December 2022: Traditions and Celebrations
A wonderful time of the year to connect, give, and receive.
December can be busy and chaotic. Parents and teachers are usually juggling a lot, but providing lasting memories and joy to children makes the momentary stress worth it. Children easily get how great it is to receive, but to help them understand how fulfilling it is to give, is a gift in itself.
This month was all about celebrations and traditions. Not everyone celebrates the same ways or the same occasions. We allowed the children to share what their family does and what it is important to them, and also introduce them to what other people around the world may do to celebrate.
We hope everyone enjoyed their winter break and was able to find peace, rest, love, and connection. Happy Holidays!
Books read to enhance learning experiences:
A Family is a Family is a Family by Sara O’Leary illustrated by Qin Leng
Let’s Celebrate: Special Days Around the World by Kate DePalma, illustrated by Martina Peluso
The Family Book by Todd Parr
The Peace Book by Todd Parr
New songs we sang this month:
This Little Light of Mine - Elizabeth Mitchell version
Light a Candle for Peace by Shelley Murley
Families, Traditions, and Ways to Celebrate:
Celebrating is fun! There are so many different ways to express our culture, family, and what is important to us.
What is one of your family traditions?The most common form of celebration is gathering and eating. Many of the children shared how their families get together and have a special meal. Some shared how they eat the same thing every holiday. Decorating really sets the celebrating vibe! We made paper snowflakes to decorate our classroom, hung up lights, and observed Miss Jenny’s Christmas tree in her living room. Decorations are very exciting! We loved hearing about how each child decorates at their home on special occasions.
A tradition is an established custom often passed down through generations. Traditions can happen daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. Some traditions only occur on holidays, while others can be on an ordinary day. Family traditions give people something to look forward to, and a place to make meaningful memories. Traditions often strengthen family bonds and remind people about what is truly important.
All families are different. Even if we celebrate the same holidays, we usually do it in different ways. It is important to allow children to share what is important to them and how they celebrate. It is also important for children to know that there are all different kinds of people who do things differently.
Surprise! On Miss Demi’s birthday the children made their own confetti. When she walked in the room they all surprised her with a confetti celebration. We had fun making dancing streamers and listened to different types of music that people play while they celebrate. A few parents came in and shared a family tradition of theirs. We loved hearing about each and everyone! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to share.
Exploring Light:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Something that was a common part of our early education became an exciting activity for the children! With an old projector we let the children explore light and how it can be manipulated. Making shadows, mixing colors, or standing in the spotlight, this activity is very exciting for the children.
We discussed the different forms of light and how people use light. The children played with flashlights and got to use pretend candles to imagine real fire light. Through song and mindfulness practice we also embraced the symbolic light within all of us.
People often use light to celebrate! Decoration, rituals, and symbolism. We celebrated light with an up-used homemade lantern, music, and movement. Exploring light encompasses all people and all celebrations.
Peace Begins With Me:
In this meditation, you’ll combine the mantra “peace begins with me” with hand gestures: pressing your thumb to each finger. It's so simple, it works.
When you touch your index finger, say: PEACE.
When you touch your middle finger, say: BEGINS.
When you touch your ring finger, say: WITH.
When you touch your pinky finger, say: ME.
Our monthly mindful focus that will be used the rest of the school year and can be used anywhere anytime to help calm, reset, and refocus.
Each class made their very own set of yoga cards featuring the children of SimpleLife School! This is meaningful for the children to see their peers and themselves on their yoga cards rather than a cartoon figure.
Peace: freedom from disturbance, comfort, and tranquility.
Children are crucial for peace. Children are innocence, love, and connection. At SimpleLife we create a peaceful environment by creating a safe and secure place for children to express their emotions, desires, and needs. We help the children regulate their emotions, use empathy, and resolves problems to provide them with the skills to be a loving and peaceful person.
When we guide children to properly manage their social and emotional skills we are setting them up for success. These skills create peace. The National Association for the Education of Young Children has 6 tips for peacemaking
Acknowledge children’s peacemaking skills
Make space for peace
Model and label your own peacemaking skills
Watch, listen, and learn from your child
Respect the whole child
Celebrate positive stories and share books about peace
Winter Celebration:
“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently...”
-Lewis Carroll
We celebrated the season with music, dance, baking, and gift giving. The children wrapped a present to give to their families and helped the teachers pack a bag full of winter time decorations and gifts. Each class had a musical guest come and play music where the children got to dance and sing.
We baked gingerbread person cookies and decorated them to enjoy as a yummy treat!
The children finished a ceramics project to gift to their families. We used newspaper to wrap them up. The children also got to take home their yoga cards, dancing streamers, a gingerbread cookies, and different art decoration projects.
It was such a fun and exciting day! It was meaningful to us to celebrate and spread our love together.
Art Explorations:
Finishing Ceramics, Wet on wet watercolor, & Art in celebration.
We glazed and fired our pinch pots and clay slabs. The children were so excited to wrap it up and take it home to give to their family.
Wet-on-wet watercolor is a method of painting where we soak water color paper and use liquid watercolor to drop onto it. The paint spreads and mixes making a tie-dye look. Next month the children will draw a family portrait on it.
Art, culture, celebrating, and traditions intertwine and crossover. When we explore art we are also celebrating life, light, and culture. Allowing creative expression creates a place of peace and love.
