Anonymous
04/05/2022 13:48
Subject: Re:"Spring" Egg Hunt for DCPS PK Class - Is this usual?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Our DCPS had an activity like this for the PK kids a couple years ago. It is a gentrifying school so there is some thinking by some of the teachers that they have to provide these types of experiences at school because some kids don't get them at home. I get that it feels kind of weird because of the association with Easter. But I think its fun for the kids which is the main benefit. When you start stripping away all the fun stuff like this at school it starts to feel pretty joyless.
OP you need to use this as a teachable moment. My kid was sad to learn about Hanukah at school and wanted to know why she wasn't getting presents for 8 nights.
Which is really why schools should not be celebrating holidays (Hanukah presents for eight nights, what?) with young kids - teach about religions when kids are capable of reading and nuanced discussions - MS/HS.
What? Of course young kids should learn about the holidays some of their classmates celebrate! And then learn to deal with the fact that they are celebrating a different holiday.
What meaning "presents for eight nights" has nothing to do with Hanukkah - and is a pretty ignorant thing to say, actually.
I didn’t say anything about presents for eight nights, so you are arguing with the wrong person. Maybe you can take it up with the first PP‘s school, who was teaching their kid wrongly about Hanukkah.
You guys are way over reacting about the presents for 8 nights comment. My kid (who is not jewish) learned about the meaning behind Hanukah but of course the main thing they take away is that their Jewish friends get presents 8 nights in a row. The schools aren't teaching it like that but kids are kids.
Anonymous
04/05/2022 13:41
Subject: Re:"Spring" Egg Hunt for DCPS PK Class - Is this usual?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP here. My main concern is that holding these activities that are associated with Christian holidays brings up a lot of discussion amongst the kids about that holiday. At Christmas time, DD was very upset that we would not be celebrating Christmas at home and had a hard time understanding why Santa wasn't going to bring her presents. I don't think the teachers/school do a great job of being inclusive of other customs or encourage the children to share their families' traditions. It is a very culturally and ethnically diverse school. I feel that holding a Spring Egg Hunt needlessly encourages the kids to talk about the Easter Bunny and how they will get more presents/candy. It's not a religious aspect of the holiday but non-Christians typically don't have egg hunts and my 4 year old has not heard of the Easter bunny. It's a learning lesson of childhood, but if it can be diminished within school that would be better. I was planning to reach out to the teacher to ask how they were also incorporating or discussing aspects of the other major holidays happening this time of year (Passover and Ramadan/Eid) into the class.
Your child is 4 so you haven't had a lot of in-school experience yet, but there will be discussions among the kids about holidays regardless of what the school does or doesn't do. Conversations about Christmas, Hanukah, Ramadan - whatever the holiday - it's all going to come out at some point. And managing your own child's reaction to those discussions is part of parenting kids in a diverse community. My oldest was upset when several of his Jewish friends told him that Santa wasn't real and talked about getting presents for 8 days in a row. The discussion happened in the classroom. What can you do? Kids are going to be kids. School is the time when kids start to learn and appreciate that other families are different from their own. I am not sure discouraging those conversations is a good thing.
I will also add that there are lot of community egg hunts in public parks around this area - there's even an Easter Egg Roll at the White House - so it's certainly not a religious celebration. That said, you can always have your child opt out or miss school that day if you are uncomfortable.
I completely agree with this. I was not raised Christian, while DH's family is evangelical. As a result, we've had to introduce the concept that "different families believe different things, and that's okay. Your job is to be KIND and respectful, even if you don't think they're right" very early. It's easier and better to start having these conversations when they're young. We live in a diverse urban area, you just can't shield your child from differing beliefs, even if you wanted to. My DCPS kids also learned about Hanukah, Kwanzaa, etc. in school. It may vary by school, but DCPS as a whole makes an effort to be inclusive. I think it's a great idea to send a note if you haven't heard about other celebrations from your child. But ask for information, don't start off by assuming and judging.
Anonymous
04/05/2022 13:40
Subject: Re:"Spring" Egg Hunt for DCPS PK Class - Is this usual?
Anonymous wrote:OP here. My main concern is that holding these activities that are associated with Christian holidays brings up a lot of discussion amongst the kids about that holiday. At Christmas time, DD was very upset that we would not be celebrating Christmas at home and had a hard time understanding why Santa wasn't going to bring her presents. I don't think the teachers/school do a great job of being inclusive of other customs or encourage the children to share their families' traditions. It is a very culturally and ethnically diverse school. I feel that holding a Spring Egg Hunt needlessly encourages the kids to talk about the Easter Bunny and how they will get more presents/candy. It's not a religious aspect of the holiday but non-Christians typically don't have egg hunts and my 4 year old has not heard of the Easter bunny. It's a learning lesson of childhood, but if it can be diminished within school that would be better. I was planning to reach out to the teacher to ask how they were also incorporating or discussing aspects of the other major holidays happening this time of year (Passover and Ramadan/Eid) into the class.
