After I ran the Breakfast with Santa idea past our Principal, I thought about that. I then asked him if he would prefer if we did a Christmas/Holidays around the World thing? He suggested we keep it simple the first year and only do the Santa thing. We'll see how this year goes and possibly expand it the next year. Since not all people celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, Santa is no a religious figure so I'm hoping it isn't viewed as neglecting anyone. Everyone makes choice as to what they feel comfortable participating in when it is the holiday time, so this should be the same.
I thought of that at one time. Since we are about 95% the same religion, I don't feel that is a problem in our area. We are far from diverse. BUT I have seen people on here that have a festival that celebrates different holidays. I think those would be neat. You can have Santa and Christmas in one section. A Hannakah, Chaunkuaka,...Jewish spot where they can talk about there holiday celebration , a place for people that celebrate Kwanza, etc. Also if you have people from different countries they can show and tell how they celebrate (Festival of Lights, etc). They can share activities and read traditional stories etc. Tomie de Paola (sp?) has a wonderful book on the history of the Poinsettia and it also tells how a little village celebrates the holidays. To tell you the truth, I wouldn't mind seeing that around here. Especially for the older kids who could do their own research on differnt celebrations.
I love the idea of a Breakfast with Santa, but I do wonder if that leaves out some of the children who are not Christian. Do any of your schools do any other holiday festivities for Hannukkah(sp) or Kwaanza? Our school is not very diverse, however we do have children of other faiths that may feel alienated by Santa. Even though Santa Claus is not a religous figure, there is no doubt about it that he is a symbol of Christmas.
I would love to hear how everyone treats this sensitive issue.
Same as above. The elementary across the county does pancakes and it is successful. The year I did it was the first year we had it and I could just picture a little ones sticky hand entangled in Santa's beard. Besides that, I can't stand the smell of pancakes that early. LOL!
One of the teachrs made the back drops for the pictures for us. That is the fun part. She did a great job and it looked so pretty. She left it there for the staff party. They were going to do a Christmas quiz that she found on the internet. That would work for the older kids.
We do Breakfast With Santa on a Saturday morning. Since I have been in PTO we have served sausage biscuits and juice and coffee. I've been told that syrup is way too messy. Especially on Santa's beard. ha ha You can buy a polaroid with santa or a picture card. We also give out candy canes and the Santa Shop is still open for business on this day. I LOVE the craft idea!!!!
, a place for people that celebrate Kwanza, etc. Also if you have people from different countries they can show and tell how they celebrate (Festival of Lights, etc). They can share activities and read traditional stories etc. Tomie de Paola (sp?) has a wonderful book on the history of the Poinsettia and it also tells how a little village celebrates the holidays. To tell you the truth, I wouldn't mind seeing that around here. Especially for the older kids who could do their own research on differnt celebrations. 