CHRISTMAS

Below are some Christmas activities and ideas. Enjoy!!!

Art Activities

The children cut red hats shapes out of felt. Then they glue on cotton balls for trim, green holly leaves and red berries. Glue on some jingle bells! Write their names on the top of the cap with the year written underneath.

Thanks to Lorri Bonner!
Cut stocking shapes out of red construction paper. Have the children glue cotton balls along the top of the stocking. Write the children's names in glitter pen and have the children decorate with sequins, glitter, etc.
Cut 2 ornament cutouts per child. Have the children punch holes through both cutouts. Have the children glue on tissue paper to 1 side of 1 cutout. When finished, glue the two pieces together, covering the glued tissue paper up. Hang in the window for a beautiful Christmas oranament.
Give the children one sheet of black paper and one sheet of white paper. On the white paper, have 1 small, 1 medium and 1 large circle drawn. Have the children cut out the circles and glue onto the black paper. Ask them what it looks like (a snowman). Have them decorate their snowman with markers; or use a salt wash over the paper to look like snow!
Make some cinnamon dough (recipe on craft recipes page). Use a Christmas cookie cutter to cut a design. After the dough is dried, have the children paint with food coloring diluted with water.
Give the children a cutout of Santa's face with a long beard. Have the children glue cotton balls on for his beard and wiggle eyes for eyes!
Encourage the children to make their own wrapping paper. Use newsprint or a brown paper sack cut into large pieces to decorate. Use sponges, potatoes cut into stars, trees, etc. for printing, and red and green paint.
Have each child lay one hand on a piece of green paper. Trace around the child's hand, or have them do it themselves. Cut out the hand. Lay each child's hand, thumb side down around in a circle to make a wreath. Add small red circles for berries and a big red bow!
Make stained glass ornaments. Cut a piece of waxed paper into a Christmas shape. Have available many one-inch squares of tissue paper. Have the children dip a paint brush into white glue diluted with water and apply to the waxed paper. Glue a square at a time and fill in the whole shape. Allow to dry and hang.
Assist the children in covering pine cones with whipped Ivory Flakes tinted with green or red food coloring or paint. Provide glitter for them to decorate the cones.
Make Christmas cards using construction paper and glitter pens. Ecourage the children to fold the cards themselves and place in envelopes.

Cognitive Activities

Have several cutouts of candy canes of various sizes for the children to place from smallest to largest.
Have several different sized circles for the children to make snowmen.
Bring in some old Christmas cards. Place them in a large box and have them classify the cards (ones with Santa, ones with snow, etc.). Then have them count the cards in each group.
Have Christmas candy in a jar and have the children count the pieces and separate all the red ones, green ones, etc.
Have several cutouts of snowflakes of various colors, making sure to make two of each color. Have the children match the snowflake to it's mate. To make it harder, make them all the same color, with different patterns for them to match.
Provide a few different sized stockings and various sized toys. Encourage the children to fit the toys into the stockings. Have small, medium and large stockings and toys available.

Dramatic Play Activities

Display stockings made as an art activity on a "fireplace" painted on butcher paper.
Make a gift wrap express. Supply an area with boxes, tape, wrapping paper, bows, gift bags, Christmas cards, gift tags, and a small Christmas tree. Let children "wrap" gifts and put under tree. They can also make Christmas cards to "mail", and decorate the tree. The children love this one!!
Thanks to Kristal Peterson

Fine Motor Activities

Have the children "write" a list of things they want for Christmas to santa.
Make a stocking, snowman, or other Christmas related object into lacing cards. Make two of the same object for each child. Use laminated construction paper, hole punch and yarn. Not only are they lacing and using fine motor skills, they will have a stocking to put their little gifts in to take home!
Thanks to Kristal Peterson
Sensory Gift Box- Gift wrap a box, to use for your sensory activity. Use packing peanuts for "snow". Place small ornaments, packages, canes, etc; for children to find in the "snow". Wonderful sensory activity.
Thanks to Kristal Peterson
Provide red and green pipe cleaners for the children to twist into various shapes to hang on the tree.

Gross Motor Activities

Toss "snowballs" (cotton balls) into a small box.
Paint a large picture of Santa with his toy bag onto a piece of cardboard. Cut a hole at the top of the bag. Tape the picture in front of a trash can, making sure the hole at the tip of Santa's bag extends above the top of the can. Have the children throw bean bags into "Santa's bag".

Group Activities

Simply use this time to decorate a Christmas tree with all the decorations the children made.
Tell the story "The Night Before Christmas", using props such as a stocking, a small Santa and a reindeer.
Hold a stocking treasure hunt. Hide small stockings made from construction paper and encourage the children to find them.
Some songs to sing:
Deck the Halls
O Christmas Tree
Silent Night
Frosty the Snow Man
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Away in a Manger
Silver Bells
Jingle Bells
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Up on a Roof Top
Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer
All I Want for Christmas
Jolly Old St. Nicholas
Let it Snow
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Science Activities

Mix blue and yellow paint to make green!
Have an evergreen branch available to look at with a magnifying glass.
Have smelly jars with Christmas scents; such as cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate, peppermint, etc.
Place an icecube in a jar and time how long it takes to melt. Discuss why this happens.
Have different kinds of pine cones available for examinatin.
Encourage children to crack open different types of nuts. Have the children taste the different varieties and compare how each one looks and tastes different.

GOT SOME IDEAS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE? E-MAIL ME AND IF I USE THEM, I WILL PROVIDE A LINK FROM MY PAGE TO YOURS!!! CLICK BELOW!!!

chalkboard1488@yahoo.com1997

Art Activities

Craft Recipes

Holiday Activities

Math and Science Activities

Nutrition and Recipes

Rhymes and Fingerplays

Social Studies and Motor Activities

Self-Concept Activities

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Expectations of 3, 4, and 5 year olds

Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences