DALLAS — The Back Mountain got a bit brighter recently, thanks to preschool students at Adventures in Learning Child Care. The children at the learning center are learning the meaning of giving and spreading joy this holiday season.
Preschool teachers Kerri Manning and Nicole Friscia have shifted their traditional curriculum to teach the children songs for holiday caroling, a dance routine to festive tunes and designed holiday crafts to pass out as gifts; the fortunate recipients of this holiday cheer are the residents at the Mercy Center nursing facility.
They call it Festive Friday,
Each Friday in December, the preschool students perform caroling and a dance routine in the cafeteria for the residents along with hallway caroling on all three the floors for everyone to enjoy. In addition to spreading joy through song for the residents, the children were able to hand out donated table-top Christmas trees and handmade lap blankets which were also donated.
Adventures in Learning staff, along with owner Lori Russell, are very involved within the community and giving back — so it is a natural progression to pass those values along to the children. Russell has been serving the Back Mountain community for over 30 years and has spent many Christmas seasons with the children in her facility, each year offering a new experience of good deeds.
Russell speaks of the children’s excitement and great joy with their upcoming performances as the children prepare and practice throughout the week.
“The children are engrossed in the festivities, they have taken control of their song choice, holiday wardrobe and decorated a wagon to tote their gifts and friends in,” she said. “Taking pride in their good deed has become top priority and is encouraged by their teachers.”
The preschool children have also been invited to multiple tree lighting ceremonies at the Misericordia University and Mercy Center campuses.
“I feel it’s important for the children to be involved in Festive Fridays because we need to teach them, to be a lighthouse in the Back Mountain, is to let our light shine to those around us,” Miss Nicole stated while preparing her children perform.
Miss Kerri said it well with a little help from a familiar author: “It is important to realize that it’s just as much fun to spread cheer at this time of the year as it is to receive gifts. Dr. Suess gives it to us properly — ‘maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more.’”
