HOLIDAYS: CELEBRATING DIVERSITY AND MEETING CHILDREN’S DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS

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National Network for Child Care's Connections

Newsletter

Peggy Riehl, M.Ed.
Family Life Educator
Human Development and Family Studies
University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service

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Talking and thinking about holidays in early childhood programs
today is a “hot topic.” There is an increasing diversity
of children, families, and staff who make up our programs. Each
may have different ideas of how to celebrate holidays. As educators,
we also have the responsibility to meet both the intellectual
and social needs of the children we work with. How we meet those
needs also applies to how we include holidays in our curriculum.
Finally, even for us as adults, the concept of holidays may not
be as simple as it seemed when we were young. Particularly, Columbus
Day, Thanksgiving, and Halloween seem to challenge our actions
in our work and leisure lives. Working through these issues is
important, for ourselves, the children, families, and communities
we live and work in.

THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THE CURRICULUM

As people who care for and educate young children, child care
professionals often make choices based on the needs of children
and families. We serve nutritious meals because we know that children's
growing bodies need a well balanced diet. We make daily plans
that include active play as well as quiet play because children's
bodies and minds need both exercise and rest.

Child care professionals must make conscious decisions on how
to celebrate holidays, just as they make conscious decisions on
what snacks to serve or what physical activities to offer.

GROUP CARE ISSUES IN HOLIDAYS

While children appear to enjoy holidays, working with them
in a group reveals some problems. Even as early as September,
stores have displays relating to the Christmas or Hanukkah holiday,
three months away. Many preschool-aged children have difficulty
with the concept of time. For example, they may not be able to
understand time as it relates to when a parent will pick them
up for the day, or knowing when the Friday special walk is coming.
For these children, and the adults who work with them, sustaining
a level of excitement in anticipation of a holiday three months
away can be unbearable. As adults, we might need three months
to prepare for our holiday season. Children, however, still need
to meet their other developmental tasks in physical development
(growing) and social/emotional development (getting along with
others and understanding themselves), while still being excited
about coming holidays. Sometimes it makes sense to not include
holidays in the group care situation just because of this issue.

DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS OF CHILDREN

Remember that a child's world is not as neatly divided as curriculum
manuals would have us believe. A teacher's job is difficult because
s/he has to prepare for each child, based on what that child knows
and doesn't know.

For a particular child or group of children, what is important
to learn today may or may not coincide with the holiday calendar.
Perhaps the children are very interested in plants and animals.
Why should the curriculum stop and only focus on a particular
holiday? Does it make sense to “teach” one color at
a time, whatever color is associated with that holiday? How does
the child's concept of time and of the world work with the teaching
of this holiday? Are adults talking about things that happened
200 years ago, in a country across the globe, when those children
don't know when their family is coming to pick them up, and they
can't tell you how to get to their homes?

HOLIDAY ART: PRODUCT AND PROCESS

Often our attempt at celebrating holidays with young children
includes making crafts or art work. Evaluating these materials
for appropriateness in celebrating a holiday is not much different
from evaluating them for “developmental appropriateness.”
Who really does the art work? Are the crafts too hard for the
children to complete themselves? Do they all look the same? When
selecting art materials for a holiday celebration, look carefully
at what the children are doing in making the item.

More importantly, evaluate whether you should eliminate all the
wonderful art materials you have available every other day of
the year! Do the holiday crafts help children's creativity and
use of materials or do they reflect an adult's idea of holiday
decorations?

HOLIDAYS AS CULTURAL CONCEPTS

As part of their social development, children learn about themselves,
their families, and their community. How and what we teach in
this process helps shape the values and beliefs of tomorrow's
leaders.

Many people use holidays to teach children about other cultures.
In her book, *Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young
Children* (1989), Louise Derman-Sparks talks about the problems
of using this type of approach with young children and points
out the dangers of using what she calls a “tourist curriculum.”
If holidays, with their traditions, foods, and activities, are
the only things we teach children about other cultures, we aren't
really communicating a true picture of that culture. Incorporate
aspects of those other cultures throughout the day and the year,
not just on one holiday.

Imagine what visitors from Mars would think about us if they only
saw how we act and dress on October 31. Out of context, Halloween
reveals little about our strengths and struggles as people! Using
only holidays to teach about other cultures may be just as misleading.
But child care and education professionals can build on holiday
experiences to help children understand the people around them
and the world they live in.

