So said one of my Jewish students as I asked him a question about Hanukkah. In the month of December, I always teach about the three main celebrations that take place; Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. The students get a kick out of learning about each one and it normally sparks some pretty serious (for 6 year olds) debate about which celebration is the best. With a class normally always full of Christians of some sort, everyone pretty much thinks Christmas ROCKS. However, I remind my students that it's important to take into account everyone's beliefs and not exclude someone just because they might not believe what you believe. So this year, I have a little Jewish boy and he's talked incessantly about Hanukkah and how excited he was for it. But when I asked him about it, he defiantly said, "Ms. Eklund...I'm NOT Jewish, I'm Hanukkan!!" I tried to maintain my composure, but instead went over and gave him a hug and gently told him that he was in fact Jewish and that Hanukkah was what he celebrates during December.
Later I sent his Dad an email telling him about the funny story and asking if he would like to come in and share with the class about Hanukkah. Later that week my student's grandmother came instead and when she arrived told me that the "Hanukkan" story had been added to "S's" memory book.
Oh so cute!!
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