A book donation from a substitute teacher grew into a full-blown, all-school activity for children and staff at Olpe Elementary School on Tuesday.
Marian Johnson of Olpe, a frequent substitute teacher at the school, donated the book, “Christmas in the Trenches” by John McCutcheon, to the library. The book was passed around for reading until it reached Rose Redeker, a teacher’s aide, who thought it presented a great opportunity to build an activity around the book’s theme.
“It’s based on a true event that happened in 1914 and was called the Christmas Truce during World War I,” said Rebecca Fawcett, librarian. “They (the soldiers) actually stopped fighting and celebrated Christmas. ... It’s a wonderful story.”
McCutcheon, a folk singer with numerous albums to his credit, wrote the book as well as a song about the one day of peace that came in the middle of a war. Fawcett characterized the picture book as one appropriate for any student in sixth grade or below.
By the time the plans were in place, the entire elementary school, including staff and students, had become involved.
The morning began with a PowerPoint presentation and a reading of the book to the assembled students. They sang “Silent Night” because it is a part of the story, Fawcett said.
“We also had the trenches,” she said. “In the book, the soldiers are in the trenches and it’s wet and cold.”
The trenches built in the school’s multi-purpose room were dry and warm, but the children re-enacted the day as best they could.
“The kids had to sit in the trenches like the soldiers would have, to write to their loved ones,” she said. “It was fairly cramped.”
Staff doused the lights in the room and the children, who had brought flashlights from home, wrote letters to their parents or family members.
Children also brought socks to school to complete another facet of the activity.
“They decorated those with words like “peace” and “joy” and they filled them with candy. We’re sending them to a National Guard unit in Iraq,” Fawcett said.
Staff visited all of the rooms, and the students listened to “Silent Night” sung in German, learned something about World War I and what had happened during that time. The children also made ornaments for the school’s Christmas tree in honor of veterans and people currently serving in the military.
Before going home, each child received a free book from the Reading Is Fundamental program.
“It was a good experience for them,” Fawcett said at the end of the day. “It was a good morning. A very good morning.”