Holidays in December

In December we recognize several holidays and celebrations significant to families in our school community. This post will zero in on three such celebrations:

Christmas 

Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays worldwide, blending traditions, religious significance, and universal themes of love, generosity, and joy. For some people, Christmas is a time of faith and reflection. For others, it’s about family, togetherness, and giving. 

For Christians, Christmas is celebrated on December 25 and it is a holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus, who, according to the Christian religion is the son of God. It is a celebration of hope marked with key traditions, including the nativity scene, singing carols, and attending church services. 

Many families come together at Christmas to share meals, play games, and exchange gifts. People engage in acts of kindness like donating to charities and giving to those in need. 

This year students created holiday ornaments and a paper snow globe using finger paint and crayons.

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is a week-long cultural celebration that honors African heritage and African-American culture. Created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa takes place annually from December 26 to January 1. It draws inspiration from traditional African harvest festivals and focuses on principles promoting unity, self-determination, and cultural pride.

7 Principles of Kwanzaa:

1. Unity: Striving for and maintaining unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
2. Self-Determination: Defining oneself, naming oneself, and speaking for oneself.
3. Collective Work and Responsibility: Building and maintaining communities together, solving problems as a collective.
4. Cooperative Economics: Supporting and building businesses that benefit the community.
5. Purpose: Working collectively to build and develop communities in alignment with cultural goals.
6. Creativity: Using creativity to improve and beautify the community.
7. Faith: Believing in the people, community, and the righteousness of the struggle.

Kwanzaa is a time for reflection, celebration, and commitment to building stronger families and communities. It serves as a reminder of the importance of cultural identity and collective progress, making it a meaningful addition to the holiday season. 

Students created the Mkeka mat from paper using the traditional colours of black, green, and red on a yellow base. This craft was a great way to strengthen their fine motor skills. It was somewhat challenging for some students, however they did a fantastic job.

Hanukkah

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday that celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the second century BCE. The holiday commemorates the victory of the Maccabees, a small group of Jewish fighters, over the much larger Syrian-Greek army and the miracle that followed. 

Hanukkah begins on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, which usually falls in late November or December. To celebrate the eight nights of Hanukkah, people light candles on a branched candlestick called a Menorah. They start with one candle and add a new candle each night. In addition to the lighting of the candles, gifts are exchanged and children play holiday games. 

Other customs include:

• Playing dreidel: A spinning top game with Hebrew letters symbolizing the phrase "A great miracle happened there."
• Eating fried foods: Such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly-filled doughnuts), to honor the miracle of the oil.
• Giving gifts: Especially to children, a tradition that has grown in popularity, influenced by the timing of Hanukkah near other winter holidays.

Hanukkah is a joyful celebration of resilience, faith, and miracles, making it a time for family, tradition, and reflection on overcoming challenges.

Menorah Craft

HOLIDAYS AND CELEBRATIONS

Diwali

Diwali is India's most important celebration, often referred to as Dipawali. It is a Hindu festival of lights that symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. Families in my class celebrate Diwali so explaining this to other students was important. Diwali is celebrated annually and lasts for five days. It usually falls between October and November.

In class, students created Diya (lamps). These are an important symbol and are lit during Diwali

 Diya Lamp Craft

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is an annual Canadian holiday celebrated on the second Monday in October. Many families have their own unique ways to celebrate Thanksgiving. One thing that often highlights Thanksgiving is the food. For some families, it is the turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potato, and pie. For others, it is the opportunity to gather with family, share and have a wonderful time together. 

Canadian Thanksgiving

In class, we read stories about being thankful and encourage students to share things they are grateful for. There are many stories online that our kindergarten students can definitely relate to. One of my favorite stories is A Spot of Thankfulness by Diane Alber. It is a great read-aloud that can engage students as they explore many talking points about thankfulness. 

For students who can write, a sentence starter after reading the book is:

"I am thankful for..."

Thanksgiving Craft Ideas

Many different Thanksgiving craft ideas and activities that require very little prep work are available to share with students. Here are a few that have been done by my kindergarten classes.

Thanksgiving Hand Turkey

There are many variations to this craft idea. 

Things I am Thankful For

For early writers, this incorporates writing simple words. 

"Thank you for Helping me grow hand." This incorporates painting.

Thankful Tree

If there is available space in the classroom, a thankful tree is a great idea for a corner display. Outside of a physical tree craft, a cut-out tree can be displayed on the bulletin board with leaves representing the things students are thankful for. 

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time for rich conversations with students during discussion sessions. When students are encouraged to talk about what they are thankful for, it helps them to be grateful for what they have. Oral communication is important in the kindergarten classroom as students learn to formulate sentences and make connections to the topic of discussion.

Welcome to Kindergarten 2024-2025

Kindergarten is a world of fun, exploration and learning. Students are all at different stages of their learning so the approach to setting up the learning environment and learning activities varies depending on the learner. The joy is almost palpable when you can see the journey of a learner from the stage of not being able to recognize a letter or hold a pencil to being able to read confidently and share their learning. 

