Christmas! A time of giving and love

CIRCLE TIME

Christmas means "The Mass of Christ". This is the time when we celebrate the nativity of Jesus Christ. When Jesus was born, angels were sent to tell the 3 Wise-men and let them know where to go visit him. They brought with them gifts to present to baby Jesus to welcome him and show his love. This is why we give the people we love presents on Christmas! This is the season of giving. In addition to giving to the people in our lives who we love, we should try to give to those who are less fortunate than us. Donating toys and clothes to homeless shelters and battered women's shelters are great ideas!

BOOKS

http://www.amazon.com/Story-Christmas-Patricia-Pingry/dp/0824918452/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386695668&sr=1-1&keywords=the+story+of+christmas+by+patricia+a.+pingry

A great book for explaining, simply, why we celebrate Christmas! It is very well written and makes the whole season make sense.

http://www.amazon.com/Night-Before-Christmas-Clement-Clarke/dp/0824955145

This is the classic story beloved by millions for a long time. I read it to my son every Christmas eve!




SCIENCE

Candy Cane Science Experiment

You Need:
Small bowls
Mini Candy Canes
Warm Water

Talk about candy canes. They are made of sugar. What do the kids think will happen if you put the candy canes in warm water?

Unwrap a couple and place them in the water. Cover them completely. Watch what happens. After a few minutes, all the red dye should dissolve into the water. Most of it will sink to the bottom of the bowl. Keep watching! Record how long it takes to completely disappear. Did any of the kids think that was what would happen? Do they think the same thing would happen if they placed the candy canes in oil? What if you add salt?

You can expand on this experiment the more interested the kids are!

MATH

Christmas Tree Shape Worksheet

This is from first-school.com! Follow the link and print in color or black and white. It is always fun to decorate a Christmas tree and with this you can learn about colors and shapes as well!

http://www.first-school.ws/activities/activityc/christmas-tree-colors-shapes.htm

Gingerbread Button Counting

From filefolderfun.com. Download and print the pictures of gingerbread men who need buttons and have the kids help them out. There are even simple addition cards for those who are learning to add. You can cut out the printable buttons or provide real ones. There are lots of fun ways to use these!

http://filefolderfun.com/Pages/PreschoolCounting/GingerbreadManCount

LETTER/READING

Short Vowel Review

Continue to review the short vowel sounds.

http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/load.htm?f

You can review the short vowels again. There is also a fun game called "10 little snowmen" you can play. Click on the snowman on the right side of the screen.

http://www.readingbear.org/Presentation.aspx?Review=1-6

Review the short vowels on readingbear.com.

ART/CRAFT

Craft - Easy Pom Pom Decorations

You Need:
Cardboard
White school glue
Many colors and sizes of craft pom poms

This is a simple and fun craft! Cut the cardboard into shapes such as candy canes, wreaths, Christmas trees, stars, etc. Give the kids the shapes and allow them to glue the pom poms to the shapes in whatever pattern they like!

Art - Paper Plate Angels

You Need:
Paper plates
Scissors
Crayons or markers
Any other craft items you want (such as craft poms, stickers, glitter, etc)

Cut the angel pattern from the paper plate. Give each child an angel to decorate in any way they wish!

MOTOR SKILLS

Snowball Toss Game

You need:
6 plastic drinking cups
Bag of pillow stuffing or cotton balls

The idea of this game is like a ring toss. Draw snowman faces on the cups. Tear off small bunches of the stuffing or glue 4 cotton balls together. Mark a line on the floor and have the kids stand at that line. Set up the cups a distance away in a triangle configuration with 1 in the front, 2 behind and 3 behind that. The kids should try to toss the cotton into the cups while standing at the line. Each cup could be worth more points and the child who gets the most points wins!
This is a great hand-eye coordination game and gets kids up and moving!

From we-made-that.com

Fine - Pomander

You Need:
Oranges
Cloves (whole)
Wooden Skewers

This requires some prep. You will need to poke the holes in the oranges first. Use the skewers to make the patterns on the oranges.
Give each child an orange and show them how to stick the cloves into the pre-made holes. When these are complete, they are pretty and smell amazing! You can make these gifts for their parents.

MUSIC

Well Christmas carols are just the best! And there are too many to list. http://www.the-north-pole.com/carols/ Follow the link to find a lengthy list of great Christmas music, both secular and Christian, with lyrics!

COOKING

Candy Cane Fruit Snack

Ingredients:
Strawberries
Bananas

With all the candy, cookies and cakes this time of year, we are going to make something a bit more healthy! Cut up the fruit into small chunks. Show the kids how to put the candy cane together and then let them do their own. A yummy, healthy and very Christmas-y snack.

The Candy Cane

To go along with our yummy snack, click the link to Ministry to children for a printable story about the candy cane!
http://ministry-to-children.com/candy-cane-poem-about-jesus/