Holidays are a great time to teach kids about many different cultures
The holidays are a great time to teach children about other holidays, cultures and customs they might not be familiar with. The key to using the holidays as a teaching moment is to be sure the child is at an age they’ll understand it and creating activities that will instill an interest and appreciation for the holiday.
Tips for celebrating multicultural holidays
- Celebrate holidays that represent the cultures and beliefs of all children in your daycare or school. Ensuring this is happening not only provides a teach moment, but ensures inclusiveness and provides understanding in the classroom. If a classroom is especially large, this can be difficult. Be sure to listen to what the children talk about and provide teaching moments when you hear of one of your children discussing a holiday the other kids might not know about. You can also use your daycare software to keep notes about what holidays your students celebrate so that you can be considerate of those holidays every year.
- Don’t go too deep into details while the kids are young. Before planning out your classroom’s holiday activities, be sure they are age appropriate. Your children won’t learn from the experience if everything is over their heads. Slowly build upon their understanding of other holidays and traditions as they grow.
- Allow for show and tell because every family celebrates a holiday differently. You can do your best to showcase many cultures and beliefs in the classroom, but providing a time for older children to share what makes the holidays special to them might open new doors to understanding and learning about other holidays.
- Permit children to partake in different activities if parents would prefer not to have their children involved in activities related to certain holidays. Allow children to bring their own activities if they feel uncomfortable with celebrating certain holidays because some children’s beliefs may not permit them to celebrate other holidays.
- Encourage children make homemade gifts for the holidays. Added stresses can be placed on parents during the holidays as they try to figure out what to get their child’s friends from daycare for the holidays. Having craft time where you teach children how to make their holiday gifts you provide a teaching moment about what the holidays are all about and a useful gift they can share with loved ones.
While the holidays are at the forefront of administrators’ minds right now, it’s good to keep in mind that holidays happen throughout the year. Staying aware of all holidays the children in your classroom might be celebrating all year long will provide an environment of inclusiveness year-round and teaching moments as you look to provide greater awareness for other cultures and activities.
Empower your Staff
Childcare software can empower your staff to spend more time with students to teach them about different cultures this holiday. iCare Software eliminates administrative hassles and simplifies record-keeping, giving them more time to focus on what’s most important, their students.