Happy Kwanzaa!

Kwanzaa celebrations start on December 26th. We learned that it is a fairly new holiday and that people who celebrate Kwanzaa are showing their pride in their African culture. We made bracelets in the special holiday colours of red, black and green and we had some colouring pages showing children wearing their traditional clothing. We "lit" our paper candles on the special candle holder called a Kinara, three of green, one of black and three of red. We read a book about Kwanzaa and some of the ideas it teaches, such as working together and being creative. Those are ideas we think are important in our classes too! Happy Kwanzaa!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

The children might enjoy this little play done by others their age in New Zealand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zduwusyip8M

I hope your Pinecone Elf made it safely home to your house in its little plastic bubble and is having a great time with you on Christmas day.

We read some books about  the Nativity Story and some about Santa and other Christmassy subjects. We made the parents a mobile of the sun, moon and stars and an ornament out of cinnamon dough and sparkles. I hope you have a wonderful day and enjoy another whole week of holidays! Merry Christmas!!!!!

Yalda Night

Since we will not be at school on the actual Winter Solstice we are celebrating Yalda Night, a Persian solstice festival, tomorrow. It is a very ancient tradition and sees the rising sun of the first day of winter as a symbol of good winning over evil. Mali Doroodian, one of the morning parents, will be sharing an explanation, a story and a craft with us. Pomegranates and other winter fruit are part of the celebrations, so we will be making a card decorated with a pomegranate (and lots of sparkles) and seeing and tasting a real pomegranate as well. The children will also get to use a calligraphy pen and write their name in Persian.

You're Invited!

Dear Parents, Grandparents, Friends and Relations:   You are all warmly invited to our Holiday Party on Thursday, December 16th in our classroom. For the morning class this will be at 10:30 and for the afternoon class at 2:30. We will be singing you some of the songs we have learned and having a few seasonal treats. Because of the school allergy policy the best way to do this is for me to purchase nut-free food and for each family to put in a little to cover the costs. That way we can set up a treat table and all enjoy the party together. There will also be a little craft for you to do with your child if you would like. It should be a great end to our Festivals of Light unit. See you there! (And if you are unavoidably late, don't panic. We usually sing the songs again at the end of the party just for good measure.)