A familiar poem comes to mind each year as school begins. It is written to a kindergarten teacher and admonishes the teacher to "take care of my son . . ."

Sending a child off to school for the very first time can be scary—sometimes for parents more than the children. How can you as a parent insure that your child gets off on the right foot as the school year begins? As Church members there are several things we can do to help teachers "take care of" our children, while still assuring that our little ones do not have to compromise the religious values that we have tried so hard to instill in them in the preschool years.

Since I am a teacher as well as a parent I can empathize with the teacher who is asked to accommodate a myriad of individual differences, while juggling academic needs and goals set by school districts. In an attempt to alleviate the concerns of my daughters’ teachers, without allowing the girls to participate in the many "holiday" activities, I developed several tips, which I have shared with other parents in the past. I hope that by sharing these with others, it will make a successful year for many of our children beginning the school year.

Practical Advice to Parents

Before school begins, ask for a conference with your child’s teacher. Having both parents attend assures the teacher that this is a "family" that supports their children.

Tell the teacher that you will do everything you can to support him/her during the year. Volunteer to help in the classroom if your schedule permits.

State your beliefs in a positive, concise manner and give the teacher a list to help him/her to remember what you have discussed. This may consist of a list of "Holidays we don’t celebrate" on one side of the paper and a column on the other side with "Holidays we do celebrate."

Be sure to tell the teacher that you are a Christian (this seems to be important to many of them).

Tell them that it is not the thing that you object to, but the symbolism often implied to be associated with it. (for example, holly is a plant—not a Christmas plant).

Remind the teacher that your child may not want to be singled out as different. Upon entering my oldest daughter’s kindergarten room prior to Christmas, I was drawn to a beautiful bulletin board full of red poinsettias, surrounding a bright purple-colored poinsettia spotlighted in the center. Of course it belonged to my daughter!

At a later date I asked the teacher to check with my child before displaying work that may be noticeably different. Some children enjoy the attention and others are embarrassed by it. Fortunately my daughter didn’t mind. Please note: This tip can be extremely useful in later years, when teachers may ask your children to explain Passover or Hanukkah, assuming they are Jewish.

Volunteer and sign up early to help with things such as Thanksgiving Feasts, Field/Olympic Day, Strawberry Festivals or PTA fundraisers not connected with holidays. This shows the school that you want to be involved with your child, yet allows you to opt out of the many holiday activities.

Volunteer to put up bulletin boards (a great opportunity for that beautiful "winter" scene in lieu of Christmas).

Don’t assume that your child’s teacher will remember to share with other teachers the information you provide. You may especially need to talk to the music and art teachers, since many of their activities revolve around holiday themes.

Don’t forget that as your child advances to the next grade, you need to make each teacher aware of these tips. You may even want to develop a form letter that you share at the beginning of each school year.

But What Can My Child Do?

Here is a list of alternate activities that may be useful to share with teachers. (Again, a sheet for the teacher to keep in the plan book would serve as a reminder.)

Send copies of coloring sheets, paper and pencil games, or dot-to-dot pictures (of pumpkins, leaves, football, fall trees, harvest time, etc.) to do while others are doing Halloween papers.

During music—send tape recorder and earphones with children’s choir songs for the Feast, or with stories to follow along with, for children to listen to while classmates are singing Halloween/ Christmas/ holiday songs.

Arrange for your child to visit the library, help the classroom assistant clean up or prepare materials or bulletin boards, or (in higher grades) assist in the office or visit another classroom to read to younger children.

Allow your child to participate in art activities as much as possible. Below are some alternate activities your child can do sitting beside his/her friends in art/class:

Holiday activity: Jack O’Lanterns
Alternate activity: Scraping out the seeds and spreading them to dry for roasting at home and bringing backto share with the class.

Holiday activity: Christmas trees
Alternate activity: Tree with winter scene.

Holiday activity: Pinecone ornaments
Alternate activity: Pinecone with birdseed for feeding birds.

Holiday activity: Christmas ornaments
Alternate activity: Teddy bears, gingerbread men, mittens, snowmen or snowflakes to hang in their room at home.

Holiday activity: Stars
Alternate activity: A star for the door of their room.

Holiday activity: Stockings
Alternate activity: Crazy socks for Bert and Ernie.

Holiday activity: Wrapping paper
Alternate activity: Designs other than
Christmas for all-occasion paper.

Holiday activity: Valentine cards
Alternate activity: Thank you notes to people you love.

Holiday activity: Easter coloring
Alternate activity: Spring and Spring Holy Day cards,lion and lamb, butterfly.

Holiday activity: Easter basket
Alternate activity: Flower basket for Grandma.

What About the Feast?

The feast days and Holy Days are truly an opportunity for your children to let their light shine. At Feast of Tabernacles time we were always sure to have the girls keep a daily "journal" of what they did. In kindergarten it consisted mostly of pictures, but in later grades, a narrative accompanied each picture. This also gave them something to do during services. Every day started with "We went to church and . . ." so that teacher knew this wasn’t a "vacation."

If you and your family travel to foreign countries, teachers love for parents and/or children to share their pictures, videos, etc. with the class. As children get older, teachers often accept these journals and presentations as alternate makeup for work missed.

Most Important

The most helpful thing that you can do to assure that your child has a great school year is to teach him or her prior to attending school. A child who pays attention, respects authority and always does his/her best is one that no teacher can resist! You will find that as your child progresses in school he/she will build a reputation for being the "model student" that all of the teachers wish they had. Without compromising your values, together you and the teacher can be a team to assure your child’s success today—on the first day of school—as well as in the future. UN