We love this time of year – summer is in the air, Christmas is around the corner, and New Year
beckons. It is an especially precious time to be around young children. Their excitement, joy and
anticipation are contagious!
On the flip side of the holiday season, is the potential for overwhelm, burnout and exhaustion at the
temptation to be all things to all people, say yes to every invitation or work to the bone right up until
December 24 th to cover the costs and keep up appearances.
At The Owl and The Pussycat Preschool we too can get caught in the Christmas treadmill, as the
possibilities for celebration are endless. However, our point of difference as a family-owned
preschool with a considered approach means we want to do more to engage meaningfully within
our own preschool community and throughout the Northern Beaches community. We want to be
part of raising a grateful generation that is thankful this Christmas season. To grow children who feel
secure in who they are and look outside of themselves by seeing and seeking to give to others. We
hope to encourage a lasting foundation of understanding the true meaning of this special season by
promoting this threefold approach of gratitude, security and generosity in our learning framework.
Gratitude
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”
Current generations are often criticised for embracing a culture of immediacy, individualism and
entitlement. Research into this shows that some ways to combat cultural entitlement are:
– Get children involved in “giving back” to their community
– Focus on giving to others, rather than receiving from others
– Intentionally and regularly practice thankfulness
Children will naturally be excited by presents and as families we want to give our children their
hearts’ desires. However, consumer attitudes of bigger, better and more, more, more are not
sustainable or healthy for little – or big – humans. That is why we encourage our children to create
meaningful and where possible sustainable gifts from the heart. Just this week our Owls and Blues
walked across the square to a local rehabilitation hospital, Arcadia Pittwater. They sang songs for
patients and staff and handed out homemade cookies they had decorated. The atmosphere of
connection and joy it created across our communities was delightful to witness. Everyone sang
along, lit up, shared stories and thanked the children and educators for their efforts. This small step
toward giving back and looking outwards will hopefully lay a foundation in our children and lead to a
deeper relationship and greater connection between our communities.
Security
“He’s making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who’s naughty or nice”
We are currently in a cost-of-living crisis and many families simply don’t have the means to splash
cash this Christmas. For children who may receive “less” we don’t want to reinforce a message that
they are “less” or breed insecurity. They weren’t good enough therefore they didn’t get the newest,
latest, flashiest gift. Each family is unique and will approach Christmas with their own traditions and
beliefs. However, from a developmental and educational perspective, it does a lot for children to
know they are accepted and valued no matter what, to encourage them to look outside of
themselves and think of others, rather than to attempt to motivate or manipulate them into good
behaviour through their Christmas wish list. Behaviour that may not even be age appropriate, or due
to self-regulation challenges, they might never be able to achieve. All children at The Owl and The
Pussycat Preschool are eternally valued and celebrated because of who they are, not because of
what they do or don’t do. In all our learning, and especially at this time of year, we want to partner
with families to build secure identities in our children. Ultimately, we want our children to be
intrinsically motivated, that is, motivated to do the right thing because they have respect for
themselves and others, and because we have taught and modelled to them the best way to behave.
Generosity
“Oh tidings of comfort and joy”
By cultivating gratitude and security in our learning, we hope to ultimately promote a culture of
thankfulness and generosity. From time-to-time reward charts and treats can be helpful tools,
however a month is a long time to bribe children into good behaviour, especially at the end of the
year when everyone’s patience is running low. Rewards work best when they are immediate. This
holiday season, perhaps redirect your children to how they can bless others, give to those in need, or
do something special for a neighbour, family or friend, rather than focusing on being good for their
own reward.
Here are a few practical ideas to make a start on creating grateful, secure and generous Christmas
traditions in your family this holiday season:
– Talk about what activities they enjoy doing as a family over the summer. You’ll be surprised
how simple and achievable many of them are! Put them on the calendar and build the
anticipation.
– Ask what your children are thankful for this year, and what they hope for the year to come.
You could choose a “word of the year” for 2025 to build upon and come back to as a family.
– Find out their favourite holiday foods and plan to make them together. Then invite others
over to share or turn them into gifts for neighbours or preschool friends.
– Think of ways you can connect with family and friends who live by themselves or far away.
– Write Christmas cards together or create a family Canva artwork to share via email or social
media.
– Before children write a list of what they want for Christmas, choose some toys, clothes or
games they no longer use and together donate them to charity.
– Have a family movie night and watch a classic movie together.
Creating memories and traditions this holiday season does not need to be expensive, elaborate or
Insta-worthy. Little ones, often love the littlest, simplest and easiest things. A friend’s son recently
came back from a family holiday to Wyong raving that it was better than Hawaii! Together, we can
be apart of raising a generation that is less entitled and more thankful for all that they have, who
feel secure in themselves and love to give to others. Because that’s what this time of year is all
about!
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