Holidays Around the World

So - anyone else beginning to feel absolutely crazy?! I swear thanksgiving hits and it is all downhill until the new year.

So - I got to thinking. I need to plan a UbD every quarter, and I want to use the holiday season. Every year I teach about holidays around the world, as most teachers do. I love exploring different cultures and exposing them to my students. Fortunately, I teach in a Catholic school and can do all things Christmas. But I want to go past Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. 

So as I was planning my countries to explore I realized I did not want to teach Kwanzaa. Now hear me out! I see Kwanzaa as a political holiday that African Americans use to become closer to SOME qualities of the African culture. However, Kwanzaa has no one specific country connected to it. And considering most people don't celebrate it, it's getting left behind. This final decision came after a discussion with my other half who said he has never heard of anyone celebrating the holiday, and he's African! Now I know he represents just 1 of the 54 countries in Africa. So instead my plan is to have my students visit Nigeria (since I have a fantastic resource sitting across from me!).

All of that aside - I am so excited for my unit that is unfolding before my eyes. The 8 countries we are visiting are: Sweden, Holland, Mexico, Israel, Germany, Italy, Nigeria and Russia. 

Stay tuned!