Third grader, Cheyann Larson, gets some help from her great aunt, Diane Rheborg, while working on her sewing project for her class’ Christmas tree.

For the past couple of years, Woonsocket’s third grade class has decorated a tree at the Sanborn County Courthouse for their annual Tour of Trees for Christmas, and the class has been working diligently to do the same this year. 

The third-grade teacher, Mrs. Jessica Bruce, stated that, in order to fill a tree with ornaments, each of her students will have to complete 10 ornament projects. She currently has 16 third graders, so that’s a lot of ornaments, but since the trees at the courthouse don’t have lights on them, it does take more ornaments to make the trees look good.

In order to complete that task, Mrs. Bruce has recruited some help from volunteers to join her classroom periodically in the past couple of months. In October, Judy Wunder helped with two projects. Wunder’s granddaughter, Lauren Jensen, is a member of the class. 

Then on Nov. 1, JoLynn Foos and Donna Bartel visited the classroom to help with three more craft projects. Foos’ daughter, Haley Foos, and Bartel’s granddaughter, Paige Anderson, are also members of the third-grade class this year.

On Thursday, Nov. 14, Vicki Bruce facilitated a sewing project to make one of the ornaments the kids will put on their tree this year. They used old blue jean pockets, assorted beads and buttons to put together a nice art project for their tree. Mrs. Bruce requested help from a few other ladies to help undertake this project so that everyone had the help they needed to make a nice ornament for the courthouse tree and for each of them to take home for their family’s tree. The other volunteers on Nov. 14 were Cheryl Schmiedt, Sue Larson, Deb Ogle, LaMae Peterson, Diane Rheborg, Connie Farris and Cindy Larson.

With all the projects they have completed and with all the help they have received, the Woonsocket third grade class should have quite a tree for everyone to see at the courthouse this holiday season.

…See another photo in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!