The Great Santa Debate

I think I made it through this Christmas without crushing any child's belief in Santa. A few years ago, I accidentally caused some doubt among my Kindergarteners.


Whenever I read a book to the class, we spend a few moments looking at the pictures, talking about the title and author, and decide if the story is fiction or non-fiction. I usually start this discussion in October when I do a unit on Monsters. We have a lot of fun with the monsters, but I continually reassure them that monsters are not real, just make-believe, and we have many discussions about the difference between real and not real.


So then December comes arouond and the first unit I teach is about reindeer. We talk about where they live, how they survive in such cold climates, and look at lots of pictures of real reindeer.


So, here I was with my pictures of real reindeer and then I picked up a picture of Rudolph and I asked the class, "Can anyone tell me which picture is a real reindeer and which is a make-believe reindeer?" You should have seen the looks of confusion on their faces, and I still didn't get it. So I asked again, "Which is real and which is not real? Which one is really alive and which one was made up in someone's imagination?" Again, I just got blank stares. No one said anything. It was so quiet you could hear the crickets. Finally, one boy raised his hand and asked, "Mrs. Kyle, they are both real, aren't they?" If Rudolph is not real then how does Santa get his sleigh to fly?"


Well, I had to do some fast talking to get out of that one. I don't remember what I said, but I do remember a discussion breaking out among the kids about whether or not Santa was real. I also remember ending the conversation by saying that I believe Rudolph and Santa are real, but they should talk to their parents.



So Christmas presents a real dilemma. We all want our kids to believe in Santa. It's so innocent and sweet, but at some point they figure out we've been lying to them all these years and if we lied to them about Santa, what else have we lied about?