First day of school

It was the first day of school here at the North Pole.

We’ve had a school here for many years to educate the elf children. Now we have dwarf and gnome children as well.

That means we will have to change some of the lessons.

The elf school we’ve had for years has taught basic math and science, but also elf history and language. Now we must include the languages and histories of all our new residents.

Our school has also always included “shop.”

I should say, “workshops.”

The students get to spend a semester at a time as interns in one of our shops.

Most know what they want to do when they grow up. They go into the shops where their parents work.

But some elves are drawn to different crafts. Why, one of our best doll makers is the son of a toy train maker and an ice cream maker!

And even if they do go into the same shops as their parents, we want the elves to know about some of the others skills. If we need extra help in a shop, that way we can have elves who can jump right in.

I remember when we had a flu outbreak one November. It hit the chocolate workshop very bad, and we would not have been able to fill all the requests if we hadn’t had stuffed animal, metal working, and knitting elves ready to step in for a week.

So school is important.

On the first day of school, I always stop by.

I greet the students. I listen in on some of their lessons.

And then we all sit down at lunch for sundaes. MMMMM.