Dance Party, Solstice, and More! Celebrations with Cedar River
One of our top priorities for celebrations at school is to provide opportunities to do fun things as a community to strengthen our connections and understanding of each other. We’re super excited to see several new events added to our calendar this year – the most recent being our Winter Dance Party!
For all school celebrations, our goal is to have one all school celebration for each season during the school year – this includes Harvest Fest in the fall, Winter Dance Party in the winter, and Research and Inquiry Fair in the spring. NOTE: R&I Fair is tentatively rescheduled for Friday, March 22, in the evening. R&I Fair has a three-year theme rotation: Science (this year), Arts (next year), and Culture/Geography/History (year after next).
Some of the interclassroom connection opportunities this year include: Stone Soup, Reading Buddies, Winter Solstice, Salmon Release Day / Earth Day, Student Appreciation, and Field Day. All of these events happen on campus during the school day.
In equity and inclusion lessons this week and next, Leigh and I will read and discuss The Shortest Day. We’ll talk about the science and history of winter solstice, and share some of the traditions celebrated by various cultures including St. Lucia Day (Scandinavia), Dongzhi (China), Shab-e Yalda (Iran), Toji (Japan), Lantern Festival (Canada), St. Thomas Festival (Guatemala), Dongji (South Korea), and Soyal (Hopi Tribe). There are also other holidays that happen at this time of year that honor the human spirit and use light symbolically, including Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.
Coming up next week is our Solstice Celebration. Winter Solstice occurs each year in the Northern Hemisphere as the day with the fewest daylight hours and the most dark hours, and marks the transition from fall to winter. Cultures throughout the Northern Hemisphere recognize solstice with celebrations and traditions of darkness and light. The actual date of Winter Solstice this year is December 21, 2023. We at Cedar River Montessori will mark it with a celebration of light and community on December 15.
In equity and inclusion lessons this week and next, Leigh and I will read and discuss The Shortest Day. We’ll talk about the science and history of winter solstice, and share some of the traditions celebrated by various cultures including St. Lucia Day (Scandinavia), Dongzhi (China), Shab-e Yalda (Iran), Toji (Japan), Lantern Festival (Canada), St. Thomas Festival (Guatemala), Dongji (South Korea), and Soyal (Hopi Tribe). There are also other holidays that happen at this time of year that honor the human spirit and use light symbolically, including Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.
Our school Solstice Celebration on December 15 has two parts: an all school Luminary Walk and the elementary and middle school Solstice Party. Some students have already started working on their luminaries, which will be set out along our forest path on the morning of December 15. Reading Buddies will connect with one another to do the luminary walk together, using their senses to notice the plants, creatures, lightness, and darkness along the trail. We’ll send home the luminaries with students on that Friday.
In the afternoon, elementary and middle school students will have a Solstice Party, with crafts, games, snacks, and a bonfire in the fire pit by the garden. This was a new experience for our students last year, and we’re excited to continue the tradition this year!
Many thanks to Nicole Frymier, Ruth Flowers, Shernaaz Palkhivala, Robert Hammond, Kaori Fujita, Eunice Magnusson, and Alex Moss for their work envisioning this year’s Solstice Celebration.
If you have any celebrations or traditions you’d like to share with your child’s class – either now or anytime during the year – please reach out to your child’s teacher. We love to have families share with our students, and children are so proud and excited to welcome you into their life here at school.
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