It has been a while since I updated this blog. I intend to revive my efforts and share with you a window to my classroom journey of kindergarten in a year. 

First Day/Week of Kindergarten

Students learn in different ways so there is no one size fits all. Planning for the first day of kindergarten is tricky because of the myriad of personalities that come in. Many times, what is planned on paper does not even get executed based on the challenges that arise on the day. It is a tough transition for many of these kids and so our duty as educators is to make the transition from home to school as smooth as we can. 

In this blog post, I will share some of my best practices for a somewhat smooth first day/week of school. Although every year the experience differs, it is important to be prepared for the basics. Working with a teaching partner is a definite advantage. This allows for shared ideas and is especially useful when dealing with criers. Yes, every year there is one common thread on the first day, settling the ones who have a hard time leaving their parents. 

Here are my tips for first-day preparation:

Have a clipboard with a pen at hand

As students are dropped off, parents usually have important messages to share such as authorized family/friends for pick up, lunch, allergies, etc. I often prepare a handout with questions to capture most of this pertinent information, however, it is helpful to capture these as the children are dropped off. Also, ensure that a class list is attached to the clipboard. In addition, it is helpful to confirm the pronunciation of names with parents. Each child's name is part of their identity, you want to make sure that from day one you get it right. 

Prepare Easy No Supervision Activities

As students get settled in their new environment for the day, it helps to have various activities to engage them. The focus on day one is not so much on learning concepts but on getting settled. Setting up building blocks, legos, magnetic blocks, playdough and colouring activities are just some examples of centres that students can navigate without direct teacher supervision. 

First Day Read Aloud Books

Curious George's First Day of School

This is a really good read for the first day or probably first week of school. I have used it for about 3 years and the kids had so much fun mixing the colours. It can be a bit messy however, give it a go. What I have done is made it a centre with at least four kids at a time. If there are many criers on day one it might be best to give try on day two or three but definitely get it done in the first week.

The Night Before Kindergarten

This book is great for conversation prompts. It engages students and gets them to talk about their own expectations about kindergarten. If you have a class of SKs and JKs, the SKs usually enjoy sharing their own experiences when they started school and can reassure the JKs that kindergarten is indeed lots of fun. Students usually find it really funny to see all the adults crying towards the end of the story. 

Circle Time

Circle time in kindergarten is a safe space for students to share and learn. Beginning circle time with rhymes, songs or simple games gets students settled. My kids love to play Simon Says or Sticky Sticky Bubble Gum. The  Tap and Clap Name Game is also a good one to get them comfortable with their friends. See link below

Circle time is also a good time to reinforce classroom expectations. Keep in mind that in Kindergarten routines and expectations can take as much as two months to be fully in place. The key is simply patience, patience, and more patience. For the first week, I usually keep centre time no longer than 15 minutes. As students get more settled in the program the circle time can go up to 25 minutes. Now that seems like a lot of time but when it is exciting and engaging for the kids, the time goes by really fast. 

Centre Activities

Centre activities are usually set up before students are dismissed from circle time. Over the years I have tried several approaches to centre time and I found that the best option that worked for my kids is free choice rotation with limited numbers at centres. How this works is lable centres with the total number of students allowed. For example, we might say at the drama centre, the limit is four. If students want to join and the limit is reached, they can ask a friend to exchange or choose another centre. The signs usually have the number and picture so students have a visual as to what the number represents. 

Students are dismissed from circle time one at a time to a centre of their choice. If there is a very popular centre, then students rotate based on time. I will say, there are no hard and fast rules as it relates to centres. Each year students that come in are different and it is up to the teacher to decide how to approach this based on the students for that year. 

Once students are comfortable with the routine of choosing centres, it leaves more time for the teacher to do one-on-one activities with the students to reinforce learning concepts taught. 

Clean Up Time

From day one, it is important to reinforce the job of clean-up as a community effort. I usually play the clean up song which is the cue for them to stop all activities and aim to get everything in place before the song is concluded. Teamwork and cooperation are a huge part of learning in kindergarten. These character traits are reinforced throughout the day and in various activities both indoor and outdoor. 

End-of-Day Home Transition

Dismissal is just as important as any other part of the day. For some students who are still settling, this is the best part of the day as they look forward to going home. We usually end the day with an extended outdoor play so students transition from there to being picked up. Before the extended play, we gather for circle time where we do a final game and a goodbye song. 

Students are dismissed with their first day crowns or artwork which they can share with loved ones and talk about the activities of the day. Another important element of the end of day is to ensure that students leave their cubbies neat and tidy. Indoor shoes stay at school and so these are tucked away in their right places as well as other things that they have in their particular space. 

Final Thoughts

It is so crucial to emphasize that the most important trait that an educator needs to successfully navigate kindergarten is patience. Rules, routines and expectations take time to implement. Don't be surprised if it all does not come together until the end of September even extending into October. The encouraging thought is that once students are comfortable with the routines, the rest of the year only gets better.  

There is always that odd year or for some teachers, there is always that one or even two students who present a more difficult challenge than others. However, with time, even those students will start to show some progress. 

Have a blast and let us see what is in store for the coming year!