Regular readers of this column will know that Neighborhood House now has an anti-bias holiday policy.

While some folks believe that we are taking some of the fun out of holidays, we believe that this means that all children can feel included and comfortable during holiday celebrations. Our holiday celebrations are also a learning time, rather than a party time.

Instead of a scary and sugary one day Halloween extravaganza that leaves the children overwhelmed and the teachers exhausted, we celebrated a week-long learning festival the last week of October. The week was lots of fun for all of us.

All week long, we read lots and lots of fall-themed books. Our children worked together to make an enormous pot of applesauce that we enjoyed for lunch the next day. We explored the gooey insides of pumpkins and shucked corn for our sensory tables. We scooped nuts and apples. The children created colorful fall leaf decorations for classroom windows with waxed paper. Each class made a scarecrow. Parents enjoyed visiting their child's classroom creation in our “field of fun.” Each child created a paper pumpkin for our community wall and chose a real pumpkin from our patch to take home.

We were glad that the weather improved at the end of the week so that the children had a chance to play outside on our straw bale jump. The children jumped, climbed, stepped, and leaped from one bale to another. All week long, we worked with orange paint and other orange materials (including frosting!) and mixed red and yellow to make orange.

Some activities were designed for all the children and some were designed by classroom teachers for their own age group. Ms. Tracey and Ms. Lauren's three year olds worked with our cook to make a pumpkin pie. Children in our UPK classes created their own books about the life cycle of pumpkins. Ms. Amy and Ms. Elaine's four year old class created a gigantic spider web out of yarn by cooperatively working together.

Coming up will be our Thankful Week in November, and Winter Holidays week in December. Since holiday times can be very stressful for children, we work hard to keep things fun yet calm here at Neighborhood House during holiday weeks.

Whether it is a special week, when we are celebrating an event like the fall festival or Read for the Record or a “regular” week, everyone at Neighborhood House is committed to providing a safe, engaging and fun learning environment for the children in our care.

On behalf of our board, staff and families, I send warm wishes to all for a happy and healthy holiday season.

Remember that this year's United Way campaign is taking place right now. Please consider making a gift today if you have not yet done so. If you have, I send warm thanks on behalf of all 23 member agencies that receive support from the United Way.

Susan Jones is executive director for the Neighborhood House in Auburn