With the increasing diversity in American schools, the winter holidays can be the perfect time to introduce students to the various global traditions celebrated across the country. Planning a holiday party and enlisting the participation from both students and parents, can enhance learning and make it more fun, too.
However, if your school prefers to take a more neutral approach, there are other ways to keep the emphasis on winter celebrations without touching on religious observances.
Student Involvement
The holidays mean different things to different people. Before the party, give students a chance to share how they celebrate at home. This is a great way to familiarize the class with various cultures and help them appreciate societal diversity. Whether kids present a report on Hanukkah, share photos from Christmases past, or tell a Kwanzaa story, they can each define the unique ways that make their holidays special for them.
Acknowledging differences can open the door to more than just the acceptance of others but also help kids learn about different parts of the world. To further engage children in understanding multiculturalism, have them work collaboratively and organize holiday party activities together. They can plan traditional party games and even decorate for the event. Invite parents to join in the fun by sharing their favorite customary foods that they prepare for their families at home.
Want to have your students help decorate for the holiday party? Check out our snowman cup tutorial and melted snowman bottle wrapper HERE.
Create a Newsletter
After the students have illustrated their holiday customs for the class, see if they can demonstrate their understanding for each by drafting a newsletter. Assign student writers and editors to report on and proof articles about the presented traditions. This will no doubt reinforce learning, and it can also be a great handout for the party.
Additional Holiday Party Ideas
Offer activities for each of the different customs reflected in the class. Here are a few more examples:
- Go Christmas caroling to other classrooms
- Weave a Kwanzaa mat or make a necklace
- Play the Hanukkah dreidel game and learn the song that accompanies it
- Make a Ramadan good deeds list
The Winter Solstice
For a celebration that does not focus on traditional holidays, commemorating the Winter Solstice can be a wonderful way to mark the change of seasons leading up to the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Party activities centered on this annual event can help kids understand how the Earth and the Sun move to create colder temperatures and less daylight.
A Solstice party celebrates the beginning of the return of the sun and can include hearty, warming foods and beverages such as apple cider. To symbolize the return of light, students can make luminary bags or decorate the classroom with mini lights.
The heart of the Winter Solstice is also about honoring nature and the outdoors. With this in mind, have students collect greens and branches to decorate the classroom. They could also feed the wildlife and make bird feeders to hang outside the school.
Holiday parties can be special occasions for children to learn about the different ways people celebrate their heritage or a memorable celebration of the winter season itself.
Krista Wolfe
Quill.com Contributing Writer
Krista Wolfe is a marketing project manager for Quill.com where she writes to help small businesses, teachers and healthcare professionals make more informed decisions on office essentials. She also writes on our new community blog, Café Quill, about a wide range of business matters such as leadership, productivity and work-life balancing. Krista lives in Chicago and you can find her on Google+ or LinkedIN.