The December holidays are upon us. Within our diverse community, there are a number of different traditions, religions, and cultural celebrations that are part of our families’ lives. We encourage families to come and share their holiday experiences with us. As teachers, our goal throughout the holiday season is for our children to learn more about their own families celebrations and traditions and to respect and appreciate the traditions and celebrations of others.
For Chanukah, a child’s mom and dad brought in all of the ingredients and helped the children to make potato latkes. They proved to be very popular at snack; applesauce on top of the latkes was the favorite but some of the children joined me and tried the sour cream.
They also took turns pretending to light the Menorah, carefully holding the shamus as though it was really lit and counting the nights.
The children who celebrate Chanukah told us about their own evening celebrations with their families. We put dreidels on the table; they were great fun even though they were hard to get spinning. Singing the Dreidel Song helped. It became one of the best known songs by the time we reached the winter sing.
One of our families comes from Sweden and on the 13th of December, the Swedes celebrate St. Lucia Day as a national holiday. At school, our Swedish mom brought special lussekatt (Lucia buns) and pepparkaka (gingerbread). She helped the children make the traditional crowns Staffan hats.
We also celebrated the Christmas holiday. We read great Christmas stories; my favorite is the Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. Parents helped us to decorate Christmas cookies and make baker’s dough ornaments.
Throughout the last two weeks, we sang songs about Chanukah, Christmas, and Winter. By the time we reached the Winter sing, we were really good at Jingle Bells (with accompanying bells) and Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel. Deck the Halls was fun because when the Falalalalala part came, the children really sang with flair. The children requested Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman even though they didn’t know many of the words.
The culminating moment came when the parents and children came at 7 pm to the back of the classroom where the room was lit only with twinkle lights. They were greeted with appetizers and then we all sat together and sang. My favorite moment was when the children realized they were singing their songs and that they were being sung by everyone; they had become a part of a larger shared experience with their families and teachers. We culminated in laughter and singing as I tried to keep up with the singers while I turned the pages of the Twelve Days of Christmas.
We finished with desserts made by the families. Hopefully everyone went home with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads.
We wish everyone a very happy holiday season and joy with your own family.
I am so delighted that the Winnie the Pooh movie this summer is not only appropriate for preschool age children but also is faithful to the books and the characters. I have loved A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh books since I was little, with their hand-drawn characters and wonderful stories of friends and foibles. Many of the children at the preschool love the stories,especially one girl who is devoted to her Pooh Bear.
