Teaching “Traditions” at the Human Growth and Development Laboratory
For the purpose of this policy and classroom practice, the word “tradition” will include and may be used interchangeably with family traditions as well as family celebrations and holidays.
 | Purpose |
| Process of deciding which traditions to include |
| Tradition implementation in the classroom |
| Specific
Holidays |
To offer children and CMU student teachers an opportunity to:
| Expand their knowledge of family traditions |
| Experience the traditions of families/children in their classroom through developmentally appropriate activities |
| Learn more about and expand upon traditions of children’s interest |
| Foster respect for traditions other than their own |
| Build a sense of community and togetherness |
The decisions about what traditions to include will be made in the following ways:
| Through the use of enrollment questionnaires, home visits, interviews, parent teacher conferences, and daily communication, teachers will gather information about the traditions of the classroom families |
| Teachers will expand upon this information to also include additional traditions that are deemed important such as social justice holidays, holidays that support overall classroom goals, and holidays that give children the opportunity to correct wrong impressions of stereotypes or misinformation. |
The goal of implementing family traditions in the classroom is to help the children learn more about the tradition, not just to celebrate it.
| All traditions will be considered equally important. |
| Program families will be considered the experts on their own family traditions and will be encouraged to come into the classroom to share information and/or activities. In addition to their personal presence, families will be asked to contribute their knowledge through information sharing so that the classroom implementation of the tradition will be as close as possible to the home celebration and will remain authentic. |
| In addition to gathering information and expertise from families, teachers will use resource books to expand upon their knowledge of traditions and celebrations. |
| As with all HGDL activities, any activity or experience selected for the classroom must remain appropriate for young children. |
| The HGDL strives to introduce a variety of foods for the children to experience while limiting the amount of sugar that children receive. The use of candy and other sugary foods to celebrate holidays and birthdays is highly discouraged. Any food or food ingredient that is needed to help the children learn about a tradition or celebrate a holiday/birthday will be provided by the HGDL. When it is necessary for a family to purchase traditional foods or ingredients that are hard to locate, HGDL staff will work with that family to make sure that the costs are reimbursed. |
| When sharing traditions that have religious meaning or significance, phrases such as “Some people believe that…” will be used instead of sharing the belief as fact. Whenever possible, the focus will be on the social actions of the tradition such as giving, sharing, caring, and friendship, etc. |
| The best answers to children’s questions are honest ones. The HGDL staff will try to use simple language when answering children’s questions and will try to be consistent with the words that specific families use at home. If necessary, a child’s family may be consulted when a child asks a question about a tradition that is best answered by the family. |
| If there are children in the classroom whose families do not want them to participate in any aspect of a holiday or tradition, we will work individually with that family so that the child is not left out. |
For Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentines Day, and Easter, the HGDL staff will provide healthy snacks and developmentally appropriate activities for the children to experience. While we welcome family’s to share any special components of these holidays that they incorporate into their own family traditions, we ask that families do not send in candy, cards, or costumes.
For children’s birthdays, HGDL teachers will incorporate their own classroom birthday traditions by making the day memorable for each child through a special cooking activity, song, or other activity. There is no need for families to send in an additional snack.
Human Growth & Development Laboratory
Located on the Campus of Central Michigan University
163 Wightman Hall
Mt. Pleasant, MI. 48859
Phone: 989/774-3760 Fax: 989/774-1060
Ranay Gursky
Copyright © 2002
Human Growth and Development Laboratory
All rights reserved. Revised:
August 19, 2004 .