Celebrating the Holidays with Our Senses

The month of December has been full of sensory holiday experiences in Toddler!  We began our multicultural celebrations by making French Potpourri out of orange slices, cinnamon sticks, cloves and peppercorns.  We have kept our recipe simmering in the classroom for the month, which makes the whole room smell like Christmas! 

The children were mesmerized by the Änglaspel, a Swedish angel chime that spins around when the candles are lit.  Both the delicate sound of the chimes and glow from the candle fire created a sense of awe in our classroom. 

We celebrated Bodhi Day, the Buddhist holiday that commemorates the historical day Buddha found enlightenment under the peepal tree. We lit some incense in the classroom and played a yogic singing bowl for a one minute meditation listening to the sound. 

Our final experience came from a German Räuchermännchen.  The children loved watching the incense burn and make smoke puffs in the classroom!