Winter holidays … How about focusing on snow? Keep the lines of communication open with parents. I totally get that. Would you like to learn a simple and effective way to teach writing? We make accommodations for students with special academic needs, social needs, and behavioral needs. Just a thought. I still think we can have fun in our classrooms! 3. Ask what the parents do not want their child to do. Before you get all freaked out, have a conversation with the parents. I was a little afraid that I might upset people and get angry mail. This free guide is packed with specific lesson ides for narrative, opinion and informational writing. It’s not that their families don’t believe, they just don’t have the proper money or their parents don’t necessarily care to celebrate it. I respect that. We even have ideas on how to work them into your curriculum! Holiday celebrations will likely need to be different this year to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This free guide is packed with specific lesson ideas for narrative, opinion and informational writing. We party in my class. I think that it makes them richer. I hate seeing that single child sitting alone reading in the hall while their class watches a holiday movie. This has sometimes meant that the parent would pick up their child early or request the student have permission to go to the library or somewhere other than the classroom during certain activities. But I'll do it for the kids in the family. How do you accommodate students who don’t celebrate holidays? I did just what you were saying and talked to the parent. And I don’t feel that respecting the differences in my classroom ruins it for the others. Talk to the parents. Here are the most important and a very factual breakdown to help you snap out of it! Brainstorm with art and library teachers about alternate art projects or library activities your students can participate in while in their classes. You can do animal research papers about reindeer. Required fields are marked *. Unsubscribe at any time. Because even if—especially if—most of your students celebrate the same holidays and have the same beliefs that you do, there are some who don’t. However, having a student that doesn't celebrate the holidays can be a huge opportunity. You're behind the scenes now. As I was reading this blog entry, the thing that came to my mind the most was those students who don’t get to celebrate holidays at home. When it comes time to highlight specific cultural holidays, how do you pick the right culturally responsive materials? Tis the season to be...culturally sensitive. If your class is researching holiday traditions around the world have your student who doesn’t celebrate research another topic related to one of the countries. Ask if they will be at school the day before break. They don't celebrate other holidays, some don't even celebrate birthdays, seeing holiday and birthday celebrations as forms of Pagan and self-worship. As a kid who grew up not celebrating Christmas or Halloween, I really appreciate you taking the time out to accommodate the students in your class who have special religious needs. 50 Educational Websites for Learning At Home, 10 Fun Science Lessons Kids Can Do At Home, 4 Ways To Teach From Home During School Closures, How To Adapt Classroom Resources for Online Learning, Free Learn At Home Menus That Don’t Need Devices, Virtual End of Year Activities for Distance Learning. I almost didn’t write this post because I know that it is a sensitive topic. I’ve found it fairly easy to replace Christmas themed activities with winter or snow related ones. The holidays can be a tough time when you don't celebrate in the ways most people do. And if you get creative (and chat with this student’s parents about what they are ok with), you can do lots of fun things together. This time in the classroom may be the only celebration these students get! Copyright © 2021 Not So Wimpy Teacher • All rights reserved • Privacy Policy • Terms of Use • Site Design by Emily White Designs. Your email address will not be published. Most of the time my parents have opted to either pick their child up early or requested they be able to go to the library or office to read or work on something else. Now check your email to confirm your subscription. I did just what you were saying and talked to the parent. Let me know what kinds of activities you are planning in your classroom for those students who don’t celebrate the holidays! For example, when students were making holiday cards in art, my student made a winter scene drawing instead. Last updated on November 14, 2019 by Not So Wimpy Teacher, You make some good points. 