Sharing Winter Traditions

December is fast approaching - I can hardly believe it. I love December for many reasons, most having to do with family, traditions, and celebration. It is the perfect month for us to share our family traditions with the classroom, and reflect on ways we are both similar and different. Sharing your culture with your child's classmates will not only make your child feel special, but will benefit all of our community. How rich the experience can be when people come together to share music, food, crafts, and stories from different cultures!

If you are willing and able, I encourage you to come share what is important to your family. In the past, I've had parents come and make everything from latkes to pepparkakor, Chinese lanterns to candles for the Winter Solstice. Families have shared stories like The Night Before Christmas, to poems about Kwanzaa. We've done crafts like stringing popcorn and making Danish hearts. It doesn't have to be involved or complicated - honestly, sometimes reading a story that your child enjoys each year at this time is so lovely and always appreciated.

Of course, I share my family traditions too - mostly in the form of stories, crafts (making snowflakes out of paper), and food (our famous cookie cottages, always decorated on the last day before Winter Break). More about these in future blog posts.

So, please, contact me if you can help make this season even sweeter. Thursdays are our most open days, but other days will work as well. I'm especially eager to have parents visit on the 17th, 18th, and 19th of December - the 10:45 - 11:30 slot would be perfect to have a special visitor.