Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/sukkot-celebration-promotes-inclusivity/5024928/
*Additional photos can be found in the pdf version of this article.
One of the most successful and joyful ways our school embraces curiosity and openness to learn about different cultures and religions is through the Jewish Sukkot holiday. The week-long holiday, which celebrates the harvest and the meaning of coming together and sharing food, is an easily understood and enjoyed experience for preschoolers. It always occurs in early fall and is a great community-building effort during the start of the school year.
For the past several years at our preschool, we have had a parent who observes the Jewish faith come and read to the classes about the meaning of the Sukkot holiday.
Then, in small groups, each class heads outdoors to a wooden structure made of 2x4 boards, which they decorate with branches, leaves and flowers they collected during the prior week in the woods and fields near our school. A couple of teachers also visit a local farmstand and purchase pumpkins, gourds and cornstalks, which the children also place on and around the structure.
We situate the structure in a grass area not far from the school entrance and from the carpool line ...