Skyway kids adopt family for Christmas
Paul Jones is a teacher who believes in more than instructing his students in reading and math. The fifth-grade teacher at Skyway Elementary School in Coeur d’Alene said his goal is to also teach each and every child how to make a difference in the lives of others.
“From the first day I start out talking about how they can give back to the community,” said Jones. “Helping other people is part of what we do.”
So when he gave his class options of what to do for a Christmas celebration, the result was not surprising.
“My class had three choices of activities they could participate in this season. The first was a book exchange (among the students). The second choice was a gift exchange. The third choice was to provide Christmas presents for a family in need,” said Jones.
According to his students, the decision was not hard and the vote was unanimous. They decided to help a less fortunate family have a Christmas they will never forget.
“The other two choices were something for ourselves,” said Blake Brunetti. “But Mr. Jones said that Christmas is about giving and we’ve done stuff for ourselves the last couple of years.”
Zach Weadick said he was motivated to give to others by the fact that the children would be disappointed when no presents appeared on Christmas morning.
“It would be really sad if you worked hard at being good all year and then went out Christmas morning and there weren’t any presents,” he said.
But the kids realize that to make a difference also takes work.
“Mr. Jones tells us stuff we can use when we’re older,” said Nathan Linn. “Like you cannot just sit on your couch and be a doctor the next day.”
The family the kids are providing for is actually from their own school, something that surprised the kids.
“I explained to my class that there are kids here at Skyway Elementary School that will not have a Christmas this year because their families can’t afford gifts,” said Jones. “To say the least they were stunned.”
Katie Baxter said, “I was kind of surprised that there are people in our own school (who can’t afford a Christmas).”
Hunter Landers agrees. “It was kind of surprising. I thought that would not be so great so I wanted to volunteer.”
For Courtnee Jordan, the fact that this may be the only Christmas the family may ever get was enough reason for her to vote in favor of purchasing gifts.
“They might not get a Christmas next year,” she said referring to the fact that the family may not be adopted again or may still lack the money to purchase gifts.
Jones and his wife, Kathy, contributed to the cause by purchasing jackets and have promised a pizza party for the kids if they are able to collect 11 presents for each child.
Instead of providing a list of gifts to buy, Jones thought it was more important and meaningful for the students to choose the presents on their own.
Alex Hanson said he picked out something he would like for himself.
“But it felt good to buy it for someone else,” said Alex.
In addition to gifts, the class is also collecting food for the family. “We want them to get the whole picture,” said Jones.
According to Jones, one of the most difficult things is that kids are used to instant gratification.
One of the students, Brenna Hines, said she asked Mr. Jones if it would be possible to deliver all the presents. “So we could see their happy faces,” said Brenna.
Jones said that it is undecided as to whether the kids will get to deliver the presents. But if they cannot, he has offered the perfect solution.
“I told them (his students) that when they are opening their gifts with their families they can think of things they did to make someone else’s Christmas better,” said Jones.
The lesson of giving has reached beyond the 32 kids in Jones’ classroom. Some of the kids said that when they shared with their brothers and sisters about their project, they also wanted to help.
“My brother gets allowance like I do,” said Jon Chrysler. “He usually spends all his money on himself. And now he wants to help someone in need. And he’s only 8!”
Anelise Kelsey said she wanted to help because it was not fair that people are trying to earn money and just can’t seem to get enough to buy gifts. Besides, “it feels really good to help someone,” she said.
It is clear the spirit of Christmas is alive and well in this fifth-grade class and all the students agree that they would like to continue with this tradition even after leaving Jones’ class.
The feeling each child has received from this project was summed up best by their classmate Katie Aragon who said, “Christmas is about loving and sharing.”