We haven’t yet done any kind of formal study of holidays [even the ones WE celebrate], so I was super excited to get to test out the new holiday materials from Every Star is Different as now I don’t have to plan any of it! These amazing bundles contain printables regarding the history, symbols, and traditions of several different religions, including the following holidays:

Diwali (November 7th for 2018)

Hanukkah (begins on December 2nd for 2018)

Winter Solstice (December 21st)

Christmas (December 25th)

Kwanzaa (begins on December 26th)

Ramadan (May 5th – June 4th for 2019)

And the timing couldn’t be better, since TODAY is right in the middle of the 5 days of Diwali! I of course pulled those printables out first, and we are so excited to spend the next few weeks learning all about the Hindu festival of lights.

There is such a wealth of information and materials included in this bundle — it will work exceptionally well in a diverse classroom or even just at home as you teach your own children about holidays from around the world!

Here’s every single printable that’s included:

As you can see in the photo above, I’ve printed the Diwali Picture and Description Match Up Cards, the Vocabulary Picture and Description Match Up Cards, The Story of Diwali Picture and Description Match Up Cards, the Diwali Dessert Picture and Description Match Up Cards, and the Diya Outlines. I will use those ones this year, then I’ll probably add the rest for next year since I’ll have more time to prepare.

I am especially excited about all of these Hanukkah printables as we won’t be able to visit our old synagogue for Hanukkah services this year. Lila is totally going to love making her own “The Story of the First Hanukkah” book! I mostly printed out the vocabulary printables for this year, leaving plenty of brand new materials for next year!

The printables included in the Winter Holidays Around the World portion would be a great addition to your continent studies! I had no idea there were so many different Christmas figures around the world, and I know the girls will love learning about how the Winter Solstice is celebrated across the globe.

The religious Christmas printables are great for teaching the story of the first Christmas as found in the Bible, and I love that real works of art are used as the illustrations! I also am excited to learn some of the meaning behind the Christmas symbols that we all use.

This amazing Christmas Themed Language Bundle is also part of the holiday printables we tested! I love that it matches up with the Montessori pink, blue, and green reading series, and I already know that these are going to be our very favorite Christmas activities. I actually printed all of the control cards and writing cards 4 to a page instead of the size given (as recommended by Renae!), and they are the perfect size for Lila’s needs. For younger learners who still need help tracing the letters, I would stick with the original size.

More Christmas! I love these Christmas Botany picture and description match up cards — the girls will love learning about the symbolism behind each of the plants we associate with Christmas, and we will be using the outlines as guides for a pin-pushing work.

Kwanzaa is one of the holidays included that I really don’t know much about, so I was excited to find so much information about the principles and symbols of the holiday as well as African and African-American history resources.

Finally, the we tried some printables all about Islam and Ramadan. There is so much information on those Islam picture and description nomenclature cards, and my girls will especially love learning about the phases of the moon. And you know how much Lila loves making books!