Miss Mari's Preschool
An Adventure Every Day!
Christmas
Books
Activities
Teddy Bears Trim the Tree by Sam Williams
The Night Before Christmas Popup book by Robert Sabuda
There was a Cold Lady who Swallowed a Bell by Lucille Colandro
Snowman at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner
Hurry, Santa! by Julie Sykes
Careful Santa by Julie Sykes
Bear Stays up for Christmas by Karma Wilson
Grumpy Santa by Greg Spiridellis
Who Will Guide my Sleigh Tonight by Jerry Pallotta
Santa's Stuck by Rhonda Gowler Greene
Little Elf Book
A colleague showed me this cute book that her students make every Christmas. She works on the five senses around Christmas time, so it went perfectly with her theme. I study the five senses a little later in the year, so I just had my students make these at the art table. We made one page a day and then sent it home on the last day before Christmas Break.
Page 1 - Cover
Page 2 - Little Elf, Little Elf, what do you see? Shimmering lights on a Christmas Tree. Students color their Christmas tree and decorate with glitter glue,
Page 3 - Little Elf, Little Elf, what do you hear? Sleigh bells ringing on Santa's Reindeer. Students cut out the reindeer's ears, put a red nose on him, and add a bell on his collar that rings.
Page 4 - Little Elf, Little Elf, what do you smell? Something's in the oven, but I won't tell! Students trace the gingerbread man's body with a brown marker. Next they use a gluestick to make his body sticky. Then they sprinkle cinnamon on him. Then they can decorate by adding beads for buttons and drawing eyes.
Page 5 - Little Elf, Little Elf, what do you feel? Santa's soft beard, it feels so real! Students color Santa and put cotton balls on his hat and beard.
Page 6 - Little Elf, Little Elf, what do you eat? Candy canes, so crunchy and sweet! Students decorate their stocking and add a mini candy cane.
Christmas Present for Parents
I usually have the students make something for their parents for Christmas that has their picture on it. Last year I had foam stockings and Christmas trees. I put their picture inside, and the students decorated them with stickers.
Ice Cream Cone Christmas Tree
Saw these on Pinterest. My students LOVED making them! Simply turn an ice cream cone upside down, cover with green frosting, and decorate with candy.
Pop-up Christmas Card
You can download the template here on Robert Sabuda's website. I do most of the prep work for the students. All they have to do is color and decorate their tree/Christmas card.
ABC Christmas Tree
A fun letter identification game
Christmas Tree - Which has more?
I needed an activity where the students could practice more and less so I came up with this. I put the printable in a sheet protector. Students count out the correct amount of ornaments and then the teacher tells them to either circle which has more or which has less.
Christmas Light Pattern
We are working on patterning in Preschool, so I dicut some Christmas lights in a variety of colors and let the students make their own patterns. We were specifically focusing on ABAB patterns, but some students extended to ABB and ABC patterns. We actually had the students glue these on black head bands and wear them, but I forgot to get a picture of the finished head band.
Pass the Present Game
We play this game at our Christmas party. I buy a book for every student, wrap them, and pass them out. The students sit in a circle, each holding their present, and I read a Christmas book. Every time I say the word "Santa," they pass the present to the person next to them. When I finish the book, they get to open their present.
Where's the Present?
Hide the Christmas present under a Christmas tree, and have the students take turns guessing a letter until they find it. Available at my TPT store here.
Christmas Tree by Length
I got this idea from Mrs Lee's Kinder Kids here.
Christmas Stockings
We make these at the beginning of December and hang them up in the classroom. Then for our Christmas party I fill them with candy and send them home. I used to have Santa come in for our Christmas party and hand out the stockings, but that got too expensive for my budget, so now I just hand them out. There are a lot of steps to making these, but the students love them. First, they sew around the edges. Second, they glue cotton balls along the top. Next, they trace their name in glue. Finally, a grown up puts glitter on it.
Beginning Sound Present Match
Students take turns pulling an item out of the stocking. Then they match it to the correct present bag by identifying the beginning sound of each item.
Candy Cane Ornaments - Patterning
Give students half of a white pipe cleaner and tri-beads (I usually give them a choice between red, white, and green). Children choose two color and make an ABAB pattern to resemble a candy cane. You can make the activity harder by having the kids do an ABC or ABB pattern, but I've found that most kids like to do AB because it looks more like a candy cane. You can see an example here.
Christmas Playdough Mats
Students make little balls out of playdough to resemble ornaments. Then they count out how many ornaments to put on each tree. You can find them here at prekinders.com.