Celebrations at Sundborn

Cultural Celebrations

Around the world, many families and communities have special and important celebrations that have become traditions.  These may involve giving, singing, eating special foods and usually have special stories that are told every year at that same time, again and again. These are very special experiences and often very important to young children for a variety of reasons, including helping orient them to the movement and cycles of seasons and time.  We encourage our parents, staff and children to share their celebration of a meaningful cultural holiday with us. We see open sharing of such customs as a means of enriching the cultural heritage of all of the children. It is also a way to learn appreciation for other people’s beliefs, differences and stories.  

Disclaimer: We do not espouse any religious teachings. We do respect the rights and identities of our staff, parents and students to express themselves and their beliefs in a respectful and developmentally appropriate manner. The staff will usually frame statements of belief with words such as “some people believe/think/do___”.    Nothing we do at Sundborn Children’s House is meant to supersede or interfere with your own personal and family teachings. The foundation laid in children’s homes are by far the strongest basis for your child’s growth. If your child is confused by a school discussion, we encourage you to reinforce our statement that this may be “what some people believe.” 

Below is a list of the cultural celebrations that occur at Sundborn every year and a little bit about them.

Lunar New Year

Our celebration of Lunar New Year at Sundborn was actually started because of a Chinese American child who wanted to share a part of her culture with her school community. She taught us about the significance of the holiday, and we are so fortunate that she chose to share with us. While this student has grown up, we still fondly remember her and her contribution to our enrichment when we talk about Lunar New Year every year. We read books about it and how families celebrate it in different countries. We clean to welcome the New Year. We learn about the animals and the animal of the new year. We eat a snack of dumplings and rice crackers. We acknowledge it as a Spring celebration.

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s at Sundborn is great fun. Rather than everyone bringing a Valentine for everyone (with 50 children in attendance, we’d be looking at managing 2,500 Valentines!), each child, with their family, makes one special, lovely Valentine with their own name on it. The day of the celebration, all of the Valentines are placed into a large basket. One by one, children come up to the basket, put on a blindfold, and choose a Valentine from the basket. They have so much fun seeing whose Valentine they receive, and who receives theirs.

The Season of Giving

The months of November through early January are times of year that we refer to as the Season of Giving. Holidays that happen during this time include Diwali, Hannukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa.

In our region, Christmas is widely celebrated and each family has their own take on Christmas stories and traditions. For this reason, this is actually one of the holidays we give the least explanation for; we don’t want to contradict what the child is hearing from their family. Around this time, we often will focus on Grace and Courtesy lessons around giving and receiving gifts or sitting politely at a meal, as these are situations that children are likely to encounter during this time of year. We also enjoy singing songs that fit the season, some more traditional (Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, etc) and some more focused on our loved ones (I Celebrate My Family, Magic Penny). While gifts are never expected, there is a time set aside during this celebration for children to present gifts to staff or the school if their families have chosen to do so.

Santa Lucia Day

Santa Lucia holds a special place in our hearts. While Saint Lucy was from Italy, the Scandinavian countries have become the most widely-known for their traditions around honoring Saint Lucy, or Santa Lucia. Because of our connection to Sundborn, Sweden, and because of Santa Lucia family traditions for several of our staff members, Santa Lucia remains one of our favorite celebrations. Following tradition, the oldest girl and oldest boy in the school get to play the roles of Santa Lucia and Star Boy, handing out hot chocolate and Santa Lucia buns to their Sundborn classmates.

St. Nicholas Day

When we have school on December 6th, we tell the children the story of who Saint Nicholas (or Sinterklaas) really was as a person and talk about some of the fun traditions around this holiday that children around the world celebrate.

Hanukkah

For Hanukkah, we may explain the significance of the menorah. There are also some Hanukkah songs that the children love to sing, and we introduce the basic concepts of the dreidel game. Sometimes families have an extra brass menorah that they may lend the school so the children can polish it. We may sing Hannukah, Oh Hannukah.

Celebrations of the Seasons

Summer

Celebrated on the Last Day of the Summer Session before Late Summer Break, we have a water play day, eat popsicles and may have sun/summer-themed crafts and activities or children may learn about ways humans and cultures have celebrated, utilized and managed the heat and sunshine.  We also send our graduates (who attended over the summer) onto their next adventures with a goodbye ceremony.

Fall

The Fall Celebration happens the morning before fall conferences.  We read stories related to Harvest celebrations around the world and learn poems, sing songs and dance to fall-themed music.  We serve apple cider and popcorn in a group snack. 

We also come together as a whole school for The Fall Work Party and tend to the tasks that prepare the school environment for the fall and winter (e.g. raking, spreading mulch, etc.).

Winter

The Winter Celebration happens in several parts and includes books and stories about various winter celebrations around the world (see above), many are linked to the geographic temperate zonal experiences of changes in light.  During the celebrations, we include lessons in geography, cultural objects, foods associated with the celebrations as well as concrete, hands-on activities to offer the children direct experiences.  We explore brief developmentally appropriate stories that highlight history and values including but not limited to: generosity, community, kindness, courage, collaboration, hope, ingenuity and perseverance.

Songs and Sweets 

This is our annual community gathering that usually happens at a nearby community grange.  The guides work with the children throughout November and December to learn and practice some winter-themed and winter holiday songs and poems.  They perform them if they wish to (we offer them a true choice, as in they can either choose to sing on the stage or observe in the audience and both are equally acceptable).  We open the event to immediate family only, as space is limited.  Families are also invited to share a sweet that is prepared at home using a special family recipe (and include a list of all of the ingredients).

Spring

Earth Day

We learn about Earth Day (a summary of the events that led to the holiday and ways that people celebrate).  We choose a Green School Goal to help the earth to complete.  We might acknowledge or explore Spring celebrations in other parts of the world: Tu B'shvat, Holi, May Day, Cherry Blossom Festival, Kite Day, etc.

We also come together as a whole school for The Spring Work Party and tend to the tasks that prepare the school environment for the spring and summer (e.g. adding compost to the garden beds, planting, setting out hornet queen catchers, etc.).

The Graduation Ceremony

This happens within the school day and is just for the children who have completed the program and will be going to 1st grad in the fall.   Guides lead a ceremony on the line with flowers and acknowledgements.

End of Year Picnic and Appreciations

This is held the Saturday before the final week of school in June.  Families bring a picnic lunch and are invited to share any appreciations with the staff, community and other children/families.    This event is an opportunity to show gratitude (which our children benefit from observing).  Gratitude is a key Sundborn value. Everyone is welcome to participate.  There is a little “appreciation tree” for people to hang notes on.  More details will be shared as the event approaches.