INTRODUCE SOME FUN LEARNING INTO THIS YEAR'S HOLIDAY SEASON

For many children, the holiday season means fun, excitement, high expectations, family, friends and, of course, time away from school.

Although most youngsters don't typically think of the holiday season as a time for learning, this special time of year can actually provide our young learners with some wonderful opportunities -- painlessly disguised as fun for the whole family -- to discover and learn many new things.

What you'll find on this page are some ideas that you and your children can use at home ... ideas that incorporate some solid learning with clever approaches to help the entire family experience the holiday season in a unique new way.

The activities are broken down into two main themes: 1) learning through the holidays, and 2) learning about different cultures and beliefs.

Thanksgiving Around the World?

Ask a youngster if they celebrate Thanksgiving in France or Spain on the same day of the year as we do in the U.S. and you might get a "Yes," or you might get a "No." What you probably won't get is the correct answer: "They don't celebrate Thanksgiving there. It's a holiday only in the United States."

Children are often surprised to discover that some of the holidays they celebrate every year are either unique to the U.S., or are only shared with a limited number of other countries.

Thanksgiving "kicks off" the holiday season in the U.S. With your youngster, take a trip to your library and see if you can find a book on holidays around the world to discover what holidays are being celebrated by children in other countries during the next month and a half.

Thanksgiving "Things to Do"

There are a lot of ways to get your youngster involved with the holiday preparations. The following are some thought starters you can put to use in preparing for Thanksgiving dinner. Use activities like these to help your child feel he or she is an important partner in preparing the celebration:

Thanksgiving Placemats

Here's a wonderful way to include your child in the preparations for your family's Thanksgiving dinner. Ask your child to design and produce a Thanksgiving placemat for each person who will be at dinner. Starting with colored construction paper as a base, invite your child to use circles, triangles, squares, and other shapes (that you can precut ... depending upon your child's age), to make designs that relate to the fall season and to the Thanksgiving celebration. Your child can lay out his or her design, arrange and rearrange it, finishing by gluing the pieces down once he or she is satisfied. Finally, cover each placemat with clear contact paper for protection.

Make-A-Turkey

For an exercise in creativity, invite your child to create his or her own turkey. Starting with either an apple or orange for the body, have your child use finger foods like carrot sticks, celery sticks, pretzel sticks, marshmallows, gum drops, and raisins that can be attached with toothpicks to make wings, a head and neck, and feet. (Be sure to supervise - toothpicks are sharp!)

Cooking Activities

Most children love to dabble in cooking. With your careful supervision and input in choosing simple recipes, your youngsters will gain experience in: reading and following directions, learning how to make measurements and developing an understanding of what various measures represent (such as, how much is a cup), and following directions-and a project-from start to finish. There are many simple recipes for breads, cranberry sauces, muffins, cornbread, puddings and deserts that are appropriate for children.

Thanksgiving learning

Fun and Thanksgiving are synonymous for youngsters. These activities are fun ways to make learning a happy part of the holiday:

Word Hunt

Ask your child to write the word "THANKSGIVING" at the top of a sheet of paper. Your youngster's challenge is to see how many words can be made using the letters of the big word. Remember, since there is only one "r" in Thanksgiving, the discovered world can only have one "T". This rule applies for each letter. To make it more challenging for older children, try setting a time limit or have them compete with their siblings or friends. Other words that can be used include: turkey, holiday, celebration, family dinner, or any other words that relate to the holiday.

Alphabet List

Here's a simple to learn but challenging vocabulary-enriching activity. Ask your child to list the letters of the alphabet in order down the left margin of a sheet of paper. For each letter of the alphabet, he or she must list one or more words relating to Thanksgiving. The connection doesn't have to be obvious, as long as your child can explain it. One point is given for each word that relates to the holiday. The challenge is to be the player with the most points.

Giving Thanks

During the hustle-bustle of daily living, it's easy to take for granted just what it means to be an American. Thanksgiving is one day on which we can focus on the many wonderful things in our lives. It's valuable for children to hear the things we are each grateful for. This exposure helps broaden their perspective of the many freedoms and opportunities available to each of us as Americans.

