Christmas is a time of joy and cheer, but we all know the story of the Grinch and how he acts this time of year. But since 2020 has been turned upside down for all of us, Eagle Grove fourth grade teacher decided to turn this classic Dr. Seuss Christmas story upside down as well.
We all know that the Grinch hated Christmas and his desire at the start of the story was to steal it from the people of Whoville. In High's class, however, their Grinch week, held Dec. 7 – Dec. 11), started at the end of the story – you know, the part where his heart grows three times its size. High and her students spent the entire week doing acts of kindness for others around them.
"We wanted to make the Grinch's heart grow as we did nice things," said High.
The class did a variety of activities including the creation of posters, classroom presentations of their project, and more. But this project was about more than kindness, it also included lessons in reading, writing, community, humanity, and even math. For example, the kids graph to show how much project they made each day during their main Grinch Week project – collecting canned goods for Wright County Upper Des Moines Opportunity in Eagle Grove.
"A lot of my kids felt very strongly about (the Food Pantry) because they connected it to the Backpack Program that the school currently offers (sending food home to families in need over weekends and long breaks – see another story in this edition of the Eagle)," said High. "Some shared that it's very scary over breaks when some don't have food."
High's class decided to make the biggest impact, instead of just bringing in donated items themselves, they would ask the entire school to contribute what they could. To encourage participation, the kids in High's class also came up with the idea that whatever class gathered the most food and supplies would get some kind of prize.
The idea worked. More than 400 canned goods were brought in by the kids and then delivered to UDMO. Classroom winners were Lori Olson's kindergarten class and Beth Egemo's third grade class. High's class delivered popcorn treats to them both on Friday.
Just because Christmas is here doesn't mean you can't hold your own Grinch Week. Donations of food and money are always needed, especially since the onset of the COVID pandemic. Both are accepted at UDMO as well as the Eagle Grove Food Pantry which runs the Share Christmas program.
