Holidays Around the World

The best way to spread holiday cheer is celebrating differences far and near…don’t you think?! Holidays Around the World has always been one of my favorite themes for the month of December. I’ve planned for this many different ways over the years. Some years we’d learn about several countries in a 2-3 day time frame. Some years we’d take a week to study different cultures and celebrations. When I last taught Kindergarten, our entire campus (it was a Pre-K/Kindergarten campus only) traveled the world in one day.

Our kids got boarding passes and boarded a plane. Destination – holidays around the world. Our administrators acted as the flight crew and our kids were on a simulated flight. Haha.

We learned about different cultures and holiday celebrations in places like Australia..

Mexico…

France…

Germany….

And U.S.A…

At each stop the kids got a stamp in their passports and a souvenir to take with them. For example, we took home gingerbread cookies while in Germany and candy canes while in U.S.A.

That celebration of hoidays around the world was one of my favorites. Parents were in charge of decorating the rooms for each country represented and they always knocked it out of the ballpark. It was always one of the most memorable days of the year for so many reasons.

I know this same concept can’t be carried out on every campus…logistics, timing, testing, and a whole slew of other factors can make this a challenge to implement. BUT…if you’re interested in trying something like this at your school, I’m happy to answer any questions you might have!

For those of you unable to travel the world in a day, I created a resource that helps you travel the world in the comfort of your own classroom at your own pace.

This resource is part of my Simply Social Studies resources for Kindergarten & First Grade and inhttps://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Simply-Social-Studies-Holidays-Around-the-World-2910379cludes 11 complete sets of lesson plans with instructional power points covering each country’s celebration, cross-curricular activities, printables, reviews/assessments, and souvenir crafts. Not only could you implement this in your own classroom at your own pace, but this would definitely be something you could incorporate on a larger scale as well.

Each student will make a backpack for holding all of their souvenirs and they’ll each get a passport and a travel brochure. The travel brochure is a perfect keepsake from their trip around the world! Inside of the brochure, students will show what they know about each country and it’s celebration.

Power points are included to teach students about each different celebration/custom & country.

Students will visit 9 different countries in all. You have the option to pick and choose those that best fit the time you have to teach. You also have the option to provide your students with the opportunity to create keepsake crafts as souvenirs from each country.