For the last couple of weeks, the children in Liam’s Kindergarten class have been sewing felt slippers for themselves. As far as I know, this is the first time Liam has done sewing for more than a few stitches, and he and I both are quite proud of how well his slipper turned out. At Waldorf schools the children do change from their street shoes to comfy, warm inside shoes upon their arrival at school each day, and you might think felt slippers would make great inside shoes. As it turns out though, these slippers are much too small for a Kindergartener’s feet.
Instead, every night the children left their slippers out in a row on the benches outside of the classroom. With the short attention span of small children, the slippers were passing into history and turning more into decorations than anything else. But this Monday, the class was busy playing inside after their snack when they heard a knock at the door. One of the boys ran to answer the door, but no one was there. Instead, he noticed that the slippers had been moved and that each slipper had something peeking out the top.
It seems that St. Nicholas stopped by to leave treats in the children’s slippers, and they were so engrossed in their play that they neither saw nor heard him. He left a tangerine, some pecans and almonds, and a very special golden walnut. Mrs. C told the children that if they whispered “Thank you!” to the golden walnut, St. Nicholas would hear them and he would answer. And Liam is absolutely sure he heard a man say, “You are welcome.”
This is the really fun, magic part of the Christmas Season.
What an adorable little slipper for St. Nick!