OP, if you are determined to send your kids to gentrifying schools in DCPS you are going to have to relax. If this is the worse thing that happens to your kid in a DCPS you will be very lucky. Unless YOU are going to volunteer to lead the passover and ramadan celebrations at school, I wouldn't bring this up to the teacher. You will quickly be identifying yourself as one of the parents who is moving on after free preK. They do not care.
Anonymous
04/05/2022 13:38
Subject: Re:"Spring" Egg Hunt for DCPS PK Class - Is this usual?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Our DCPS had an activity like this for the PK kids a couple years ago. It is a gentrifying school so there is some thinking by some of the teachers that they have to provide these types of experiences at school because some kids don't get them at home. I get that it feels kind of weird because of the association with Easter. But I think its fun for the kids which is the main benefit. When you start stripping away all the fun stuff like this at school it starts to feel pretty joyless.
OP you need to use this as a teachable moment. My kid was sad to learn about Hanukah at school and wanted to know why she wasn't getting presents for 8 nights.
Which is really why schools should not be celebrating holidays (Hanukah presents for eight nights, what?) with young kids - teach about religions when kids are capable of reading and nuanced discussions - MS/HS.
What? Of course young kids should learn about the holidays some of their classmates celebrate! And then learn to deal with the fact that they are celebrating a different holiday.
What meaning "presents for eight nights" has nothing to do with Hanukkah - and is a pretty ignorant thing to say, actually.
I didn’t say anything about presents for eight nights, so you are arguing with the wrong person. Maybe you can take it up with the first PP‘s school, who was teaching their kid wrongly about Hanukkah.
Exactly - during Halloween - our teacher said "the Jews have a Halloween called Prumim [sic]" It's like not necessary for young children. There is no way to nuance it. Do with older kids.
Anonymous
04/05/2022 13:37
Subject: "Spring" Egg Hunt for DCPS PK Class - Is this usual?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Our Jewish/Christian-raised family does plastic egg hunts every year during Passover weekend. The kids love it.
There is nothing inherently Christian about an egg hunt. It really has nothing to do with Easter religious celebration itself.
Who among the tribe hasn't tried to fit the affi koman inside one of those little plastic eggs?
Right? That's why there were so many pogroms on Easter - they were just trying to get the kiddos to participate in Easter egg hunts. Also to the person pretending to be Jewish above - there is no such thing as a "Passover weekend" that occurs "every year" - you gotta invest more in your fake identity.
Passover and Easter coincide. We do the egg hunt for the kids on the Saturday during Passover week (ie., the day before Easter Sunday) - hence why I used the term "Passover weekend."
It's not a big deal, it's a mixed religious family tho we are more observant of Judaism.
Anonymous
04/05/2022 13:33
Subject: Re:"Spring" Egg Hunt for DCPS PK Class - Is this usual?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Our DCPS had an activity like this for the PK kids a couple years ago. It is a gentrifying school so there is some thinking by some of the teachers that they have to provide these types of experiences at school because some kids don't get them at home. I get that it feels kind of weird because of the association with Easter. But I think its fun for the kids which is the main benefit. When you start stripping away all the fun stuff like this at school it starts to feel pretty joyless.
OP you need to use this as a teachable moment. My kid was sad to learn about Hanukah at school and wanted to know why she wasn't getting presents for 8 nights.
Which is really why schools should not be celebrating holidays (Hanukah presents for eight nights, what?) with young kids - teach about religions when kids are capable of reading and nuanced discussions - MS/HS.
What? Of course young kids should learn about the holidays some of their classmates celebrate! And then learn to deal with the fact that they are celebrating a different holiday.
What meaning "presents for eight nights" has nothing to do with Hanukkah - and is a pretty ignorant thing to say, actually.
I didn’t say anything about presents for eight nights, so you are arguing with the wrong person. Maybe you can take it up with the first PP‘s school, who was teaching their kid wrongly about Hanukkah.
Anonymous
04/05/2022 13:24
Subject: Re:"Spring" Egg Hunt for DCPS PK Class - Is this usual?
