Teaching young children about all the different holidays celebrated during the winter months is not ...

1. December Preschool Lesson Plan for Holidays Around the
World
Teaching young children about all the different holidays celebrated during the winter months is not
only important for teaching diversity, but to work as a stepping stone into understanding that
everyone is unique. Whether a family celebrates Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Diwali, Las Posadas or
Christmas, this December lesson plan opens the door to preschoolers on the special days celebrated
around the world.
Suggested Books for the Month of December
My First Kwanza Book by Deborah Chocolate [Scholastic, 1999]
Light The Lights! A Story About Celebrating Hanukkah And Christmas by Margaret Moorman
[Cartwheel, 1999]
Arielle and the Hanukkah Surprise by Devra Newberger Speregen [Scholastic, 1992]
Diwali by Trudi Strain Trueit [Children's Press, 2006]
Chanuka by Trudi Strain Trueit [Children's Press, 2006]
Christmas Around the World by Mary D. Lankford [HarperCollins, 1998]
The Night of Las Posadas by Tomie dePaola [Putnam Juvenile, 2001]
Teaching About Other Cultures Through Music
Introduce different holiday music during circle time and have them dance, sing or learn the songs.
Almost any popular children's song can be rewritten into something that fits teaching preschoolers
about the different holidays around the world (a retention song). Try using familiar songs like
"Twinkle, Twinkle" or "Mary had a Little Lamb", changing the words to help students retain all the
different names of the holidays.
Reading Center for Celebrating Different Traditions

2. Have the books listed above available for the children to look through. Decorate the book center
with various symbols of the traditions being learned. Have a felt board up and interchange different
pieces each day that symbolize each tradition. For example, laminate some family figures and a
dreidel, Menorah, and the Star of David. Add Velcro on the back for easy stick to the felt board. For
Christmas, have laminates of a Christmas tree, a manger, an angel, etc. Encourage the children to
play out a story with the characters, or use the pieces while reading along with one of the suggested
books.
Also, put 2 to 3 sight words up on construction paper on the wall in the reading center and have
children try to find the sight words in the books provided.
Art for Celebrating Traditions Around the World
Each day should have a different art project based on which tradition being talked about in class. Be
creative and offer lots of various materials for tactile experience and fine motor improvement. Some
examples are:
For Las Posadas, a class project making a paper mache piñata symbolizing the seven-pointed
piñata used during Las Posadas.
For Kwanzaa, each child can make her own Bendera (the flag that symbolizes the occasion) by using
red, black and green strips of construction paper (in that order) glued on top of 9 X 12 manila paper.
Go further by incorporating patterns and have them create the color pattern with markers on a
regular sheet of paper.
Provide lots of clay for creating a Diwali Diyas.
For Christmas, offer red, green and white beads and pipe cleaners. Have them create a pattern to
further incorporate learning patterns, and make a candy cane ornament or bracelet.
For Hanukkah, they can each decorate their own Hanukkah Crown or Hat.
On the last day of this unit, throw a "Traditions Around the World" party. Everyone can wear their
hats/crowns, dawn their Benderas, set out their Diwali Diyases and have a celebratory feast before
ending it by hitting the piñata!
Science Center for Celebrating Winter Holidays Around the World
After reading Arielle and the Hanukkah Surprise, if you have a microwave available, have students
help combine ingredients to make an Apple Kugel or other traditional Jewish recipe. This can be
done for each day a new tradition is taught. Benne Cakes could be the snack on Kwanzaa day, Pedas
for Diwali, fresh fruit quesadillas for Las Posadas and gingerbread cookies for Christmas. Go further
by creating a class "Recipe Book for Traditions Around the World".
The sensory table is a great way for preschoolers to explore with their tactile senses. Candles are a
big symbol for many of these holidays. Provide a variety of colors and sizes (easy to find in a dollar
store) and encourage children to sort by size and color. Graph those who think the candles would
sink or float in the water. Add water and let the children explore the results. Talk about the
reasoning behind the use of candles and lights during these holidays.
Math Center Ideas for Celebrating Kwanza, Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas and Las Posadas

3. Have separate calendars displayed for each holiday with the days of celebration marked. Be creative
with File Folder Games. Some examples are to use special symbols from the holidays as
manipulatives, like a Christmas tree. Have a different amount of ornaments on each Christmas tree
cut out, and the numbers 1 through 10 inside the file folder. Encourage the children to match the
correct number of ornaments on the tree to the number on the folder. You could also do this with
candle clipart.
Learning about different cultures and diversity is important in early childhood education. These
suggested developmentally appropriate activities are just a stepping-stone for building a curriculum
geared towards learning about the different holidays and traditions around the world. Add to it to
design the best possible developmentally appropriate curriculum for the classroom, making
activities more challenging or less depending on the skill level of each child. Most importantly,
encourage learning through play, as it is the best form!
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