Christmas in the classroom

The message came from my son's fourth grade teacher. She was asking for Christmas Mystery Readers during the last week of school before the holiday break. Each secret reader would bring their favorite book to read to the class.

As an avid reader, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share a book with my son's class. Working in agriculture it was also a great chance to share an agricultural accurate book. My go-to source for these books is North Carolina Farm Bureaus' Ag in the Classroom program. My choice was a Book of the Month selection from a few years ago: The Carpenter's Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree by David Rubel and Jim LaMarche.

The book is set during the Depression and tells the story of the first Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. A few weeks ago, I was in New York during the lighting of this year's tree, so this story took on extra meaning.

Arriving at the classroom, I took a seat at the front of the room, just in front of my son's desk. As I started reading the story of a young boy and his family's struggles, I asked students what they thought would happen or what they would have done in the same situation.

I don't think anyone, including the teacher, were expecting the story to take the turn it did. I don't want to ruin it for you, but I will say it involves an organization I've volunteered with before, Habitat for Humanity.

Not only was my appearance in the classroom a surprise, but the book's ending was too. To me, the story captured what this season should be about – giving.