Holidays in the public school kindergarten: an avenue for emerging religious and spiritual literacy: early childhood professionals were placing young children in the position of choosing between dishonoring their family's deeply held religious beliefs or feeling like outsiders.

Not so long ago, holidays were often one of the main frameworks for developing curriculum in early childhood programs, including those in public schools in the United States. Every teacher of young children seemed to have stories, songs, finger plays, and activities for what were considered the traditional Christian holidays. As a result, it could appear as if the Protestant faith was the state religion. Those of other faiths must have felt invisible or at least overlooked in public education, as schools across the nation began each day with the Protestant version of the Lord's Prayer. Everywhere in the country, signs of a dominant culture and religion could be found--in stores, on television, and displayed in restaurants and other public places.

If a Jewish child was in the class, a token Chanukah song might be included in a teacher's December repertoire. Or, a parent--usually the mother--of a child from an Islamic family might be asked to tell a bit about the family celebration of Ramadan. A child from a family of Jehovah's Witnesses could be kept at home during the school Halloween party. Because these children were in the minority, it appeared to be accepted practice to relegate them to the periphery of public school curriculum and teaching strategies during holidays.

These practices had an unintentional negative effect on young children, however--all young children. First, early childhood professionals were placing young children in the position of choosing between dishonoring their family's deeply held religious beliefs or feeling like outsiders--as if they did not belong to the classroom community. Second, an implicit message was being sent that it is acceptable to view those whose religion is not in the majority as strange or outside the group, and that it is acceptable to leave them out of shared events. Third, the classroom activities often perpetuated historical misinformation.

The authors' discussions with colleagues about this issue brought these points home. In relation to the first point, one colleague, a psychologist who is Jewish, described her confusion when, as a young child, she brought home her carefully crafted Christmas wreath, only to be spanked by her father, who believed that she had dishonored memories of relatives who died in concentration camps. The second point comes through clearly in the story of a preschool teacher, who told the authors about her discomfort and sadness as she sat with a child whose family's religious tradition prohibited him from celebrating birthdays. The child and teacher sat together on the edge of the sandbox as his classmates gathered on the other side of the room for a party. The assistant teacher helped the birthday child light the candles on an elaborately decorated birthday cake brought in by the child's mother. An early childhood professional, a member of the Seneca Nation, illustrates the third point through her tearful recollection of the degradation she felt when her teacher led her public school 2nd-grade classmates in singing "One Little, Two Little, Three Little Indians." In her estimation, the teacher had little sense of the Senecas' long history as a people or their rich contribution to the constitutional government of the United States. She was made to feel as if her teacher considered American Indians to be funny little figures simply to be used in a counting song.

Today, most educators like to think of themselves as more aware and tolerant of differences. Early childhood education curriculum and related teaching strategies include community-building exercises. We understand the importance of young children having a sense of belonging. We talk about celebrating diversity and, in the United States, we take seriously the separation of church and state. We may even eliminate holiday celebrations from our early childhood programs because of their connection to religious traditions. Perhaps in our attempt to be unbiased, however, we have locked out of our programs an important dimension of being human--religious and spiritual literacy.

The holidays give us a vehicle through which we can address our differences by recognizing the important celebrations and historical moments of our students' faith communities. Because young children come to us as whole beings, holidays will be part of our classrooms, whether we plan for them or not. Children cannot leave events and activities that are important to them and their families on a figurative shelf outside the door of their classroom, then pick them up on their way home. For the young child, everything in their lives (including religious and traditional activities) becomes curriculum.

A classroom teacher making room for the discussion and perhaps even celebration of holidays can provide an opportunity to talk about perceptions, and build, rather than fragment, classroom community. Through holidays, the class can frame the passing of time over the year as they share different cultural events. Holidays help us enrich and nurture the human spirit.

SUPPORTING SPIRITED CHILDREN

How might educators--without either proselytizing or denying the knowledge children have and want to share--support children's emerging religious and spiritual literacy? How do we respect the whole selves that children bring into our classrooms, and how do we help children see the whole selves of others? Finally, while fully upholding the separation of church and state, how might we celebrate holidays without further contributing to their already extensive commercialization?

