I met with a program director not too long ago who talked with me about the improvements she’d made to her center. Among other changes, she proudly announced that she had “gotten rid of all holidays”.

I knew what she meant. There’s long been an assertion that holidays are better celebrated at the family level and don’t belong in a modern classroom. Some of the reasons have to do with cultural sensitivity. Others point to the fact that some classrooms get carried away with four weeks spent crafting every possible variation on a turkey theme, while the curriculum gets sidelined.

I understand these arguments, but I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with this type of censorship. I would suggest that these concerns could be adequately addressed without banning holidays all together.

Cultural Sensitivity

Teachers would obviously be wise to be sensitive to cultural diversity. But celebrating diversity means having a larger selection, not a smaller one. Explore traditions and celebrations from around the classroom or around the world. Invite families to come in to share their cultural celebrations. Be aware of where the commonalities lie and take on a larger world view. To me, this is the most obvious aspect for teachers to consider. I cringe at a teacher-led project that creates a cartoonish representation of Native Americans, just as I do at a teacher informing a student that his self-selected project depicting the Nativity is inappropriate.

Focused Curriculum

While the issue of cultural sensitivity is big and complicated, the aspect of purposeful instruction is the one I want to focus on here. Some who advocate tossing holidays out of the classroom say there isn’t room for holiday fluff when there are other things to be learned.

My first thought is that the most meaningful approach to instruction is to start where the interest of the children already lies. During the holidays, is there a more compelling topic? It seems difficult to appreciate and build on the genuine interests of the child if holidays are suddenly taboo. Rather than using their excitement, we squelch their enthusiasm and drag them through adult-centered priorities.

On the flipside, I share the concern that some classrooms spend the months of October through December in one long arts and crafts session. So here’s where I feel the compromise lies.

Create a unit that connects to the holiday without being consumed by it. I like to find a unit of study that shares themes with the upcoming holiday so that it taps into the same interests without making the holiday dominant. For instance, November is a great time to explore a food unit or a transportation unit as many children will be traveling or receiving travellers for that famous Thanksgiving feast. These units tap into that holiday enthusiasm, but they are still relatable for any child whether they personally celebrate Thanksgiving or not.

Similarly, February is my favorite time to examine social concepts like friendship and communication. A post office in the dramatic play area is a perfect connection with sending Valentines without making that the sole purpose. Many teachers use October to teach about nocturnal animals or the properties of pumpkins. They don’t have to teach about Halloween explicitly for the children to connect their classroom experiences to the holiday fervor around them. Incorporate aspects of the holiday without making the holiday itself the sole focus of the unit.

Recognize, Emphasize, Maximize. As I’ve mentioned before, the same activity can have two different learning outcomes depending upon its focus and implementation. If your goal is to have a lot of cute holiday crafts to hang around your room, you can accomplish that with a quick search on the internet. But if you step back and recognize learning objectives that should be emphasized, you can select and implement activities that will maximize those outcomes. For example, you can emphasize symmetry in a fold-art project, patterning as you create a chain, the fine motor skills of dropper art, or the recognition of the geometric pieces of a collage.

Similarly, you can take concepts from your curriculum, like counting, sorting, or letter familiarity, and simply change the way you present the practice in order to make it more intruiging as in this example or this one, both from No Time for Flashcards. Use a pumpkin to practice syllable segmentation, use candy hearts for sorting, counting and graphing. Keep your objectives, just change your tools.

Focus on creativity. If you focus more on art projects rather than craft projects, you give children the opportunity to create their own meaning for their projects rather than confining them to your personal holiday paradigm. The projects become more personally meaningful and give children the opportunity to incorporate holiday themes if they want to without having them forced upon them. Admittedly, there is a spectrum of arts and crafts, but the best creative projects find themselves leaning toward the arts side of this spectrum. (Check out Christie Burnett’s great ebook, Art Not Craft for inspiration.)

Create memories. For all the ways to incorporate meaningful learning objectives into activities surrounding the holidays, I have to say there is also value in creating enjoyable and memorable experiences. (Even if it means more chaos, as I wrote about here.) While I don’t like the idea of a full month becoming one big party, I’m not personally opposed to taking some time to celebrate!

So how do you find a holiday balance in your learning environment?

Top photo source.