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Many of our classrooms include students who don’t celebrate and unfamiliar teachers may not know how to manage this type of situation. Replace holiday themed activities with a non-holiday version when you can. You’re welcome Julia! You can learn about geography and different cultures. Celebrate the quirky and unknown! Students love looking for those little-known or quirky observances, so here are some of our favorite January holidays. But this conversation needs to be had. It breaks my heart when I hear of teachers who send these students out of the classroom or give them busy work. Ask what the family is comfortable with. Typically, major national holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother's Day and Father's Day are discussed and celebrated, with affiliated presentations, parties, and at times art or writing projects affiliated with them. Please try again. With a little foresight, parent partnering and planning we can also respectfully accommodate children in our classrooms who don’t celebrate holidays. I had a student who didn’t celebrate any holidays last year. We aren’t all the same and that is part of our beauty! In my view, accommodating students who don’t celebrate holidays should be no different. I think it’s really important to not only accommodate our kids academic, behavioral and social and emotional needs but also their family beliefs and needs. Jeanette Lopez on January 3, 2018 Who would have known that January brings both Trivia Day AND Word Nerd Day? Please don’t send angry mail! The rest of your class will feel like you are celebrating the holidays even if they don’t have a class elf on the shelf. Make the child’s specials teachers and administration aware of the child’s religious beliefs. We focused more on seasons and a little less on holidays. It’s fun for everyone! 10 Holidays We All Should Celebrate There are reasons to celebrate every single day. Freedom of holiday choice is integral to a free society. I’ve had several families now who were Jehovah’s Witnesses and parents have been very open and proactive about making me aware and letting me know the types of activities their child can and can not do. If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation@skagitpublishing.com for help creating one. Jan 16, 2017. At the time, I was unfamiliar with families whose religion included this belief. Helping a student to discover their love for reading is a privilege that I never get tired of. It has also with some families, been acceptable to have the child stay in the classroom but work on something different if the rest of the class is engaged in a holiday activity. She explained their beliefs and asked if we could plan ahead to come up with alternatives to accommodate various situations that may arise throughout the year. I use guided reading and guided math groups to meet the individual needs of my students. Home > Opinions > Education > Should students celebrate holidays in school? Holiday Celebrations. 1. There was an error submitting your subscription. The study asked 2,000 nationally representative Americans who celebrate a winter holiday about how they’ll be celebrating the holidays this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. We won't send you spam. Learning about holiday celebrations, especially ones celebrated by other students in their classroom, helps children to develop an appreciation and understanding for what is important to their friends, neighbors and other people they meet in the community. They need to get up and move around. If the party is during work hours, people such as Jehovah’s Witnesses—who don’t celebrate any holiday—would be stuck at their desks while others were enjoying the festivities. While these celebrations and traditions are a part of the fabric of American societ… I can’t wait to hear! We only recommend those things that we absolutely love and swear by! As teachers we strive to meet the needs of all of our students. We have four separate groups for grades 2-5. You can learn about states of matter and do some fun art projects. We still had a tree in the room (the parent was okay with it). Your email address will not be published. But his beliefs are JUST AS important. Have a plan in place or check with parents first about classroom parties, movie days, or school-wide events. I know that everyone is not going to agree with me. You are right; many of the holidays that the Christian church embraces have origins and many practices that were connected to pagan worship festivals. Don’t make them feel like they are being punished! Fortunately for me, my student’s mother reached out early on. I know that you want to make the holidays special for your class. During my second year of teaching I had a student in my classroom who, due to his religious beliefs, didn’t celebrate birthdays or holidays. Do you struggle to find time to teach writing? Love those little ones no matter what! No matter what you choose to shed light on the subject (a lesson plan, ongoing unit study, field trip, cultural fair, special performance presentation, etc. My kindergarten class learned new ideas and my student that didn’t do holidays still felt included. Winter themes related to hot chocolate, snowmen, caribou and tundra animals are all activities even students who don’t celebrate can do. Q: Why is it that you do not tell Christians it is wrong to celebrate holidays such as Christmas, Easter, or especially Halloween? Get together and have fun! Campuses become ghost towns as final exams wrap up. Dec 26, 2017 - What do you do when you have students who don’t celebrate the holidays? What's the "most wonderful time of the year" really like when you don’t actually celebrate anything? I believe that students need to be the leaders of the classroom. I wish there were more teachers like you back in my day as many of them were unprepared or ignorant on how to assist those of us who did not celebrate secular holidays. Even