Christmas
Activities to keep your little ones busy all the way up until the big
day!
Apologies for the length of time since my last post – I am in the
midst of many exams at college and am spending any of that most
valuable free time either studying! That being said – I have begun
thinking about Christmas and therefore, have decided to make a
countdown of 24 festive activities for you to try on the run up to
the big day!
December
1st
Make your own Santa themed advent calendar! All you need is to draw
(or print) the top half of Santa's head and then create a downwards
facing triangle of the numbers 1-25 (or 24 if you are in a nursery
and wont see the children on the 25th)
Then on each day, a
child can glue a cotton wool ball onto the correct number to slowly
build up that snowy white beard!
HINT: If you have a big-ish class,
it's sometimes helpful to have 2 advent calendars on the go to ensure
that everyone gets a turn
(Numeracy, turn taking, knowledge of time/days)
December
2nd
Using Christmas scents such as; nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger,
make some festive smelling playdough or gloop for lovely sensory
play.
If you decide on gingerbread flavoured playdough – why not add
gingerbread-man cutters, googly eyes, sequins etc
Another idea is to make red and white playdough or gloop and add
peppermint scent for a candy cane theme!
(Sensory, Manipulative play, fine motor, hand-eye co-ordination, creative)
December
3rd
Continuing on the sensory theme, make spice paints by adding your
ginger/ cinnamon etc to PVA glue (I found watering the glue down a
little helps) and paint onto gingerbread man cut outs.
Hint: More able children could even try cutting out their own men for
that added challenge.
(Sensory, Creative)
December
4th
and real snow (which will soon turn to water – but this is just as
valuable)
Don't forget to add magnifying glasses, pencils and paper for
observation and investigation!
Extend this investigation by creating an interest table or tray where
children can explore some of the materials listed above! Hint:
supervision is needed with magic snow to prevent eating it!
(Knowledge of seasons and celebrations)
December
5th
Provide lots of wrapping paper, scissors and tape (Masking tape works
best as it is easy to cut/ tear and can usually peeled off if stuck
in unwanted places) and encourage your children to wrap boxes,
containers etc from your junk modelling. Once wrapped, these can be a
lovely addition to your role play area.
(Fine motor, hand-eye co-ordination, problem solving)
December
6th
Get the children involved in some BIG art by laying out large sheets
of paper and materials for printing (i.e. plates of festive coloured
paint and sponges/duplo blocks/ shaped stampers etc) and make your
very own wrapping paper.
(Creative, patterns, colours)
December
7th
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| Image from morguefile.com |
Ditch those boring paint brushes and make your own by attaching stick
on ribbon bows/ tinsel/ bits of pine branches to lolly sticks! (If
they don't stick very well, clothes pegs can be a simple handle)
(Creative)
December
8th
It's time to write that letter to Santa! This activity can be adapted
for children of different abilities.
First of all, there are some
lovely printable pages which are a bit more exciting than a plain
sheet of paper (or you can make your own if you're feeling creative)
Some children may be able to write an entire letter/ list with a
little support, or it may be helpful for some children to follow the
guide:
Something I want_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Something I need_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Something to wear_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Something to read_ _ _ _ _ _ _
for others, it is a nice alternative to look through magazines
(you'll probably have tonnes at this time of year!) and cut out the
pictures of items that take their fancy. Remember to encourage them
to write a few words, even if it is just “To Santa”.
(Language & Literacy, Making decisions, fine motor, hand-eye co-ordination)
December
9th
I loved this one as a child: cutting out snowflakes!
First draw around a plate or a large circle onto a white sheet of
paper, then cut it out.
Then fold it in half, and again, and again until you have a
small(ish) section – it doesn't need to be tiny, but the more times
it is folded, the more intricate your final design will look!
Next, snip away little triangles from around the edges of your
section and finally, open it out and admire your work!
I like to hang these pretty snowflakes around the room. They also
make a fab starting point for discussing the way that every snowflake
is different and individual – just like us!
(Fine motor, hand-eye co-ordination, patterns)
December
10th
It's time for some threading! Your shape can be as simple as a green
triangle (christmas tree) or 2 circles (snowman) or you could cut out
a slightly more complicated version and then use a hole punch to pop
some holes all around the edges.
Then allow the children to use brightly coloured wool to thread in
and out of the holes. If you don't have a chunky, child sized needle,
try wrapping the end of the wool with masking tape, or you can make
your own needle with a pipe cleaner!
