Teaching young children about all the different holidays celebrated during the winter months is not only important for teaching diversity, but to work as a stepping stone into understanding that everyone is unique. Whether a family celebrates Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Diwali, Las Posadas or Christmas, this December lesson plan opens the door to preschoolers on the special days celebrated around the world.
Suggested Books for the Month of December
- My First Kwanza Book by Deborah Chocolate [Scholastic, 1999]
- Light The Lights! A Story About Celebrating Hanukkah And Christmas by Margaret Moorman [Cartwheel, 1999]
- Arielle and the Hanukkah Surprise by Devra Newberger Speregen [Scholastic, 1992]
- Diwali by Trudi Strain Trueit [Children’s Press, 2006]
- Chanuka by Trudi Strain Trueit [Children’s Press, 2006]
- Christmas Around the World by Mary D. Lankford [HarperCollins, 1998]
- The Night of Las Posadas by Tomie dePaola [Putnam Juvenile, 2001]
Teaching About Other Cultures Through Music
Introduce different holiday music during circle time and have them dance, sing or learn the songs. Almost any popular children’s song can be rewritten into something that fits teaching preschoolers about the different holidays around the world (a retention song). Try using familiar songs like “Twinkle, Twinkle” or “Mary had a Little Lamb”, changing the words to help students retain all the different names of the holidays.
Reading Center for Celebrating Different Traditions
Have the books listed above available for the children to look through. Decorate the book center with various symbols of the traditions being learned. Have a felt board up and interchange different pieces each day that symbolize each tradition. For example, laminate some family figures and a dreidel, Menorah, and the Star of David. Add Velcro on the back for easy stick to the felt board. For Christmas, have laminates of a Christmas tree, a manger, an angel, etc. Encourage the children to play out a story with the characters, or use the pieces while reading along with one of the suggested books.
Also, put 2 to 3 sight words up on construction paper on the wall in the reading center and have children try to find the sight words in the books provided.
Art for Celebrating Traditions Around the World
Each day should have a different art project based on which tradition being talked about in class. Be creative and offer lots of various materials for tactile experience and fine motor improvement. Some examples are:
For Las Posadas, a class project making a paper mache piñata symbolizing the seven-pointed piñata used during Las Posadas.
For Kwanzaa, each child can make her own Bendera (the flag that symbolizes the occasion) by using red, black and green strips of construction paper (in that order) glued on top of 9 X 12 manila paper. Go further by incorporating patterns and have them create the color pattern with markers on a regular sheet of paper.
Provide lots of clay for creating a Diwali Diyas.
For Christmas, offer red, green and white beads and pipe cleaners. Have them create a pattern to further incorporate learning patterns, and make a candy cane ornament or bracelet.
For Hanukkah, they can each decorate their own Hanukkah Crown or Hat.
On the last day of this unit, throw a “Traditions Around the World” party. Everyone can wear their hats/crowns, dawn their Benderas, set out their Diwali Diyases and have a celebratory feast before ending it by hitting the piñata!
Science Center for Celebrating Winter Holidays Around the World
After reading Arielle and the Hanukkah Surprise, if you have a microwave available, have students help combine ingredients to make an Apple Kugel or other traditional Jewish recipe. This can be done for each day a new tradition is taught. Benne Cakes could be the snack on Kwanzaa day, Pedas for Diwali, fresh fruit quesadillas for Las Posadas and gingerbread cookies for Christmas. Go further by creating a class “Recipe Book for Traditions Around the World”.
The sensory table is a great way for preschoolers to explore with their tactile senses. Candles are a big symbol for many of these holidays. Provide a variety of colors and sizes (easy to find in a dollar store) and encourage children to sort by size and color. Graph those who think the candles would sink or float in the water. Add water and let the children explore the results. Talk about the reasoning behind the use of candles and lights during these holidays.
Math Center Ideas for Celebrating Kwanza, Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas and Las Posadas
Have separate calendars displayed for each holiday with the days of celebration marked. Be creative with File Folder Games. Some examples are to use special symbols from the holidays as manipulatives, like a Christmas tree. Have a different amount of ornaments on each Christmas tree cut out, and the numbers 1 through 10 inside the file folder. Encourage the children to match the correct number of ornaments on the tree to the number on the folder. You could also do this with candle clipart.
Learning about different cultures and diversity is important in early childhood education. These suggested developmentally appropriate activities are just a stepping-stone for building a curriculum geared towards learning about the different holidays and traditions around the world. Add to it to design the best possible developmentally appropriate curriculum for the classroom, making activities more challenging or less depending on the skill level of each child. Most importantly, encourage learning through play, as it is the best form!
ChristaCarol Jones - A stay-at-home mother of two and preschool music teacher during the school year, ChristaCarol thrives on finding or creating educational, ...