As the authors consider the idea of spirituality and religion from within a multitude of faith communities, they will try to explore ways to ethically support religious and spiritual literacy in publicly funded early childhood settings. They seek to address a dimension of life that has been shut out of early childhood programs, for fear that discussing those concepts in school would violate the separation of church and state. They share a framework for addressing holidays in publicly funded early childhood programs without being divisive. Schools can build community without either teaching or denying the religious aspects of various holidays.

The terminology "religious and spiritual literacy" comes from an interview with the philosopher Nel Noddings in a special issue of Educational Leadership titled "The Spirit of Education" (Helford, 1998/1999). Noddings believes that spiritual and religious aspects are dimensions of life, in the same way as physical, emotional, social, and cognitive dimensions. Noddings contends that if we are to work with whole children, we cannot leave such an important dimension of life unnamed in the educational process.

So what does this mean for kindergarten, an important place and time for emerging literacy? How do we develop religious and spiritual literacy in ways that are truthful and foundational, and that allow children to talk and learn about the whole world? How do we develop religious and spiritual literacy in a culturally diverse public kindergarten, while respecting the beliefs of the children's families and communities?

REFLECTING ON SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS LITERACY

Over the past several years, while working with kindergartners in economically and culturally diverse public schools, the first author, Michal, developed a framework for supporting religious and spiritual literacy in the public schools. Her teaching addresses the whole child, and she sees emerging literacy as a key emphasis in a kindergarten program. The second author, Barbara, also taught young children in public and private schools within culturally and economically diverse communities. Currently, she serves as a professor in a university-based program that includes undergraduate and graduate programs in early childhood education and human services and counseling. Their relationship as mother and daughter provides unique opportunities to share in the events of their respective classrooms.

SOME OBSERVATIONS

Those who spend any time at all in kindergarten will have some delightful stories to share that illustrate the complex and egocentric nature of young children's thinking. At Thanksgiving time, Barbara admired a structure in a kindergarten class she was visiting. One child told her it was the Mayflower--the product of a week's work by the children under the guidance of their teachers. She later asked one of the teachers about a strange addition at the back of the ship. The teacher answered, "David and Jerome, who spend a great deal of time on Lake Michigan, just finished that part." With a glint in her eye, she added, "That's where they connect their rope for water skiing!"

Such stories allow us to see how children's interpretations of time, space, and events are a product of their unique experiences, and how these interpretations are often different from those of adults. No matter how carefully we communicate our knowledge of events, the meanings that children assign to them will differ from our own. When they creatively connect their individual understandings to our teachings, we gain insight into their understandings and have an opportunity to support their creativity. At the same time, however, we can present the traditions, myths, and stories underlying holidays in ways that young children can build on as they grow older and their knowledge of the world expands.

BUILDING SOLID HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS

Unless one is careful, it is easy to inadvertently pass on inaccurate historical information when teaching about holiday traditions. For example, a song used in some kindergarten classrooms around Thanksgiving suggests that Indians and Pilgrims stood together as "they saw the deer, they saw the corn, they saw a nation being born." At the time, neither the Wampanoag nor the Puritans envisioned a new national entity. Furthermore, the song skips over the less palatable details of genocide and theft that factor into the birth of the United States.

B.G. Hennessy's well-researched book "One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims" (1999) offers a notable alternative to the Thanksgiving song. The simple, accurate text gives, in the author's words, "a general picture of Pilgrim and Wampanoag life." This piece of children's literature offers a solid foundation for future learning. The notes to the reader provide additional information about Pilgrim and Wampanoag life, so that parents and teachers can answer children's questions as well as their own. It does not include misinformation that will have to be overcome or tossed aside later on. Lynne Cravath's clear illustrations inspire children to explore the ways that they, the Pilgrims, and the Wampanoag are alike and different.

EXPERIENCES DIFFER

Although the United States, as a nation, recognizes a set of national holidays, these days often are celebrated in different ways and for different reasons. This point is accentuated when we consider the diverse backgrounds of our students. Recently, Barbara was talking with a group of her university undergraduate early childhood education majors about holidays and young children. Barbara suggested that the concept of giving thanks might be a commonality of children's experiences that could be recognized at Thanksgiving time. One student, whose parents come from different countries in Central America, however, responded immediately: "Thanksgiving is not a part of my heritage at all. We don't think about being thankful ... we do get together and have lots of food and enjoy being together."