Anonymous wrote:OP here. My main concern is that holding these activities that are associated with Christian holidays brings up a lot of discussion amongst the kids about that holiday. At Christmas time, DD was very upset that we would not be celebrating Christmas at home and had a hard time understanding why Santa wasn't going to bring her presents. I don't think the teachers/school do a great job of being inclusive of other customs or encourage the children to share their families' traditions. It is a very culturally and ethnically diverse school. I feel that holding a Spring Egg Hunt needlessly encourages the kids to talk about the Easter Bunny and how they will get more presents/candy. It's not a religious aspect of the holiday but non-Christians typically don't have egg hunts and my 4 year old has not heard of the Easter bunny. It's a learning lesson of childhood, but if it can be diminished within school that would be better. I was planning to reach out to the teacher to ask how they were also incorporating or discussing aspects of the other major holidays happening this time of year (Passover and Ramadan/Eid) into the class.
Your child is 4 so you haven't had a lot of in-school experience yet, but there will be discussions among the kids about holidays regardless of what the school does or doesn't do. Conversations about Christmas, Hanukah, Ramadan - whatever the holiday - it's all going to come out at some point. And managing your own child's reaction to those discussions is part of parenting kids in a diverse community. My oldest was upset when several of his Jewish friends told him that Santa wasn't real and talked about getting presents for 8 days in a row. The discussion happened in the classroom. What can you do? Kids are going to be kids. School is the time when kids start to learn and appreciate that other families are different from their own. I am not sure discouraging those conversations is a good thing.
I will also add that there are lot of community egg hunts in public parks around this area - there's even an Easter Egg Roll at the White House - so it's certainly not a religious celebration. That said, you can always have your child opt out or miss school that day if you are uncomfortable.
Anonymous
04/05/2022 13:22
Subject: "Spring" Egg Hunt for DCPS PK Class - Is this usual?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Um, while associated with Easter, eggs/egg hunts are not part of any official religious Easter celebration. So, I think you could just relax and let the kids have fun.
Ummnmm. Easter is a religious holiday, and eggs/egg hunts are indeed part of church sponsored religious celebrations. So, I think you could try not centering yourself and policing people who are not Christian from worrying about religion in public schools. Yikes!
The egg thing is about renewal. It’s pagan but merged into Easter for obvious reasons. Not very different from how Halloween is religious.
It’s not a big deal. You objectors are the ones making it about religion. It’s like considering candles religious.
Meanwhile, tons of non-religious organizations host egg hunts, while many churches don’t.
I fail to see how anyone’s religious freedom is tarnished by a egg hunt.
Anonymous
04/05/2022 13:18
Subject: "Spring" Egg Hunt for DCPS PK Class - Is this usual?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My kid came home with gelt and a dreidel at Hanukkah. And wanted to know why we don’t have a Menorah. All I did was tell him it’s because we aren’t Jewish. He’s never come home with any information about Jesus or an advent calendar or anything like that and our school programs have always appeared to go out of the way to never include any songs at the winter concerts that are at all related to Christmas but they definitely sang a Kwanza song and a dreidel song this year. So I’m not going to get upset about an egg hunt either, it sounds fun.
yup. My Christian kid came home with a dreidel in Kindergarten. I didn't make a big deal.
Teacher or classmate provided? I'm assuming the latter. As a Jew I can tell you all about being encouraged to performatively 'share' a tradition like this when it's as much a license to normalize other Christian holiday symbolism without overtly excluding others. Nothing wrong with it, but why the fascination with Hanukah? Is it the most relatable to other commercialized celebrations? From experience, there is very little effort to share non- Judeo-Christian traditions.
I'd love to hear a teacher engage with my kid why the Jewish New Year in celebrated in September and why it's significant instead of marking an unexcused absence even after receiving advanced notice. I'd love for my kid to learn more about El Eid or Diwali if others wished to share.
Anonymous
04/05/2022 13:15
Subject: "Spring" Egg Hunt for DCPS PK Class - Is this usual?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Our Jewish/Christian-raised family does plastic egg hunts every year during Passover weekend. The kids love it.
There is nothing inherently Christian about an egg hunt. It really has nothing to do with Easter religious celebration itself.
Who among the tribe hasn't tried to fit the affi koman inside one of those little plastic eggs?
Right? That's why there were so many pogroms on Easter - they were just trying to get the kiddos to participate in Easter egg hunts. Also to the person pretending to be Jewish above - there is no such thing as a "Passover weekend" that occurs "every year" - you gotta invest more in your fake identity.
Anonymous
04/05/2022 13:09
Subject: Re:"Spring" Egg Hunt for DCPS PK Class - Is this usual?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Our DCPS had an activity like this for the PK kids a couple years ago. It is a gentrifying school so there is some thinking by some of the teachers that they have to provide these types of experiences at school because some kids don't get them at home. I get that it feels kind of weird because of the association with Easter. But I think its fun for the kids which is the main benefit. When you start stripping away all the fun stuff like this at school it starts to feel pretty joyless.
OP you need to use this as a teachable moment. My kid was sad to learn about Hanukah at school and wanted to know why she wasn't getting presents for 8 nights.
