In America, birthdays are a big deal, and there are lots of different ways to celebrate. Friends and relatives who are far away might send a birthday card in the mail, and in today’s high-tech age, wish you “happy birthday” on social media, or by text, or with a call. In the Dreyer family when our kids were young, we would often take them out to eat for breakfast on their big day, or if that would make a school morning too busy, maybe on the nearest Saturday morning. We would usually have a family dinner that night complete with cake and candles. Grandma and Gramps would usually join us too, plus other relatives if they were close by. Then there would be cards and gifts to open. After we ate the dinner and the cake, we would go around in a circle and each person would say something they appreciate about the birthday person. That is a tradition we keep even till today!
At DreyerCoaching.com, we value the Gift of Life and the gift that each person is, so birthdays are big here too! For several years we have sent a hand-writtten note and small gift to each person on their birthday, so they have a hand-addressed card to open from the USA! Many of our students tell us they never get printed mail any more so they never check their mailboxes, so before their birthday I try to remind them: check your mailbox!
In November 2018 I mailed Christmas cards with a small gift to all our students. One student in Baotou, Inner Mongolia got his card around Valentine’s Day 2019 — three months later! This is what the student’s dad wrote about getting a card from the US:
就是的，时间长短不要紧，最主要的是我们收到来自大洋彼岸的心意
Starting in January 2019, we are adding a new piece to our celebrations! A Free 1 on 1 class! We couldn’t figure out a way to send a birthday cake by zoom, so we are sending a class instead! In addition to giving the free class to our student, we also hope to chat with at least one parent too during that time. Birthdays are times to look back and look forward, so we would like to know how your English classes are going, how they are helping you, what your goals are, and how we can better help you in the future!
When a student’s birthday approaches, watch your email. You should get a link to let you pick a time convenient for you, for your free class and parent chat.
THANK YOU for choosing DreyerCoaching.com!
