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Original poster

Question for teachers about celebrating Christmas

33 replies

saadia · 25/11/2011 22:00

I am teaching in a Reception class where 25 out of 30 children do not celebrate Christmas. We are having a Christmas Nativity play and putting up decorations and we are doing cross-curricular learning on the Nativity but I am reluctant to spend the next three weeks on making Christmas decorations and festooning the class which my partner teacher seems to want to do (we plan together for both classes) and would rather plan learning in accordance with the children's interests. In these circumstances, would it seem odd if I reduced the focus on Christmas?

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Hulababy · 25/11/2011 22:02

I work in Y1 with a very mixed class. Out of 0 children more than 10 of them do not celebrate Christmas. Howeverm we still do Christmas. We have a Chrostmas workshop and we do a Christmas play based on the nativity. All children take part.

Hulababy · 25/11/2011 22:03

Should say that out of 30...

Around the time of Eid we also did some work about Eid, made Eid cards and allowed time to let children who had celebrated to talk about it, share their news, etc.

mrz · 25/11/2011 22:07

I agree saadia it seems silly to spend three weeks making Christmas decorations (even if all 30 did celebrate) we normally have one day when we invite parents in to help and make everything but cards at one fell swoop Grin

Original poster
saadia · 25/11/2011 22:10

We are doing Christmas and celebrating etc but I just don't want to do it for the rest of the term. I feel we are doing plenty and my point is that it is one of the celebrations we mark - as we did with Eid and Diwali (which we covered over a week).

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workshy · 26/11/2011 00:02

as a parent I have never understood the need to drag Christmas out over 4 weeks

personally I think other than chritsmas play rehersals, christmas should be restricted to the last week before they break up

unless it is a church school then I really don't understand the massive emphasis on Christmas (Easter is a bigger event in the christian calendar for religious christians anyway)

Mspontipine · 26/11/2011 00:50

BECAUSE KIDS LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

Mspontipine · 26/11/2011 00:51

(that was to last poster not reply to op)

workshy · 26/11/2011 00:56

I love christmas

I don't need to love it for a month though!

Tinsie · 26/11/2011 01:01

I'd be miffed if my child didn't do Christmas simply because most of the children in his class don't celebrate it (and are you sure they don't celebrate it, as I know several non-Christians whose kids enjoy Christmas too). If Christmas is the biggest celebration of the year in the UK, then focusing on it for 4 weeks surely isn't excessive and simply reflects what happens outside the classroom.

RiversideMum · 26/11/2011 07:23

I think for most families Christmas is a cultural celebration rather than a religious festival. In my experience Children know it more for stories about Santa and Elves than for baby Jesus.

mrz · 26/11/2011 08:03

I don't think the OP is saying not to do Christmas just not to abandon all other teaching to devote 3 weeks exclusively to Christmas crafts

DownbytheRiverside · 26/11/2011 08:07

You can theme three weeks learning around Christmas and winter activities whilst covering all the ELGs. I don't think it's unreasonable, their RL experiences will need putting into context if parents can't explain the lights, decorations, special food, stories, all the stuff on TV and Santa to their children.
Depending on where you live, Eid and Diwali aren't displayed and discussed everywhere for the entire month.

MindtheGappp · 26/11/2011 08:15

When you say your pupils do not celebrate Christmas, do you mean they are not Christians, or do you mean they have nothing to do with Christmas at all?

I work in a very multicultural school, which is probably around 20% Christian. As far as I know, all of our Muslim and Sikh families celebrate the secular aspects of Christmas just like other non-Christians. The whole community would miss out if we pretended it didn't exist.

mrz · 26/11/2011 08:23

I am reluctant to spend the next three weeks on making Christmas decorations

In these circumstances, would it seem odd if I reduced the focus on Christmas?

The OP is teaching Christmas just NOT three weeks of making decorations!

In my first school we had a large number of JW children who had to be removed for all Christmas activities

exoticfruits · 26/11/2011 08:25

I would have thought that you celebrate all the festivals. In a C of E school we have celebrated Eid, Diwali, Hanukkah etc. I would say embrace them all rather than cut them out.

mrz · 26/11/2011 08:44

The Op said We are having a Christmas Nativity play and putting up decorations and we are doing cross-curricular learning on the Nativity it doesn't sound like cutting them out

Original poster
saadia · 26/11/2011 12:13

As I said (thank you mrz) we are celebrating and planning learning around it but it seems a bit excessive to me at the moment. I love Christmas too and have very fond memories of carols and plays but as an NQT I am trying to link learning to children's lives and interests and I don't know if so much Christmas themed stuff is the best way to support their learning.

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clam · 26/11/2011 12:17

What does your HeadTeacher say? What's the general approach across the school, as it presumably has the same ethnic mix as your class.

Fairenuff · 26/11/2011 21:37

We are putting decorations up on the 1st of December and we break up on the 16th so that will be just two weeks of Christmas which I think is plenty enough. You could also look at how Christmas is celebrated around the world. The Russian story of Baboushka is a nice one for reception. Also maybe look at the traditions behind why we bring a tree into the house, etc. Winter is a lovely theme that can be carried through to the new term.

Original poster
saadia · 27/11/2011 08:37

not sure what the whole school approach is clam, seems to be up to individual teachers. Some lovely ideas thank you fairenuff.

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Hulababy · 27/11/2011 09:38

I understand not spending three full weeks on it, but then I don't know any school that does that tbh. Our school has the nativity, and the rehearsals before, we do cross curricular stuff relating to the Christmas story, and we have one full day of Christmas workshp activities where parents come in and help. But we still do other learning.

We do use Christmas as our topic focus for December, but not everything is done relating to it. In the same we we have topics every other half term for cross curricular work.

Fairenuff · 27/11/2011 11:40

You're welcome saadia Smile

mrz · 27/11/2011 13:03

The two classes below mine have already started Hulababy [grr] a month of Christmas craft !

nikon1968 · 27/11/2011 18:41

You should do it because its Christmas.

kids love Christmas.

England as a whole tradionally celebrate Christmas.

You are in England I presume.

mrz · 27/11/2011 18:50

The OP is doing Christmas!

They just don't want to abandon all other teaching to 3 weeks of craft