Grace Garden Preschool

Christmas came early to the Caterpillar classroom. Check out our photos from this week's celebration!

The Caterpillar room has been bustling with activity this week as we decorated our classroom for Christmas! The beautiful garland that the Caterpillars made last week is now joined by a Christmas tree, made of everyoneʼs handprints, and a cozy fireplace.

Over the next several days, weʼll be making ornaments to decorate our tree and
stockings to hang by the fire. We have also been learning about how other countries and cultures celebrate Christmas. The Caterpillars now have a fairly good understanding of the globe, so we looked for the different countries we talked about. On Tuesday, we made poinsettias and talked about how they are a traditional symbol of Christmas in Mexico. We also got a visit from Felixʼs mom, Nina, who taught us about Swedenʼs St. Lucia tradition. We even got to taste an authentic St. Lucia treat, lussekatter, a sweet roll made with saffron and raisins. Finally we talked about the German roots of the tradition of Christmas trees. The children loved hearing the story Mr. Willowbyʼs Christmas Tree by Robert
Barry, which tells the story of a tree too big to fit in Mr. Willowbyʼs house. He solves the problem by cutting off the top, which starts a chain reaction of Christmas cheer. Other books enjoyed by the children this week include Who is Coming To Our House?  by Joseph Slate and Ashley Wolff and Christmas Tree by Florence Minor.

Our big activity this week was attending the Scottish Rite theaterʼs presentation of A Very Fairy Christmas Carol. The Caterpillars were so excited to go on their first field trip and we all enjoyed the performance.

Next week will be super busy! Weʼll be talking about reindeers, gingerbread and other fun ways to celebrate Christmas. On Thursday next week, weʼll have a Pajama Day and decorate gingerbread houses! Thank you to all of the parents for donating all the ingredients for the gingerbread and the candies for decorating! It will be so much fun!

Have a wonderful weekend,
Ms. Katie

Dear Caterpillar Families,

I hope you all had a very gratitude-filled and restful Thanksgiving break! Now that we
are back in school, the approach to Christmas has really intensified! We will be doing
so many fun and enriching activities over the next few weeks... buckle your seatbelts!
This week we have been talking about some of the other holidays (besides Christmas) that people the world over celebrate.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we focused our attention on Kwanzaa, the seven day celebration of the end of harvest. Kwanzaa is a more recent holiday, created by African Americans to celebrate their African roots. Kwanzaa, like all of the other Winter Holidays weʼll talk about, has candles as one of its main symbols.

The Caterpillars discussed why they thought candles were such an important part of
Winter celebrations and came up with some great ideas: “Because itʼs cold,” “Because
itʼs dark,” and “Because theyʼre pretty.” We talked about the symbolism of candles,
reminding celebrants that the winter wonʼt last forever and that light will return. The
Caterpillars had a fun time learning some Swahili words as we talked about the 7
Principles of Kwanzaa and wove their own mkeka, or ceremonial placemat. Seven
Days of Kwanzaa by Melrose Cooper was a great source of information on this holiday
that begins the day after Christmas.

Thursday and Friday will be devoted to learning about Hanukkah. Once again, weʼll
discuss the symbolism of candles, this time hearing the story of the Hanukkah miracle
when a one-dayʼs supply of oil lasted for eight days. Weʼll compare the similarities and
differences between the Kwanzaa candle holder, the kinara, and the Hanukkah candle
holder, the menorah. Weʼll also learn about other traditional Hanukkah activities, like
playing with the dreidel and making latkes! A couple of great books about Hanukkah
are I Have A Little Dreidel by Maxie Baum and Latkes, Latkes, Good to Eat by Naomi
Howland. On Friday, weʼll make our own latkes and eat them with applesauce. Yum!

Next week, weʼll be talking about Christmas traditions in different countries. If you have
any items of interest or experience to share about celebrating Christmas in other
countries, please let me know! We will also be attending our first field trip on Thursday,
an adaptation of A Christmas Carol at the Scottish Rite Childrenʼs Theater. Donʼt worry,
parents: it will be kid-friendly! I know the Christmas Carol story can be a little “iffy” for
kids this age with the Ghosts and everything, but this theater modifies the story just
enough to make it appropriate for the kiddos. This is definitely one of my favorite parts
of our Christmas unit!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love,
Ms. Katie