Begin by choosing one family member as secretary. Then, at the beginning of each dinner during the week before Thanksgiving, ask each family member to name one thing he or she is grateful for. The "secretary" can write each family member's contribution into a book that can be read aloud before sitting down to the Thanksgiving meal. This book can become a treasured keepsake for the entire family.

Watching videotapes

With the explosion in the availability of quality educational videotapes, ask your library or video store for recommendations on tapes that pertain to the holidays, American history, and Native American history and lifestyle.

Interesting Facts to share with your children:

1. Did you know the turkey almost became the National Bird? That's right. Benjamin Franklin proposed that the American Wild Turkey be named the National Bird, but others prevailed and on June 20, 1782, the Bald Eagle was adopted as the National Bird.

2. Here's an interesting historical perspective on Thanksgiving: The first Thanksgiving lasted three days. Included in the celebration were 90 Indians and 50 settlers, including Chief Massasoit and Governor Bradford. The meals included pumpkin, corn, cranberries, partridge, ducks, geese, turkey and venison. Only four women and two teenage girls did all of the cooking, and it took them several days. (Reference: Thanksgiving, by Diana Karter Appelbaum)

Other Holiday Celebrations in November and December

Children should be aware that, like our Thanksgiving, Christmas is not a universal holiday. Other cultures have their own traditions, and during the months of November and December there are other holidays from these different cultures that are celebrated. Not only is it fun for children to learn a little about the celebrations that other cultures hold dear, but exposing them to the different customs and traditions is a wonderful way to help youngsters discover and enjoy the diversity of cultures in America and around the world.

It may be fun to not only learn about, but also to incorporate some part of the holidays below into your celebrations:

Hanukkah

On Nov. 28th of this year, the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah, begins. Hanukkah means "dedication." This Jewish holiday commemorates the victory of Judah Maccabee thousands of years ago over the Syrian-Greeks. The purpose of Hanukkah is to recall how the temple was rededicated after taking it back from the Syrian-Greeks. When the temple was repossessed by the Maccabees after the battle, the people found only a small amount of oil for the temple lamp. However, this oil miraculously burned for eight days, which is why Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days.

An important symbol of Hanukkah, the menorah is an eight-branched candle stick with a ninth candle used to light the others. Since each candle represents one night that the temple lamp continued to burn, only one candle is lit the first night, and each night one more is added until all eight are lit. Children often get presents during Hanukkah.

One Hanukkah game to play involves a square top with four sides called a dreydl. The dreydl has a Hebrew letter written on each side. Players spin the dreydl, and depending on the side showing, a player either takes out or puts in candies and nut, or points. If the dreydl lands on the side showing the Hebrew letter Nun, the player takes nothing. If it lands on Gimel, the player takes all the candy and nuts in the middle pile. If it lands on Hey, the player takes 1/2 of what's in the pile. If the dreydl lands on Shin, the player adds something to the pile. (Dreydls can be purchased at Jewish stores and some gift shops.)

Good books to share with your children include: Hanukkah! by Roni Schotter, and Jewish Holidays by Betty Morrow.

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa, an African-American holiday, was celebrated for the first time in 1966. This holiday gets it's name from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza", meaning "first fruits". This is a time in Africa when tribes celebrate the first crops of the year. Kwanzaa lasts seven days, starting on Dec. 26th and ending on January 1st. On each day of Kwanzaa, families focus on one of the following principles: unity, self-determination, responsibility, cooperation, purpose, creativity, and faith. Family members discuss the principle for that day, and stories are told so that the children understand what each means.

Each day, a new candle is lit in the seven-candle holder called a kinara. Special objects are set out on a table, including a mkeka (handmade mat) and kikombecha umoja (a large cup). On the sixth night, a feast, called karamu, is held. On the seventh night, when all the candles are lit, gifts are passed out, the old year is reviewed, and commitments for the new year are made.

Good books to share with your children include: Kwanzaa by Janet Riehecky and Kwanzaa by A.P. Porter.

(Next week: Christmas activities for the whole family)