Seymour Keeps Magic Alive with Gingerbread Man Costume

 

December 30, 2020

Because of her philosophy that principals need to have fun too, Shiloh Seymour's costume count is increasing. Wearing costume number three, she visited classrooms on December 21 as the Gingerbread Man. On Friday, December 18, she dressed as Santa Claus to distribute gifts donated through the Toys for Tots program.

The costume collection began this past spring after Seymour and Assistant Principal, Evelyn Bigby, searched for creative ways to connect with their students at Harlem Elementary School. The first costumes purchased from Amazon helped them celebrate student attendance.

Last May when social distancing mandates were well underway, as were the practices of wearing masks and gloves, Seymour dressed as a unicorn and Bigby wore a Tyrannosaurus rex suit. Seymour jokingly called Bigby a "psycho T," while Seymour's staff referred to her as "a mythical creature," so both administrators took some good-natured ribbing for the transformational power behind their inflatable-style, full body costumes.

"Our incentive for the costumes at first was to stay safe. Our kiddos need hugs, but we have to follow strict guidelines for interacting with others right now. By wearing the costumes, we could stay masked up and be in a protective bubble while still having fun and connecting with our students; that's our real purpose," Seymour said.

Donning the bulky costumes is an ordeal, according to Seymour. "We need help getting into and zipping the suits, as well as attaching the battery packs so the costumes stay inflated. We also have to practice walking and generally moving around in the costumes, which can be awkward and get a little warm, but the reactions from the students make that extra preparation and mild discomfort worthwhile."

Proof that they are appreciated came from Cathy Bear's fifth graders, who were disappointed that the class was at recess during the time that the two administrators toured the classrooms last Monday. Bigby dressed as a Christmas tree while Seymour wandered as a gingerbread man. Their tour was intended to bring joy to holiday festivities in each classroom since the days of bringing in and sharing homemade treats are gone.

The Kindergarteners were especially surprised by the visitation since they thought The Gingerbread Man was actually alive. The students of Jenna Kittson and Amy Benson have been doing a unit loosely based on the folktale about the Gingerbread Man who comes to life. Besides reading a version of the tale, the children make gingerbread cookies into people and decorate them, a project that has been a holiday staple at the school for about eight years now.

To infuse the holidays with a little magic and to introduce some detective-style problem-solving to their students, the two teachers move the gingerbread people while the students are at recesses, lunch, or home after school.

Kittson and Benson explain that the gingerbread people managed to jump down from their table and run away. They also leave gingerbread crumbs behind and mess up the kindergarten classrooms with the tale that the gingerbread people are the rascals responsible for the mayhem. When the gingerbread crew escapes the kindergarten classrooms, they leave crumbs in the hallway or wherever else they have been that enable the students to track their antics.

"The eight gingerbread men this year ran around the school and the Kindergarten classrooms causing havoc and making such messes, that I ended up locking them in the glass cases so they couldn't cause any more trouble," Seymour said. "From there, the Elf on the Shelf could watch their every move, making sure the feisty gingerbread men behaved until Christmas."

Seymour explained that all of the students in the building know about the gingerbread project. "Even the sixth graders play along about the magical gingerbread men that come to life every year for about two weeks. So, when I walked in their classroom as The Gingerbread Man, all the Kindergartens' eye were wide with disbelief until we told them I was dressed up."

Because the holidays have a tendency to grow hectic, Seymour claims she just wanted to spread some happiness, especially amidst the challenges the students and staff are having to navigate.

"We just keep moving forward to meet the education needs of all students," Seymour said. "The challenges are always there; we're just seeing some new ones now about whether the internet is working and how to get homework back or how to encourage the students to regularly log-in to complete their classwork."

With the antics of Seymour and Bigby as evidence and with their commitment to bringing joy, a person can conclude that being a principal isn't just about completing paperwork, compiling reports, and managing people. It's also about having fun and making connections.

Seymour has one more costume that will make an appearance later this year-the community will just have to see how she decides to make that last one relevant when it is revealed.

 
 

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