Holidays raise concerns for educators about how to be inclusive and recognize students' different cultures (and other cultures as well) without stereotyping them or portraying them as exotic. For example, the "Indian" headdresses and "war paint" that still sometimes accompany school Thanksgiving celebrations in early childhood classrooms may be fun to create and wear, but what do these icons really mean? Members of the Seneca Nation lived in the deep, wooded forests of western New York and Pennsylvania. Huge, feathered headdresses would have interfered with their need to move quietly about in the dense woods. Such attire was only practical in the plains, where persons such as the Lakota Sioux lived. How do such classroom activities affect young children's understanding of others? Do they view paper feathers as real feathers? Do they ever ask why people would put feathers on their heads?

ONE TEACHER'S APPROACH

Michal is developing a way of handling holidays in her kindergarten class that encourages accuracy in historic information, developmentally appropriate content and form, genuine inclusiveness, respect, and learning about religious content without promoting specific faith communities. As she reflects upon and explores holidays with children and families, she fuels her own learning. In the section that follows, Michal describes her approach to holidays.

Brainstorming

Some time after Halloween and before Thanksgiving, we brainstorm two lists and place them on a chart in our kindergarten. Usually by this time of year, we've had some discussion of birthdays, and we have been through Halloween together. Conversations with parents have guided us through these activities. Every culture and almost all families have something they celebrate. We also consider that not everyone celebrates holidays.

The two chart prompts are:

1. Some things you might do at a celebration are:

2. Some people celebrate:

Celebration Activities

As students brainstorm some things one might do at a celebration, I shift what they say from the specific to the general. For example, "we light a Menorah" would become "light candles." "My mom makes a turkey" becomes "make special foods." "My cousin Maria comes over" would be "spend time with cousins and family." I take care to verify with the child that the general description is accurate. Although I have worked in a variety of socio-economic settings, in both private and public schools, and on the east and west coasts of the United States, the brainstormed lists of things one might do always has been similar, except for some specific differences.

Specific Celebrations

The list of celebrations has varied, based on the ethnic makeup of the classroom. When I had Cambodian American children in my classroom, Cambodian New Year was on the list. When I had an Islamic student, Ramadan was added to the list. In California, students included Day of the Dead. If a Jehovah's Witness became part of my kindergarten, I would take care to work out a plan with his or her parents and come to a clear agreement about what is acceptable and what is not. One of my colleagues, Kristin, shared an experience with me that relates to this point.

One of Kristin's students, Will, belonged to the Jehovah's Witness faith community. In Kristin's discussions with the family, the parent said it would be fine for Will to paint a pumpkin, but he would not make a jack-o'-lantern. For Will's mother, a pumpkin was simply a pumpkin, but the jack-o'-lantern took on a symbolic meaning related to the celebration of Halloween. And so that year, Kristin's children painted pumpkins. Will engaged in the activity with considerable gusto, and his parents affirmed his work when they picked him up after kindergarten each afternoon.

Kristin also emphasized the importance of talking with parents about the celebratory expressions that are incorporated in their faith community's religious services. These can be added to the "Ways People Celebrate" chart.

Touching the Children's Experiences

After making the lists, the children and I hang them in a special place in our room, where they can be reexamined and modified throughout the year. We then make a class book, with each child drawing himself or herself engaged in a celebration. The book provides a source of information about the children, and is inclusive of every child's experience.

Expanding Experiences

I then read a book that describes a celebration. One that has resonated with my children is Trish Cooke's book So Much (1994), the story of an African American family celebrating a birthday. Books with familiar characters or interesting and detailed pictures, such as Don Freeman's Corduroy's Best Halloween Ever (2001) or Carmen Lomas Garza's Family Pictures (1990) also have been popular. The children and I check back and forth between the book and the chart we have brainstormed, looking for congruences: "Oh look, they're singing a song." "Look, they're eating a special food, just like some of us do."

