If you are teaching young children at this time of year, I feel that it is imperative to be aware and sensitive to the customs, rituals, and traditions that your students and their families adhere to. It is also very important to be knowledgeable about your individual school’s rules that govern holidays and celebrations.
To me, the month’s goals should include holiday traditions, non-religious, yet festive, songs of the season, and stories, both fictional and real that reflect joy, love, and the beauty of giving. It is a wonderful time of the year to invite families into the classroom to sing songs, teach dances, talk, and share ethnic foods with the children. As always, diversity must be applauded and differences respected. Instead of concentrating on the differences between the holidays, I like to focus on their similarities. Gift giving, lights, and love are integral to each of December’s holidays, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa
You may want to begin the holiday unit be presenting props unique to each of the celebrations. It is important that your props be kid friendly so that the boys and girls are encouraged to touch, smell, and play with each. You may have a menorah, dreidle, small pine tree, stocking, bell, candy cane, kinarra, woven mat, different colored and sizes of candles, and holiday lights. After identifying the objects, you may play games and sing songs about them. Depending on the children’s age and developmental levels, stories can be written or dictated, books listened to, paintings created, collages made ,patterns traced, words written, foods tasted, games played, beginning sounds emphasized, rhymes repeated, objects counted and sorted and group efforts rewarded. I think it is important for each child to create a special gift to give to his/her family as a token of the child’s love as well as a lesson in the joy of giving.
Detailed lessons, songs, games, crafts, gift ideas, story titles, large motor activities, and more can be found in The Magical Moments Curriculum guide. Happy Holidays to all!!
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