[Love2Dance]

My principal is very opposed to teaching anything "Christmas." (no Santa, reindeer, Polar Express, etc.) What are some lessons/activities/projects you do around the holiday times?

[ecsmom]

I usually do a Jan Brett author study in Jan. Maybe you could do one in December. Her website is great with ideas for activities and printables.

[Happy Heart]

Have you thought about doing a unit on Gingerbread boys and girls? I teach at a private school and I usually teach about the birth of Jesus and also do a Gingerbread unit. No Santa or reindeers etc. Besides, I love gingerbread men and they are my favorite christmas decoration. I have hundreds of them. There are so many different things you can do with them. There are several books by Jan Brett, "The Gingerbread Baby" and "Gingerbread Friends" that you can read to your class.

[senior42]

ask each parent to send a stamped addressed envelope (preferably out of state) to any relative of the child. Go with the gingerbread project and send the child's gingerbread man to the relative with a letter of request for them to write back an adventure the gingerbread man had at their home, a photo if possible and send the gingerbread man back to you with then do a map study of places they went. Be sure to send a label addressed to you at your school.

[Mud Pie]

I love gingerbread.Why is your principal so opposed to Christmas? Are other holidays like Chinese New Year also excluded? Hanukkah?Thanksgiving? Is this a public school? What about other schools in your area? Christmas is a part of our culture and teaching about traditions and customs is educational. I am so tired of political correctness and test scores.

[irises]

Are all holidays excluded or just Christmas? If it's only Christmas you should object!
How about doing a unit on "giving" and have the students think of gifts that can be given not only to family and friends but to those less fortunate that don't cost any money such as services. Then perhaps find a senior home or hospital and give the gift of cards, pictures or visit the seniors and treat them to songs performed by the students. (Wouldn't recommend visiting hospitals with the flu issues going around.) It could evolve into a larger service learning project!

[Bozmom]

We use The Gingerbread Man as our poem for Shared Reading

We make a large map of the inside of our school and use that to learn about map skills, and we locate different places in the school on the map. The last day, we find a note from the gingerbread man and follow the clues to eventually find a craft the gbm has left us.

We write a class book, rewriting the GBM at our school..

Each child also makes a pop-up page of their own, using a different word choice rather than 'ran'.

We read different versions of the story and compare/contrast
We measure objects around the room with diecut gingerbread men.
We make gingerbread puppets
Discuss characters and setting
It's a good story for beginning, middle, end


Here's the poem we use -
Run, run
As fast as you can.
You can't catch me.
I'm the gingerbread man!

I have run away
from a little old woman.

I have run away
from a little old man.

I have run away
from a boy.

I can run away from you.
I can! I can!