Throughout the year, I can use different books to discuss different celebrations, always referring to our own list and possibly adding some new things that people might do to celebrate.

Engaging Families

After we have started the brainstorming and the classroom book, I send home a questionnaire to families. The questionnaire asks the families what holidays or special occasions they celebrate, and if they have any special family traditions they would like to share with the class. In this way, I was able to find a parent who taught my class a Cambodian dance and one who explained how and why some families fast at Ramadan and what it means for his family. Another parent brought in a sample of a family tradition rather than a cultural tradition--a favorite appetizer of cream cheese and salami that the grandmother makes for every celebration.

Some Next Steps

Using the parent questionnaire, I add additional information to our charts. If some culturally important holidays in the United States or a specific region have not been covered, I look for a book or an individual (another staff member, for example) to provide additional knowledge to our ongoing discussion of celebration.

Choosing Resources

In books, I look for accuracy, clear and interesting pictures, and a sense that the celebrations are contextualized within a plot and with believable characters. Even if I cannot find a text with a story or that is age appropriate, I usually can find one with interesting pictures for us to look at together.

Marissa Moss's book The Ugly Menorah (1996) tells a beautiful story from the viewpoint of a young girl about her grandmother's very special menorah. Although the menorah is not very pretty, it is the first gift the grandmother ever received from her husband. Within this beautiful story, we learn about the spirit of a family embodied in their ongoing religious tradition. Together, the children and I explore new words and ways of doing things.

Parties

When we actually have a party around certain holiday times, as can hardly be avoided, we make them "friendship feasts." As a classroom community, we celebrate the special times we have with friends in our class and all that we are learning about each other and the world together. For friendship feasts, children make decorations with materials I supply, based on their own ideas, and their families bring food from home, served potluck style. Thus, some of the children's holiday traditions, in the form of decorations and food, are welcomed into the class without being promoted by the teacher.

SUMMARY

Holidays offer kindergarten teachers an avenue for helping children learn about nurturing the human spirit through their own traditions and religious beliefs, as well as those cherished by other families in their community and around the world.

The following points offer some direction for educators:

* Each celebration over the year is a part of an ongoing, evolving understanding of celebrations.

* Children build on what they already know. Find out what they know so that you can make better-informed decisions about what to teach. Ask for children's suggestions about what events they want to celebrate, and list them on a chart. Add to the list throughout the year.

* Make parents partners in the year-long journey. Ask parents what celebrations are part of their traditions and how they carry them out. What do parents believe is important about the family traditions? What words do parents use to describe their traditions?

* Observe children's play. How does what they understand about their family and cultural tradition emerge in their play?

* Help children engage in connecting the self and others to their common and diverse traditions. Ask them to make a book of themselves at celebrations--pages can be added as this discussion continues.

* Choose materials that promote spiritual and religious literacy. Select books and other materials that can help children explore and name an important, yet overlooked, dimension of the widening world in ways that are respectful of the self and others.

Often, teachers in the United States Omit any reference to holidays in public school early childhood programs. Many of us share the concern that raising issues related to the spiritual or religious undergirdings of the holidays might violate the ideal of separation of church and state. By teaching within a perspective of avoidance, however, we may miss opportunities to help children learn about themselves and others. The alternative approach described here strives to build community in our classrooms in ways that bring us together, rather than fragmenting us. It allows us to teach the whole child within a whole world perspective.

References

Cooke, T. (1994). So much. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Freeman, D. (2001). Corduroy's best Halloween ever. New York: Penguin Putnam.

Hennessy, B. (1999). One little, two little, three littlepilgrims. New York: Viking Press.

Hellford, J. (1998/1999). Longing for the sacred in schools: A conversation with Nel Noddings. Educational Leadership, 56(4), 28-32.

Lomas Garza, C. (1990). Family pictures. San Francisco: Children's Book Press.

Moss, M. (1996). The ugly menorah. New York: Farrarr, Straus and Giroux.

Michal Elaine Myers is a Kindergarten Teacher, 74 St. Public School, Los Angeles, California. Barbara Kimes Myers is Professor, Early Childhood Education, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois.