1. Holidays
Chapter 11

2. To holiday or not?
 Challenging question
 Don’t have at all?
 Special school holidays?
 Diverse range of all holidays?
 Not to decide do I or don’t I rather how can I
ground the holiday activities in my anti-bias
classroom?

3. Ways to ground holiday activities
 Holidays are one way to explore diversity
 Learning not celebrating
 Remember that holidays are not universal
 Respect holiday traditions of all
 Deep emotion is connected to holidays
 Families celebrate same holidays differently
 Official holidays have history, learn that
 Holidays are not culturally neutral
 Be thoughtful, sensitive and patient when making
changes

4. Develop a Holiday Policy
 How would holiday activities serve each of the four
anti-bias goals?
 What process will you use among staff to make
decisions about which holiday to use and how?
 How will you work with families from diverse
backgrounds to find mutually satisfying solutions
to holiday issues
 How will you work with families who do not want
their child participating in the holiday activities?

5. Guidelines for planning activities
 Understand the context of the holiday
 Play equitable respect
 Make for kids to share own experiences
 Consider birthday approaches
 Create unique celebrations
 Figure out how to work with families who
don’t want their child to be a part