It was a day of excitement for children at a Lehighton day care center who welcomed back a true hero.

For the students from Curious Kids Play & Learn Place in Lehighton, Wednesday was a special day as they were able to welcome home soldier Christopher Spayder of Lehighton.

Spayder, who served in the U.S. Air Force from 2010-17, has been in the Reserve since and was deployed to the United Arab Emirates in October, according to his wife, Kate Spayder, who serves as director of the day care center in Lehighton.

Over the course of six months spanning from October through March, Kate said the students worked on a project known as “Operation Curious Kids” in which they collected items that were distributed to troops.

Each of those months, Kate sent a box of goodies that was collected along with letters from the school-age children from the day care, which also has a center in Franklin Township.

Kate said the center had themes for each month in which the children were asked to bring in goodies and necessities that could be sent in the care packages.

October’s theme was Halloween (candy, nonchocolate; fake pumpkins; and scary movies); November’s was Thanksgiving, “Thank an Airman” (turkey jerky, rice cakes, potato chips, and nonperishables that could represent the holiday meal); December’s was Christmas, “Be a Kid Again” (bubbles, bouncy balls, hacky sacks, playing cards, dominoes, sandbox toys, small stockings, Christmas movies, and lights); January’s was “It’s 100, Send Some Snow Overseas” (hot cocoa mix, apple cider, winter cookies, paper snowflakes and chapstick); February’s was Valentine’s care package “Thank You Beary Much” (thanks, appreciation, encouragement, candy hearts, and Valentines); and March’s was St. Patrick’s Day items “Lucky to Have You” (shamrocks, green Mardi Gras beads, green drink mix).

Kate explained how the project came to be.

“I was doing care packages with my son, and then Lisa Hunter, an assistant teacher, came up with the idea of doing this with the kids and Charlene loved it,” Spayder said. “We came up with monthly holiday themes, the kids wrote letters and drew pictures, and we asked parents from both centers, and about 30 families participated.”

Hunter shared Kate’s excitement.

“It was really good for them to do,” Hunter said.

Kate agreed.

“Once we explained it, they were really excited,” Kate said.

Both of the centers are owned by Charlene Behney.