“As directors, what guidelines will we establish around celebrating holidays? How inclusive shall we be? Are we going to celebrate holidays based on the cultures represented in our program? What if there is little diversity? Should we include many diverse celebrations? Which ones? What if some parents object to all holidays? How much of our curriculum will be devoted to holidays? And, are we missing other more important activities with our very young children by spending time on holidays?” Lots to consider here before we take the plunge.So, “Will the children understand?” is an important question to answer before we add a particular holiday to the curriculum plan. Most holidays are based on abstract concepts that are beyond their comprehension. It is extremely difficult to give holidays meaning that is developmentally appropriate for very young children.I see three potential problems to sort out: So, when I observe very young children overly excited and melting down as the holiday frenzy swirls around them when I observe very young children disengaged and clearly not understanding what is going on when I observe very young children being pulled from a child-centered, age-appropriate experience like shaping play dough, to a teacher-directed activity like making look-a-like Santas from glue and paper, it begs the question, “What are these very young children receiving when we celebrate traditional holidays (Thanksgiving, Kwanza, Hanukkah, Christmas, and others) as part of our child care curriculum?” Sadly, I think that after all of the effort and the energy expended, the positive results for the children fall short. By now, if you have read my blog posts, you will know that my focus for everything that happens in an early childhood program is the children and their experience. Over the years, as I have observed the infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in numerous programs, my thinking about this topic has evolved. From my vantage point as teacher, then director, and now consultant to many many early childhood programs, I often wonder why we celebrate holidays in our programs with very young children.
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