Holiday Curriculum for Kindy- First Grade?

[luvmybaby333]

I could really use some help. I'm a brand-new homeschooler. I recently pulled my daughter out of public school. She is 6. I have been trying to get the hang of all this but I am making up our curriculum as we go, and that leaves me a bit stumped sometimes.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas or links for a way that I could put together a few holiday lesson plans. We are not religious. I would like to cover all the major religions. She asked me two days ago why Christmas was "so special"... I was at a loss for what to say for a moment. Then I explained that it was NOT so special for everyone. Some people (like her Jehovah's Witness great-grandparents) don't celebrate it at all. I explained that we celebrate it because it is an American tradition and it's important to us for that reason alone. Then I tried to cover the idea that some people celebrate it because of their religious beliefs. I also tried to explain that other people celebrate other winter holidays because of their religious beliefs. I told her that if we were to celebrate any winter holiday for its religious importance, then it would be Winter Solstice. But all in all... I think it kinda confused her.

I would like to make up for that by doing some hands-on or interesting holiday themed crafts/ lesson plans. Any and all advice is welcome.

[Aeress]

Barefoot Books has a nice celebration book. When covering holiday curriculum with kids, consider what the goal is. In general, I would try to move away from just celebrating the major religious holy days, and instead incorporate a year long religious studies project- where you learn about the whole culture.

Now, as a starting point- we are learning about what religions consider their most holy day, how they celebrate it, and what makes sense to the kids.

As the year progresses will we delve into this topic more deeply.

Usborne books has a big book of religions that I use, as well as the links to website, that the book provides. We are also using stories, games and projects, as well as cooking. We are trying to be authentic whenever possible- we try and visit local places etc.

[luvmybaby333]

Originally Posted by Aeress

Barefoot Books has a nice celebration book. When covering holiday curriculum with kids, consider what the goal is. In general, I would try to move away from just celebrating the major religious holy days, and instead incorporate a year long religious studies project- where you learn about the whole culture.

Now, as a starting point- we are learning about what religions consider their most holy day, how they celebrate it, and what makes sense to the kids.

As the year progresses will we delve into this topic more deeply.

Usborne books has a big book of religions that I use, as well as the links to website, that the book provides. We are also using stories, games and projects, as well as cooking. We are trying to be authentic whenever possible- we try and visit local places etc.

Thank you for your response. That's a good point about not just glossing over the major holidays. I do eventually want her to have at least a basic understanding of many different religions. I want her to be able to make her own spiritual choices and I feel that she needs to have as much info as possible to do that. I will definitely check out the books you mentioned for future reference.

For right now, though, I really would like to cover a brief "winter holiday" unit. I'm trying to respond to her direct interests. I don't want to leave this curiosity unexplored, KWIM? We live in a very non-diverse area and whenever I come across an opportunity to show Ambrosia that there is much more out there that what she sees, I try to jump on it.

[ocelotmom]

I've been looking for the same thing, and found this book, which looks like it would be good, if brief. However, I haven't actually read it.

[luvmybaby333]

Originally Posted by ocelotmom

I've been looking for the same thing, and found this book, which looks like it would be good, if brief. However, I haven't actually read it.

Thanks for the link! There were also some others on the "you might like" list that looked really cool.