Holidays and the Montessori Classroom
We Montessorians never tire of running contrary to cultural expectations. Whether it’s introducing sounds at age 3, discouraging dramatic play in favor of real activities, or delaying fantasy and fairy tale stories until elementary school, we’re always making waves. 
One such area is that of celebrating holidays. I’ve seen some schools go to extreme lengths to avoid holidays; for instance, on Halloween, kids don’t wear costumes (even for a short time), no Valentines are exchanged on Valentine’s Day, and no crafts are made as presents for Mother’s and Father’s Day.
I have to take issue with this kind of avoidance. Holidays are important for many reasons, and children should be able to celebrate them in some way during school time. I’m not saying that holiday decorations need to be plastered around the classroom, or that whole weeks or months should be devoted to them (as is sometimes done in traditional education), but there is a place for remembering them.
Here’s a sampling of what holiday celebrations add to our lives:
1. Help us mark the passage of time and seasons
2. Winter holidays bring a sense of light and joyfulness to the long, dark winter months
3. Create a sense of community and a shared bond among groups of people
4. Provide an opportunity to study history, geography, and culture
5. Give us chances to experiment with different kinds of artwork and art projects
6. Help us honor special events and people in our lives
7. Encourage us to spend time with friends and family
A Few Ideas for Holidays
As the saying goes, “Everything in moderation”. So it is with our holiday celebrations. What I like to do is decide which holidays we’re going to celebrate (not all of them need to be mentioned every year) and then choose one book or project (or both) that best fits the holiday.
The ages of the children determine how much you will study. A young child might be interested in a simple story about leprechauns on St. Patrick’s Day; an older child may want to research the origins of the holiday and study a bit about Ireland.
With Valentine’s Day coming up, please consider having the children exchange simple valentines with each other. You can ask that they be homemade instead of store bought (to avoid “character” merchandise), and that each child bring one for every other child to avoid popularity contents. They can be as simple as a square of construction paper or cardstock with a hand-drawn heart.
Sugary snacks are never a requirement for holiday celebrations; the focus should be on special rituals (songs, stories, poems, and crafts) and a shared sense of excitement and celebration. If you’d like to involve food in your celebrations, choose a dish that is related to the cultural origins of the holiday. Have the children help you prepare it rather than buying treats from the store.
Birthdays are Holidays Too
In Montessori, birthdays are always special. They are a chance for even the youngest child to begin to understand the concept of the passage of time and what “a year” means. Often, a lamp or light will be placed in the middle of a circle (you can use a yellow ball for this too). The children will form a circle around the lamp or ball and the birthday child will hold a globe. The number of times the children circle around the lamp is determined by the age of the child.
While you’re circling, you can say (or sing), “The earth goes around the sun” once for each time the children circle the lamp. This is a wonderful example of our solar year, which was created thousands of years ago when humans began keeping track of how long it took for the earth to revolve around the sun.
A Great Resource
My friend Michelle Irinyi, who blogs for the North American Montessori Training Center, has assembled an impressive set of posts about celebrations in the Montessori classroom. Here are a few of her helpful posts:
Valentine’s Day in the Montessori Classroom
Celebrating Earth Day in the Montessori Community
Celebrating Mother’s Day in the Montessori Classroom
Celebrating Father’s Day in the Montessori Classroom
So, do you think that Montessori classrooms should celebrate holidays? And if so, what is the best way to do that?
Hi Lori,
Thank you referencing the NAMC holiday blogs in your own holiday blog! I’m looking forward to reading the responses you receive.
Sure, it’s my pleasure! Thank you for all the hard work you put into your posts – they’re amazing! I really like that you share a lot of anecdotes from your classroom.
As a parent, this is important to me. I think they should celebrate holiday’s and in my children’s Montessori Schools they do. It is always done at the end of the day, the last 1.5 or 2 hours of the day. It is planned by the parents and a family member attends (parent or grandparent).
Holidays & celebrations and their role in the classroom have been a big topic this year at our school. Students at our school do not dress up for Halloween or exchange Valentine’s Day cards and we do not consider those extreme measures at all – different from the norm, yes, but not extreme. In regard to holidays & celebrations our criteria is that the activity must adhere to Montessori philosophy (are we requiring all students to participate in a craft and thus removing the freedom of choice?) and must not create exclusivity (within our diverse community there are families who do not celebrate Valentine’s Day and whose children would then be left out). In considering activities for students it is our hope that teachers will first consider how those activities support Montessori philosophy, how they can incorporate the entire classroom community & build their lesson plans from there.
Hi, Melodie! I find your comment intriguing. I’m not sure I interpret Montessori philosophy the same way. For instance, why not provide a craft for the kids and make it optional? Leaving the choice up to them rather than making it for them is much more in line with Montessori.
The Montessori method also stresses learning about other cultures. Rather than celebrating a holiday in the traditional way, why not use it as an opportunity to learn about other cultures by studying the holiday? Teachers can choose holidays from many countries and cultures rather than just focusing on American ones.
I understand that your school wants to adhere to Montessori, but I think you’re going the wrong direction – cultural diversity doesn’t mean ignoring all holidays, but rather trying to learn about as many as possible. Maybe your school studies them rather than celebrates them; if so, that wasn’t quite clear from your comment.
In regard to anything a teacher is bringing into their classroom, whether it is a craft, a cultural lesson or a celebration, it is our hope that they will thoughtfully consider how is supports Montessori philosophy, how it relates to a traditional Montessori lesson plan (point of interest, control of error, etc.) and how it will impact their entire classroom community.
I absolutely agree that children should be exposed to broad spectrum of cultures without leaning too heavily to one particular culture. It’s all about balance and planning. Our staff has just recently decided to create a cultural studies calendar at each level with a three year rotation cycle so that children will be exposed to as many cultures, celebrations & holidays as possible.
No holiday is ever off limits, but how we bring it into the classroom is not always given the careful consideration it deserves.
Thank you for elaborating – that sounds like a good plan regarding holidays. I agree that lots of thought and careful planning should go into it. Good reminder!
Simplicity, Beauty, Joy, and Real-life…”the best for the youngest”…to walk on the line while holding the most delicate, exquisite Christmas ornament; to bring out silver polishing for the classroom menorah; to change the usual table setting dishes for the china, linen, and crystal…perhaps, to use evocative scents of the season for the smelling bottles…Best wishes!
Well, one thing some have to understand is, there are a lot of people who do NOT celebrate holidays {like myself}. So, there are those of us who, if it is celebrated in the class, we will pull the kids out of the class and/or just let them know that they may participate in SOME activities, but gifts, cards, etc will not be exchanged. The main reason I personally would not ask my 8 y/o to be pulled out of class is b/c I don’t want him to feel left out. We are just in the beginning stages of not celebrating holidays for one & two, I know how important it is for children his age to feel included. Not to disregard parents who would pull their kids out b/c they don’t celebrate it and they dont want their kids about of any celebration, I understand that as well, and that is for the PARENT of that child to decide.
Hi, Bridget! Thanks for your thoughts. In my experience, Montessori classrooms focus on learning and researching about the holidays, not celebrating them. I’m sure you’d want your child to at least research the history behind major holidays, even if you don’t celebrate it. Of course, if there are celebrations, participation should always be optional.
Thanks for stopping by!