Which is really why schools should not be celebrating holidays (Hanukah presents for eight nights, what?) with young kids - teach about religions when kids are capable of reading and nuanced discussions - MS/HS.
What? Of course young kids should learn about the holidays some of their classmates celebrate! And then learn to deal with the fact that they are celebrating a different holiday.
What meaning "presents for eight nights" has nothing to do with Hanukkah - and is a pretty ignorant thing to say, actually.
Anonymous
04/05/2022 13:02
Subject: Re:"Spring" Egg Hunt for DCPS PK Class - Is this usual?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Our DCPS had an activity like this for the PK kids a couple years ago. It is a gentrifying school so there is some thinking by some of the teachers that they have to provide these types of experiences at school because some kids don't get them at home. I get that it feels kind of weird because of the association with Easter. But I think its fun for the kids which is the main benefit. When you start stripping away all the fun stuff like this at school it starts to feel pretty joyless.
OP you need to use this as a teachable moment. My kid was sad to learn about Hanukah at school and wanted to know why she wasn't getting presents for 8 nights.
Which is really why schools should not be celebrating holidays (Hanukah presents for eight nights, what?) with young kids - teach about religions when kids are capable of reading and nuanced discussions - MS/HS.
What? Of course young kids should learn about the holidays some of their classmates celebrate! And then learn to deal with the fact that they are celebrating a different holiday.
'Hanukah presents for eight nights' is a Xmas projection by goyim. Hanukah is a minor holiday with as much religious meaning as St Valentine's day
I know this holiday has been inflated in order to compete with Christmas. My point was simply that whatever holidays classmates celebrate should be fair game to teach about at school, and don't need to be avoided as a topic in order to protect the kids from gift envy.
Not every kid wants to discuss their family's religious background. It's ok if student offers that information but no one should pry as it might make kid uncomfortable or highlight 'otherness'. Some kids may want to share that their family is agnostic or atheist and no one should pry about that either.
Weird response to my comment, which was about the question whether we should avoid discussing other holidays in class because some kids might get upset that they don't celebrate that holiday as well. Nobody said anything about forcing your kids to talk about their religion. Teachers certainly shouldn't call on kids individually asking them to share anything because they know the child is of a certain faith or ethnic background, or "pry" about their family's religion or lack thereof.
This whole discussion makes me so glad my family is not religious and doesn't get worked up about any of this, even though we are an ethnic minority as well.
Anonymous
04/05/2022 13:00
Subject: "Spring" Egg Hunt for DCPS PK Class - Is this usual?
Anonymous wrote:My kid came home with gelt and a dreidel at Hanukkah. And wanted to know why we don’t have a Menorah. All I did was tell him it’s because we aren’t Jewish. He’s never come home with any information about Jesus or an advent calendar or anything like that and our school programs have always appeared to go out of the way to never include any songs at the winter concerts that are at all related to Christmas but they definitely sang a Kwanza song and a dreidel song this year. So I’m not going to get upset about an egg hunt either, it sounds fun.
yup. My Christian kid came home with a dreidel in Kindergarten. I didn't make a big deal.
Anonymous
04/05/2022 12:59
Subject: "Spring" Egg Hunt for DCPS PK Class - Is this usual?
Jesus, OP. Oops. sorry.
Anonymous
04/05/2022 12:51
Subject: Re:"Spring" Egg Hunt for DCPS PK Class - Is this usual?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Our DCPS had an activity like this for the PK kids a couple years ago. It is a gentrifying school so there is some thinking by some of the teachers that they have to provide these types of experiences at school because some kids don't get them at home. I get that it feels kind of weird because of the association with Easter. But I think its fun for the kids which is the main benefit. When you start stripping away all the fun stuff like this at school it starts to feel pretty joyless.
OP you need to use this as a teachable moment. My kid was sad to learn about Hanukah at school and wanted to know why she wasn't getting presents for 8 nights.
Which is really why schools should not be celebrating holidays (Hanukah presents for eight nights, what?) with young kids - teach about religions when kids are capable of reading and nuanced discussions - MS/HS.
What? Of course young kids should learn about the holidays some of their classmates celebrate! And then learn to deal with the fact that they are celebrating a different holiday.
'Hanukah presents for eight nights' is a Xmas projection by goyim. Hanukah is a minor holiday with as much religious meaning as St Valentine's day
I know this holiday has been inflated in order to compete with Christmas. My point was simply that whatever holidays classmates celebrate should be fair game to teach about at school, and don't need to be avoided as a topic in order to protect the kids from gift envy.
Not every kid wants to discuss their family's religious background. It's ok if student offers that information but no one should pry as it might make kid uncomfortable or highlight 'otherness'. Some kids may want to share that their family is agnostic or atheist and no one should pry about that either.