(Fine motor, hand-eye co-ordination, concentration)
December
11th
Cut the middle out of a paper plate and decorate with either real,
natural resources or a mixture of tissue paper, pom poms, glitter etc
to make a pretty wreath for your door!
(Creative, choosing resources, becoming aware of traditions)
December
12th
I know some EYPs that refuse to use colouring pages, but I feel that
they can be fun and helpful for children, as long as they aren't the
be all and end all of your provision!
There
are tonnes of fantastic festive themed colouring pages to be found –
I could add a link but to be quite honest, you're just as well using
Google Image search!
(Concentration, choosing colours and materials, telling a narrative)
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| Image from morguefile.com |
December
13th
Let the children make their own Salt Dough ornaments to decorate the
tree!
Salt Dough Ornaments:
You only need 3 ingredients: 1 cup of plain flour, 1 cup of salt and
water to combine.
Roll the dough out and use some Christmas cookie cutters to make the
shapes
Don't forget to make a small hole at the top. You'll need this for
threading your ribbon at the end.
Different recipes give different cooking times so have a look, but I
tend to cook them by eye (when they turn golden brown then they are
done)
Let them cool and harden and then decorate with paint and plenty of
glitter (poster paint mixed with PVA is great as it leaves a
wonderful shine – it also helps your glitter to stick!)
Thread your ribbon through the hole and it's ready to hang!
(Creative)
December
14th
I hope you've saved your Christmas cards from last year! Chop them up
to make some simple, seasonal jigsaw puzzles
(Problem solving, logical thinking)
December
15th
Any scraps of wrapping paper? Let the children chop it up and stick
it down for some easy collage fun. You can also chop into strips of
different lengths and arrange into a Christmas tree shape!
(Creative, hand-eye co-ordination, fine motor)
December
16th
I hope by this time that we have some snow to play with! Get outside
and make snow men, snow angels, snow balls...
Did you know that you can paint the snow? Watch as the colour gets
absorbed and as the snow melts and changes into all kinds of
interesting shapes!
(Physical, creative)
December
17th
Take a fairly large cardboard box, paint it red, add glitter and
cotton wool snow and cut out a slot to create a Christmas post box.
Then provide lots of blank Christmas cards and envelopes and allow
the children to write messages, post them and deliver them to each
other
(Creative, literacy and language, role play)
December
18th
I hope you're making good use of your role play area! Here's a few
ideas:
Santa's workshop (pretend tools, work benches, boxes, wrapping,
toys...)
Christmas house (fireplace, children's own tree, pretend presents,
bed)
Christmas Post Office (envelopes, cards, stamps, boxes, post bags)
Christmas Shop (till, shops, bags, toys/sweets/cakes)
(Imaginative, Role Play)
December
19th
Use a simple shape to play Christmas Bingo! (Here's one I made
earlier)
Stickers or stampers to cover the number once it's called add and
extra element of fun.
Don't forget to blank out a few different numbers on each child's
sheet so that they are not all the same!
(Numeracy)
December
20th
Here's another very simple idea – Christmas themed dot-to-dot.
Again, there are so many options for this, you could make your own
but you could save time by using Google Images!
(Numeracy, sequencing)
December
21st
Now would be a lovely time to learn about Christmas around the world
– the different cultures and traditions. There are many books
available and here is a wonderful website with many facts and photos
to explore http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/
(Knowledge and Understanding of our own and other cultures)
December
22nd
Do your children continually want to decorate and redecorate the
tree? Give them their own tree to play with – either a child sized
artificial tree in the role play area, or why not make a 'fuzzy felt'
version by sticking a large felt tree shape to the wall and providing
all kinds of felt decorations (if they don't stick very well –
velcro may help)
(Creative, Role play)
December
23rd
Go for a wintery walk. Wrap up warm and go out spotting christmas
trees and lights around your area. To add another element of learning
to this activity you could create a tick/ tally/ scavenger sheet for
children to complete along the way.
(Physical, Observation)
December
24th
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| Taken from Google Images |
Christmas eve at last! Why not settle down to a classic Christmas
movie (Some of my favourites include; The Snowman and Polar Express
for younger children, Elf and Muppets Christmas carol for older.
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Bonus
Blog hopping – with a few more fantastic ideas:
1. Another version of the advent calendar – this time cutting off
sections of Santa's beard each day.
2. A recipe for Reindeer food to sprinkle in the garden on Christmas eve
3. A selection of wonderful “Jingle Bell” activities
4. And finally, some Snowman activities
(I especially love the melted
snowman pictures)
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Wishing you all a wonderful festive period! May all your Christmas
wishes come true!
