Christmas Happenings

December flew by in a flurry of excitement. Between snow days and preparation for our Christmas program, I didn't accomplish as much in the classroom as I would have liked, but we did the best with the time we were given. Here are some highlights of Christmas fun!
   I revisited the popcorn activity we did earlier with numbered cupcake liners. Instead of using popcorn, I placed M&M's in a bowl, and the children were able to count out the correct number.

 After the children got bored of this counting activity, I used the M&M's for a fine motor activity. The candy remained in the bowl, and I placed different clippers and recycled water bottles on the table. The kids had a blast trying to get the M&M's into the bottle. This could prove to be an exciting sorting activity as well.
*As suggested by my director, I always tell the children that the candy contains nasty germs, and they will get sick if they eat the candy we are playing with. They all do a good job of following these rules. At times we have a chance to eat the good candy, but the learning center candy is used for learning!

I found some Christmas tin buckets in the dollar section at Target. I set four of them up and placed a bowl of various Hershey kisses and hugs for the kids to sort. After they were through with that activity I used the buckets and cookie sheets at my literacy table. I placed some hot cocoa mix on each sheet and placed a candy cane in each bucket. The children used the candy canes to practice writing their names and draw in the powder. This seemed to be the most favored activity during December. It was messy, but the joy in their faces was worth it!

Another math activity was patterning. I laminated white candy canes cut from paper and placed out some dry erase markers. I also laid out candy canes for ideas. The children would then replicate the candy cane patterns over and over again on the laminated canes.

We also took some time studying the true meaning of Christmas through the telling of Baby Jesus. One way to bring the story to life was these fun felt characters I cut out for the felt board.

 Through teaching Sunday School, I came across this sheep craft that I would have used in the classroom. I did it with the junior aged kids at church as well as my 2&3 year old Sunday School class. I found the ornaments on Pinterest. All you need is a cut out of the child's hand, cotton balls, glue, googly eyes, a hole puncher and yarn.

Another big hit in the classroom was my gift wrap station. I found Disney themed Christmas paper at the Dollar Tree along with bows. I also provided tape and ribbon along with small boxes I found around the house (old cell phone boxes, small packages, tissue boxes, cereal boxes, etc). I was really surprised with how well the children did. They also had a chance to trim our tree each day, and the Christmas countdown was a big hit too. At first I would carefully unwrap the gifts, so the supplies could be reused. Once they began to tire of the activity,  left them wrapped and under the tree for a festive look to our room.

The children enjoyed receiving Santa mail from the stocking hanging on our door. It served as motivation in preparing for our Christmas program in which they did a terrific job! The kids also used cookie cutters to make ornaments from clay. They loved painting the ornaments and taking them home. We had plenty of other fun, and it all went un-photographed in our busyness. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the holidays, and now it is time to learn about winter!