HOLIDAYS AS A WAY TO LEARN ABOUT “DIFFERENT” PEOPLE

Consider experiences from the point of view of children in
your program. If the children do celebrate holidays differently,
perhaps because they are of different religions or cultures, you
can build on their knowledge of each other. The lesson that a
friend celebrates different holidays, or the same holiday in a
different way, and is still a friend, is the most important lesson
for appreciating differences. It is the concept that difference
does not mean better or worse.

If, on the other hand, all the children in your program celebrate
holidays in similar ways, give careful consideration to how you
introduce holidays from other cultures. You don't want to teach
incorrect information (historically or currently inaccurate),
or misinterpret a culture or religion you are unfamiliar with.
Educate yourself about other cultures. Ask for assistance from
your local library. You might look for children's books on another
culture, as well as books geared to adults. Examine your own understanding
and knowledge of the culture.

USING CHILDREN'S COMMENTS TO INTRODUCE DIVERSITY

As children live and play with each other, they express ideas
about each other. While different cultures may not be evident,
you may hear comments about different abilities of boys and girls.
There may differences in ethnicity and culture, which children
will comment on too. These realities for children are a valid
starting point. Responding to children's thoughts and ideas as
they occur, and gently introducing new ones is a challenge to
all who work with young children. It is what makes your work a
profession – not just a job.

PROCESSING OUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS AS ADULTS

Thinking about how to celebrate holidays in our child care
and education programs can be challenging to adults. We have to
be open to understanding not only how we remember our own childhood
celebrations, but how others may have celebrated or how the holiday
is viewed today. As an example, Thanksgiving may have included
a happy family gathering for some of us, but Native Americans
may not be “thankful” for anything on this day. Columbus
Day, from the point of view of Native Americans, Italian Americans
or Jewish peoples, is another day that needs critical reflection
by adults before they make curriculum choices for children. Our
task as adults is to work through these issues for ourselves,
with our co-workers, and with the families and communities we
live and work in. It isn't always easy, but if we are to be good
teachers, we must do it.

Some aspects of holiday celebrations may seem innocent or harmless
at first, but it is vital that early child care professionals
think about the curriculum and how it affects children. Halloween
colors, for example, include orange and black. Black is generally
not presented in a positive way, but a scary and dark way. What
does teaching the color black in this way do to children whose
skin is dark, and who are sometimes called black? What does it
do to children whose skin is not dark? The effect on the self-concept
of all children, whether the teacher's intent is “only Halloween
fun” can be intense for children of all ethnicities and colors.

As teachers, we believe our actions have deep and lasting effects
on children in their cognitive development. We must acknowledge
that our actions – and perhaps unconscious messages – also have
deep and lasting effects on children's social and emotional development.

Getting together with other adults may help you sort out your
thoughts and feelings about holidays in the curriculum. Other
child care and education professionals, family specialists, and
family members can help contribute to these discussions about
appropriate choices for celebrating holidays in your child care
program.

REFERENCES

Derman-Sparks, L. (1989). *Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools For
Empowering Young Children.* Washington, DC: National Association
for the Education of Young Children.

Phillips, C. B. (1988). Nurturing diversity for today's children
and tomorrow's leaders. *Young Children*, 43(2), 24-27.

DOCUMENT
USE/COPYRIGHT
National Network for Child Care – NNCC. Part of CYFERNET, the
National Extension Service
Children Youth and Family Educational Research Network. Permission
is granted to reproduce
these materials in whole or in part for educational purposes only
(not for profit beyond the cost of
reproduction) provided that the author and Network receive acknowledgment
and this notice is
included:

Reprinted with permission from the National Network for Child
Care – NNCC. Riehl, P. (1993). Holidays: Celebrating diversity
and meeting children's developmental needs. In Todd, C.M. (Ed.),
*Day care center connections*, 3(2), pp. 5-7. Urbana-Champaign,
IL: University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service.

FORMAT AVAILABLE:: Internet
DOCUMENT REVIEW::
Level 3 – National Peer Review
DOCUMENT SIZE:: 26K or 5 pages
ENTRY DATE:: February 1996