Celebrating carnival with children
Children love disguises. And Carnival, actually Mardi Gras, i.e. the night before the 6-week fasting period, was celebrated with great enthusiasm by the Catholics. There was much more eating and drinking before the eggs were hoarded until Easter or the chicks came. Tradition and rituals give children a framework for their developing image of our society. There are fasts in every religion. Explain to the children the meaning of it all and whether they might want to go without something sweet until Easter. Then start planning with the children.
Prepare for carnival celebration
Of the kindergarten prepares the children on their social life, and in a supportive atmosphere, the little ones develop a creativity that you can only wonder about. So why not just let the kids organize their own carnival party and take the opportunity to show you how to do that?
- However, it makes sense, as kindergarten teachers, to define the framework together before you think about it in groups with the children. Make a checklist of who has to do what and when.
- If you want to establish social equality, it is a great possibility to ask for a place in the village beforehand to hang up unusual old clothes donations and then the children make their own costumes in advance permit. Preparing alone is fun.
- Eating and drinking at kindergarten parties mostly come from the parents. Put up a list in which parents can sign up whether they want to bring food, cake or juice. Then the little ones will have their lunch right away.
- If the parents have already been overworked, you can also ask the local bakers and drinks dealers for donations. Clarify beforehand that you can issue donation receipts as soon as possible.
- You need a program. Just eat Krebbel and listen to carnival songs, then the preparation was better than the whole party. And the same Games playing as always is not a highlight either. Here you can let the children do their thing. It can be boisterous.
- Clarify whether you need to borrow a music system and who will take care of it. Most of the time the children have their favorite songs and you do not need to use the usual carnival songs, which only come to mind when you think of drunk fools.
- Ask at a cosmetics school (or at the hairdresser's) whether their trainees would like to apply make-up to the children. At best, they bring the make-up with them. Alternatively, you can let the children do their own make-up. This is not so perfect, but finger paints on old clothes are not bad either.
- Ask someone you know if they would like to take a photo. Souvenir photos are something beautiful. You can offer the CD with the pictures afterwards at cost price or on a donation basis.
Are you an educator and would like to organize the carnival party in your facility? …
Support the self-organization of children
- About a week before the carnival celebration, explain to the children the purpose of Mardi Gras. There are fasts in every religion. Fasting detoxifies and cleanses body and soul. But the real point is to do without. Developing awareness of the abundance in our consumer and throwaway society seems more necessary than ever. Sugar addiction is just a phenomenon. Ask the children if they want to have a good party and then let each child decide for themselves what they want to forego. From then on, it's every child's personal affair.
- You start as always, with the planning, together with the children. The first step is sensibly to collect ideas. Translate the word brainstorming as a brainstorm for the little ones - they'll find it funny on its own. And then the storm starts. Write everything down, however nonsensical the ideas may seem to you. The point of brainstorming is not to evaluate, but to collect. Don't come up with suggestions that will be fun not only for the person who comes up with the idea, but also for the rest of the world A few basic suggestions: movement games like orange dance, egg walking, Streamer dance. Then the storm continues.
- Next, start sorting, not alone, but with the kids. Read the ideas on the list and have the child who made the suggestion explain their imagination. Now you can of course intervene to take control. Don't slow the children down, take the suggestions seriously and listen first. Children love fun, want to move and laugh a lot. Then evaluate the suggestions together.
- Now write the checklist together with the children: You need costumes, food and drink, music and a program. You should also vote on whether siblings are invited. Now decisions are made and tasks are assigned.
Then a week of tinkering, rehearsing, singing, playing and laughing. And it is eaten and eaten and drunk. If you put the celebration on old women, you can continue to eat the leftovers on Friday or on Rose Monday and Carnival Tuesday. Ash Wednesday is all over. Don't tempt the little ones. There are certainly some among them who have made really serious resolutions.
