There aren’t too many holidays in between Independence Day and Halloween so we sometimes have to struggle to find fun themed projects for kids during those months. But that’s because many of us forget Labor Day. Although it’s a holiday that gives working parents the day off and school kids a Monday break, we usually don’t think of Labor Day is a celebratory affair. But maybe we should. Labor Day is something that it would be good to teach kids about. Besides, it gives us an extra holiday to plan teaching projects around!
| But first, if you’re going to be teaching kids about Labor Day, you should probably go back to the books yourself. A surprising number of adults don’t really know the story behind Labor Day. The short version of the holiday is that it’s a day of rest for the laborer, as the name would suggest. The longer history is that it started way back at the end of the nineteenth century as a way to encourage the spirit of the working people. That’s why there are Labor Day parades. What you’ll want to take away from this for teaching kids about Labor Day is the value of work as well as the importance of rest by and appreciation for working people. |
So how do you go about teaching your kids about Labor Day? Well, hopefully they already do some work around the house in the form of chores. You can declare Labor Day a day off to rest in appreciation of this work. Note that the work that you all do around the house is important and that it is equally important to take a little bit of rest from the holiday. By making Labor Day a celebratory day, you’ll reinforce the lesson of what it’s all about. And you’ll also help them realize that rest days are nice vacations but that most days we have to work.
Before Labor Day actually rolls around, you can start teaching kids about the holiday by teaching them generally about work. Videos, stories and projects that emphasize the different kinds of work that there are can all be used to teach kids about work. When you’re out in the world doing your daily activities, make it a point to point out the work that everyone is doing to make your community run efficiently. It goes back to the old lessons we all learned as children about how the garbage men do their jobs, the cashiers at the supermarket do theirs and so on to make society work.
You might end the lessons about Labor Day with a party. Have each child dress up in a costume that represents a worker that they admire. These costumes can be made as part of a project to keep costs down. Hats for nurses, doctors, construction workers and mailman can all be made from paper and other job accessories can be culled together from the toys that kids already have. The zookeeper can carry a stuffed lion for example. Be creative and encourage the kids to be creative too. After the party is over, it will be Labor Day and you can all just rest!
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