Christmas Traditions in the Classroom

December is a great time to teach about traditions, especially Christmas traditions.  And what better way to introduce and explore Christmas traditions than to create and experience your very own Christmas traditions in the classroom?!

1. Set Up the Classroom Christmas Tree Together- I love handing out branches to each student and then calling them up to help me place the branches on the tree.  But the best part of all is when we string the lights and I light up the tree for the first time!  The excitement and amazement in the kids eyes simply makes it all so wonderful!

2. Hang Students' Ornaments- To make our tree even more personalized and memorable, ask students to bring in an ornament from home with their name written on it to decorate the tree.  Before students are encouraged to hang their ornament on the tree, we do a quick Show-and-Tell which makes for a sweet memory for all!

3. Celebrate Christmas Around the World with Food- Nothing makes students or anyone for that matter, happier than FOOD!  Sure, arts and crafts make learning about Christmas Around the World fun, but what kids love most is tasting the traditional Christmas FOOD that goes along with each country!  Here's a sample of different foods that you can serve.

England- Pudding
France- Cheese/Cake
Italy- Goldfish (Italians eat seafood for Christmas)
USA-Cookies & Milk (Snack for Santa Claus)

4. Exchange Family Recipes- Send home a recipe template and ask parents to help their child share their family's favorite recipe.  Once completed and returned, bring out the crayons, markers, and glitter galore and encourage students to decorate their recipe template and exchange them at the class Christmas Party.  Students love sharing their own family favorite recipe and getting to take one home to share with their own family!

5. Make Gingerbread Houses- Making Gingerbread houses at our Christmas Party is one of my favorite traditions in the classroom!  Using empty milk cartons, graham crackers, icing, and a plethora of candy and sprinkles, students always have the best of times creating their own mini-gingerbread houses.  After completing them, students place them in an empty shoebox to take home.  But...the shoebox is not just any ordinary shoebox, it is wrapped with Christmas paper and decorated that was done at home as a family project!  Why place the gingerbread house in a shoebox?  Simply because I have found that it is the easiest and safest way for their gingerbread houses to stay in one piece from school onto the bus and then home!

There are so many wonderful classroom Christmas traditions out there!  What's yours?

Resources You May Be Interested In:

     

Celebrate Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year is one of my favorite holidays as it’s very close to my heart and reminds me so much of my family and culture. As a Vietnamese-American, I’ve been blessed to celebrate both the New Year in January and Chinese New Year, or more commonly known as Tet in Vietnam, at the end of January or February every year.  This year, it falls on Thursday, February 19th.

To celebrate Tet, my family cleans and decorates our house with yellow and pink spring flowers, prepares our ancestors’ altars by offering fresh fruits and traditional cakes, dresses up in our traditional long dresses, attends mass at our Catholic church to pray for a good and prosperous year, and watches dragon dances. Plus, children receive lucky money as they wish their elders ‘Happy New Year.'

Getting lucky money from my parents and elders at church was always my favorite!  How can a kid say no to her loved ones giving her money, right?!  Now as a mom, I do my best to pass along the same traditions and great memories to my son.  I love seeing him captivated by the loud sounds, music, and sights of celebrating such a fun and wonderful holiday.

As teacher, I love to incorporate and teach about different cultures and traditions into my classroom, especially when it comes to Chinese New Year. I love sharing personal stories and memories of the holiday while also encouraging my students to celebrate and learn more about Asian cultures. 

Here are some ideas to celebrate Chinese New Year with your students:

-Read Sam's Lucky Money and other Chinese-themed Children's books (Ruby's Wish)

-Read nonfiction text on the holiday 
-Write facts using different graphic organizers
-Make paper dragons and parade around the classroom

-Help students identify their Chinese Zodiac
-Make paper lanterns to decorate the classroom
-Create Lucky Money envelops 

-Watch dragon dances videos from YouTube

I love having my students parade around the classroom with their paper dragons!  It really is the most favorite of theirs as well.  They giggle, dance, and have just about the best time! But what really make them so excited is when I show them a mini-dragon.  I love seeing them so excited and fascinated!

If you are celebrating Chinese New Year in your classroom, come check out my Chinese New Year Packet! With printables, vocabulary cards, colorful signs, graphic organizers, a Chinese Zodiac Calendar and bookmarks, and an interactive game with game mats and dice templates, students will be greatly informed and thoroughly engaged the entire unit! See the video below on how to play the Zodiac game with your students! 

And as Vietnamese people wish each other Happy New Year, Chuc Mung Nam Moi!

Hi there!  My name is Ha, and I am first grade teacher from Texas.  This is my eighth year of teaching and seventh year teaching in first grade.  I am married to my high school sweetheart and together, we have a two-year old son and a new baby on the way.  This is my first entry for Who's Who, and I am thrilled to be part of this wonderful collaborative blog.  Thank you so much for reading!  I can't wait to hear from our awesome readers and fellow bloggers! :)