Day 60: Hanukkah/Chanukah

Happy Hanukkah to those of you who celebrate the holiday!  If you were not aware, Hanukkah began at sundown tonight. 

As part of my goal to introduce my students to as many cultures as possible, December is a big month for me in the realm of studying holidays from other cultures.  We learn about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Las Posadas. 

During the eight days in which Hanukkah is celebrated, I try to mirror the holiday by reading part of a story that focuses on each day.  I like to read the story Pearl's Eight Days of Chanukah by Jane Breskin Zalben.  The book focuses on a family that gets together over the holiday.  Through the reading of the story, the history, traditions, and symbols of Hanukkah are explained.  There are craft projects, recipes, and songs listed throughout the book as the characters in the story celebrate each night.  There is also a glossary of terms in the back of the book.

My classes have always loved the story and the activities.  (I don't get a chance to do all of the activities, but we do some of the simpler ones.  I also send home all of the recipes from the book.  My students always get excited over the one for jelly doughnuts!)

To further explain Hanukkah, my grade level does a "Hanukkah rotation."  It was started by a former colleague who is Jewish and thought it would be a good way to expose the children to another culture.  It's a busy sort of time slot, but it's a lot of fun.

We condense our six second grades into five classes (one class gets split among the others) and do a sort of walking tour from class to class.  Each second grade teacher is responsible for a "stop" on this tour.  One teacher will read a story about Hanukkah, another will have a craft, another will have a tasting of latkes and apple juice while viewing a short video on Hanukkah, another will have the dreidel game, and another is a room where the students can be part of a discussion about the holiday, complete with a menorah and other materials.  Each station is about 15 minutes long.  When the children get back to their homerooms, they are given a plastic dreidel to keep.  The children really enjoy the rotation and are able to "experience" a holiday they may not have had access to.

Our rotation is this Friday afternoon.  I don't cook the latkes; I buy them frozen from the store and heat them through the night before.  Then they just get reheated in the microwave in the afternoon and they're ready to go.  The juice is served in Dixie cups to cut down on spills and wasted juice.  Most children like to eat the latkes with their fingers, so napkins are usually a good way to go.

How do you share the holiday of Hanukkah with your class?  Feel free to add your ideas in the comment section and I'll post them to share with the rest of us!