CHRISTMAS

COOKIE CUTTER FUN

• Collect several Christmas cookie cutters.
• Place thin sponges in pie tins and pour on tempera paint in desired colors.
• Show your child how to press the cookie cutters onto the sponges.
• Press them onto a large piece of paper to make wrapping paper.
• Press them onto plain paper sacks to make gift bags.
• Press them onto plain cards to make holiday cards.
   

SPICY WREATH ORNAMENT
This ornament makes a great holiday gift.

•  Cut the center out of a small green paper plate to make a ring for a wreath base.
• Invite your child to glue on Christmas-scented items, such as dried orange peels, cinnamon sticks (broken into pieces), whole cloves and peppermint candies.
• Add a red bow.
• Then make a hanger by punching two holes in the top of the wreath and tying on a red ribbon.

 
FINGER-PAINTED DECORATIONS

• Set out large pieces of finger-paint paper.
• Place red finger paint on some of the papers and green finger paint on the others.
• Let your children finger-paint designs on the papers, however they wish.
• Allow the paint to dry.
• Then cut the papers into Christmas shapes, such as trees, wreaths, stockings, or ornaments and use the shapes for room decorations.

ADDITIONAL ART IDEAS – can be found at the Art Station & Toddler Station

• Holiday Headbands
• Holiday gifts
• Greeting Card Art
• Jazzy Holiday Chains
• Holiday Wreaths
• Toddler Glitter Art

LEARNING GAMES

HOW MANY DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS?

• Photocopy a December calendar page and let your child decorate it with crayons or markers.
• Attach a holiday sticker on the 25th to mark Christmas Day.
• Then each morning, give your child a sticker to attach on that day’s date and help him count the number of days remaining until Christmas.
   

WRAP IT UP  (Individual Child Game)

• Select a familiar object, such as one of your child’s toys and wrap it like a gift.
• Ask your child to feel the outside of the “present” and try to guess what’s inside.
• Then let her open the package to see if her guess was right.
• Follow up by letting her wrap an object for you to guess.

FEELIE STOCKING (Group Game)

• Find a large Christmas stocking.
• Have your child sit in a circle and close their eyes while you put an object with a distinctive shape, such as a ball, a block, or a bowling pin, into the stocking.
• Pass the stocking around the circle and let the children try to guess what’s inside by using their sense of touch.
• If a child guesses correctly, replace the object with another one and start the game again.
• If a child does not guess correctly, have the stocking passed to the next child.
• Continue playing the game as long as interest lasts.
   

ADDITIONAL LEARNING GAMES – can be found at the Game Station & Toddler Station.

• Gift Box Games
• Games to Make From Holiday Throw-Aways
•  Toddler Bow Games

ORNAMENT STORY

• Put several sturdy Christmas ornaments in a bag, and sit with your child.
• Reach into the bag, take out an ornament and start telling a story about it.
• Then let your child take out an ornament and continue the story, making his ornament a part of it.
• Take turns keep the story going until all the ornaments have been used, then bring the story to an end.
   

STOCKING LETTERS

• Cut 2-inch squares out of heavy paper and print a familiar upper-case consonant on each square.
• Put the squares into a Christmas stocking.
• Have the children sit with you in a circle.
• Pass the stocking around the group.
• As each child takes out a card, have them say the name of the letter.
• Now, say the sound the letter makes and ask the child if they can think of a toy that starts with this sound.
• If you want, have the child pretend to stuff the toy they named into the stocking.
• Continue until everyone has a turn.

CHRISTMAS LETTER BOOK

• Select sheets of white construction paper and print a familiar alphabet letter in the top right-hand corner of each one.
• Let your children choose a paper and then draw a picture of a Christmas item on the paper that begins with the letter at the top.
• When they are finished, write the names of the items at the bottom of each page.
• Combine the pages together into a book.
• Make a cover that read “Christmas Letter Book”.
   

ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES – can be found at the Story Station

•  Holiday Story Skills

SOCIAL STUDIES

THINKING OF OTHERS AT CHRISTMAS
Get into the holiday spirit with your child by trying these suggestions.

• Make cookies for a shut-in neighbor.
• Drop coins into a bell-ringer’s kettle.
• Put a food item in a food donation bin.
• Take a new toy to a children’s shelter.

CHRISTMAS AND THE FIVE SENSES

• Talk with your children about the five senses:  Sight, sound, touch, smell and taste.
• Help them understand how we use our senses to learn about and experience our world.
• Then ask them to help you make lists of things we can experience at Christmas time through our five senses.  Such as;
   
  • Sight – poinsettias and Christmas Lights
  • Sound – bells and Christmas carols
  • Touch – feel prickly holly and soft Santa beards
  • Smell – spicy candles and potpourri
  • Taste – gingerbread cookies and peppermint candies, etc.

CHRISTMAS MUFFINS

• Make or purchase muffins and help your child top them with white frosting.
• Then give her red and green sprinkles to add for decorations.
   

ADDITIONAL SNACK IDEAS – can be found at the Food Station

• Holiday Treats
• Holiday “No-Cook” Treats

MUSIC & RHYMES

SANTA’S ON HIS WAY
Tune:  “The Farmer in the Dell”

Oh, Santa’s on his way.
Oh, Santa’s on his way.
He’s bringing toys for girls and boys
In his Christmas sleigh.

Oh, Santa’s on his way.
Oh, Santa’s on his way.
He’s bringing ______ and _____ and _____
In his Christmas sleigh.
                                    Elizabeth Scofield
Let your child fill in the blanks with the names of toys Santa might be bringing.
 

ADDITIONAL CHRISTMAS SONGS AND RHYMES – can be found at the Music Station

• Christmas Songs
• Bell Songs

THEMES

ADDITIONAL CHRISTMAS THEMES – can be found at the Theme Station

• Gifts
• Reindeer
• Gingerbread   (There is also a Gingerbread Party article at the Party Station.)