My classroom is looking more like the holiday season now. We have a bulletin board called "My holiday wish..." that displays short essays written by the children. They were all so good at thinking of important things to wish for, including stopping child abuse, feeding the hungry, peace and hoping that all people have a good holiday whatever they choose to celebrate. I have a group of students who are very empathetic, perhaps because they have been through so much themselves. It is touching to see how very caring and giving they really are. We also have a butcher paper tree which we will be decorating over the next couple of weeks and we have made and hung stockings above the whiteboard (closest equivalent to a chimney in the room). It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...