third graders are old enough to be held accountable and to take responsibility for their learning. I have found that specials teachers usually appreciate the input and ideas. How about focusing on reindeer? I have seen several Facebook posts […] Students from non-Christian countries may especially enjoy this, as it would be a completely new experience to them. PHOTOS: Students in RCAS celebrate the holidays on the last day before break Grace Pritchett, Journal staff Dec 18, 2020 Dec 18, 2020; While Christmas might look … Here are some tips that have helped me to respect different cultures and beliefs while still making the rest of my class feel like we are celebrating. There are several reasons why I do not celebrate holidays.. Olivia Heckroth. How to do an alternative Holiday At Schooldays.ie we know that our readers come from all types of backgrounds including religious and non-believers. How about focusing on holidays around the world? I do not believe that kids were made to sit in seats. It was different, but not a bad experience. Read on to find tips and ideas to guide you in what to do when students don’t celebrate holidays. Some of the responses are helpful and others just make me so sad. I personally don't celebrate things for myself. While gingerbread is traditionally a holiday treat, most of The Gingerbread Man stories are not at all holiday related. If you count down the days until Christmas break, consider changing the term to “winter break” … Meet with the child’s parents to ask what the limitations are. Make a plan with parents about how to manage birthdays. Get the details before you start stressing. Switch out practice pages with holiday pictures to a similar, winter-themed alternative if you can. As Speech-Language Pathologists we are charged with the task of providing quality skilled intervention while being culturally sensitive and striving for cultural competence. I modified a few of our more holiday projects to be more winter related, and we had good discussions about how different families have different traditions and beliefs. In other cases, I’ve had parents suggest the student stay with the class, not sing and have one of the snacks they provided for me to give their child instead during class birthdays. Jehovah's Witnesses. They're a minority and don't form a majority in any single country. Do you find it a challenge to deliver lessons that help all of your writers? Don't Celebrate Christmas? Would you like a list of all of the lessons that your students will need this year during writing? Lycoming College . But this conversation needs to be had. I didn’t know how to manage this situation without feeling I would be singling my student out or making him uncomfortable. If you're familiar with 'em, well, ya had to see that coming on the list. Ask what past teachers have done. In some cases I’ve had the student play in another area with another class while we sang and passed out treats. Each of my families has been different. Many teachers like to assume or pretend that everyone observes the same traditions as they do when in reality, that just isn’t the case. “No student should be made to feel that they are not a full member of the academic community because they don’t celebrate those holidays.” But Barkey at the ADL warns teachers against having students or parents serve as experts in class presentations about religious customs. We still had a tree in the room (the parent was okay with it). It is a great opportunity to learn about how different cultures and religions celebrate holidays around the world. December activities students that don’t celebrate holidays can do. Celebrating Holidays. Differentiated instruction is a must. The kids have just as much fun. You see all the stress they cause. Dec 3, 2017 - What do you do when you have students who don’t celebrate the holidays? I … Perhaps one of the first considerations should be which holidays and traditions are celebrated in school — and why. That means I don’t do things in my classroom that make a student feel disrespected or left out. During the holiday season I try to shift the focus away from what we hope to receive, and instead focus on what we can give to others. If your class is researching holiday traditions around the world have your student who doesn’t celebrate research another topic related to one of the countries. In this episode I am going to go through three tips for teaching in December when you have students who don’t celebrate the holidays. 4 Things to Do with Your Class After Winter Break, Wrapping Up Area & Perimeter- A FREE Holiday Activity. 13 January Holidays You’ll Want to Celebrate in Your Classroom. Is it acceptable to let their child have a treat and not sing, “Happy Birthday” or would they prefer their child not be in the room? Make a plan with parents for situations like birthdays and holiday activities and discuss what an acceptable alternative might be. Students and staff are finding ways to bring joy and comfort into this particularly chaotic holiday season, despite the canceling of normal traditions and activities. However, the kiddos who can’t celebrate will still be included and not made to feel uncomfortable. Since traveling far to see family during this time is not possible, staying positive and keeping up the holiday spirit can be difficult for some families.