high, her 5- and-6-year-old students are in an advanced class with a first-grade curriculum and a full day that doesn't end until 3 p.m. Typical kindergarten classes let out at around noon.
"I think it's really important for me to have a lot of fun in that class," Martinez says. "They have an intensive morning, so I try to make sure we do something more relaxed later in the day. I want them to learn, but I also want them to remember kindergarten as fun."
Martinez's 1-year-old pug, Stella, helps keep her students' hearts light. Never one to be left out, Stella wore her own pajamas on the day the children were reading The Polar Express. Stella usually visits the class a couple of times every week, and sits quietly at the back of the class. The kindergartners, who one might think would be easily distracted, have gotten quite used to the pug and go about their work without distraction, Martinez says.
Also contributing to the celebratory environment at Old Orchard is the fact that the school has a different theme every week.
"It could be as big as friendship or as small as fruits and vegetables," Martinez says. "Whatever the theme of the week is, we're able to make it become reality. That's what I love about that school."
Science themes and teddy bear themes are among those Martinez's 21 students participate in, including the beginning of the year theme: the gingerbread man.
The first day of class, students make gingerbread cookies in the shape of little men, and then the gingerbread men "run away."
Campbell, California
