Each student gets their very own Passport! Each day we visit a new country! Students get to stamp their passport  daily! At the end of our journeys each student has a Passport to remember our trips around the world! While we stamp our passports we sing:

He's Got The Whole World In His Hands!
~since I do NOT teach in a Christian school I am not aloud to sing about the God I believe in..SO...with that said, in all respect, I changed the lyrics of  "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands" to go as this:

We've got the whole world in our hands,  
We've got the whole world in our hands,
We've got the whole world in our hands,
We've got the whole world in our hands.
We've got Africa in our hands...
We've got Israel in our hands...
We've got Mexico in our hands...
We've got North America in our hands...
We've got Holland in our hands...
~ By: Kimberlee Herbic ~

I introduce this Theme using my Scholastic Poster that talks briefly about Christmas, Diwali, Las Posada, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Id-al-fitr. We read People Say Hello. This book introduces the students to say hello in 7 different languages. When our plane lands in each country, we say hello to the Pilot in that language!

DAY 1
DESTINATION: America
Christmas

• We read My First Christmas
• We discuss our family traditions!
• We trim our classroom tree together and sing Christmas carols.
• We make Christmas trees to eat! (waffle cone, green frosting, and candy sprinkles)

DAY 2
DESTINATION: Mexico
Los Posada

• We read The Little Poinsettia
• We learn about a Los Posada.
• We reenact the Los Posada.
• We make Piñatas!
• We listen to Holiday music in Spanish! 
• We have a fiesta to celebrate the Los Posada. We break open a real piñata at our fiesta. 
  Christmas in Mexico

DAY 3
DESTINATION: Africa
Kwanzaa

• We read My First Kwanzaa

• We learn some Swahili!

• We follow the tradition of dressing in bright colored clothing
  and stringing bright colored beads! The students get to make
  their very own beaded bracelet!

• On the seventh day of Kwanzaa we give our gifts away!
  Students give their bracelet to a friend!  

DAY 4
DESTINATION: Holland

In Dutch Happy/Merry Christmas is 'Prettige Kerstfeest'

• I teach the students about Christmas in Holland! (see below)
• We compare/contrast Christmas in America and Holland.
• We place Easter grass as hay and a carrot in one of our shoes
  and place it outside our classroom door.
• Saint Nicholas and Black Pete leave us gifts in our shoes!
• I use gold coins, chocolates, and sweet tarts as gifts! 

The Dutch, or the people from Holland, start their Christmas celebration sometime in the middle of November. Saint Nicholas, or Sinter Klaas, as he is known in Holland, is the main part of their celebration. Sinter Klaas and his helper Zwarte Peiten, or Black Petehand out the presents to the children.

On December 5th, the children put out their wooden shoes and fill them with carrots and hay. They do this to feed Sinter Klaas's horse. Sinter Klaas and Black Pete take the carrots and hay for the horse, and then fill the shoes with presents. On the morning of December 6th, the children find the presents in their shoes.

The farmers in Holland blow long horns at sunset each evening during the Christmas period. The horns are blown over water wells which makes the sound really loud. The horns are blown to announce the birth of Christ.

A popular decoration in the Netherlands is the so-called "advent-star", a star shaped light, to be hung in the window.
http://www.santas.net/dutchchristmas.htm

http://achristmas.com/netherlands.html

http://www.cvc.org/christmas/nland.htm

DAY 5
DESTINATION: Israel
Hanukkah

Students get to weave a placemat! We use our placemats when we eat Latkes!
*******************
Latkes

Shredded potatoes (2 medium bags=30 small Latkes) 3 eggs salt/pepper Oil Apple sauce

Defrost grated potatoes in a medium-size bowl. Add a little egg… Mixture should be thick and hold together when pressed. Meanwhile, pour about ¾ -inch oil into a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Heat slowly until about 375 F.

Place about 2 tablespoons potato mixture in the palm of your hand and form into a pancake, and place carefully into oil.

The first side should be golden brown in about 3 minutes. Turn carefully and fry other side. If pancake browns faster than 3 minutes per side, reduce oil's temperature. If pancake takes more than 3 minutes per side to brown, increase oil's temperature. Repeat with remaining potato mixture.

Place Latkes on a paper towel.  Serve with room temperature applesauce.
~MICHELLE AND ERIC KREITMAN'S RECIPE~

Students get to go Christmas shopping through
magazines! Students cut out what they want for
Christmas and write about what they want! I put
their Christmas note cards in their stocking! At
the end of the week...students find a real candy
cane in their stocking to take home for the Holidays!

 

At the Math Center students measure different objects using
snowflake erasers, candy canes, dreidels, and gold coins! After
measuring these objects--students get to play Driedel, Driedel!
 ( I bought these manipulatives at Party America!)

 

Students get to make a Handprint Tile as a
Christmas gift for their parent/parents. Ask
a local tile shop for leftover tile and purchase
these simple, gold picture stands at Wal-Mart
for $.86 and you  have a darling keepsake
for moms and dads in your classroom! 

We make Santa wind socks! It is as easy as
color, cut, and staple!