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Christmas cheer starts on December first in our classroom! We spread joy throughout the entire month, right up until break! During morning meeting, our helper of each day adds a cotton ball to Santa's beard to add to the excitement! Students color a picture every day upon arrival. They are so pumped to get to use their skinny markers! (Sometimes it's just the little things, isn't it?!) Elf Ideas for the ClassroomTo kick off December, a special (and very cold) package arrived in our classroom this week!  The kiddos were in for a surprise delivery, and some elf on the shelf fun in our classroom!  Our classroom elf is different than the home elves. He moves all throughout the day so he can keep up with us as we move throughout the school. You just never know when he’s going to pop out! He brings us Christmas trinkets and candy!   Calendar Anchor ChartBefore introducing the concept of Holidays Around the World, we touch base on understanding the differences between months, seasons, and holidays. This chart really helps with creating a concrete idea about the differences in the categories.  Five Senses of Christmas Anchor ChartTo make a science connection throughout Christmastime, we discuss the 5 Senses with Santa as our leader!  Gingerbread Man Activities for KindergartenWe start exploring our senses with TASTE! Read your favorite gingerbread titles, and ask your students, "What's your favorite cookie?" with our gingerbread craft! We LOVE the following books: The Gingerbread Man, The Gingerbread Girl, The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School, The Gingerbread Girl Goes Animal Crackers, The Ninjabread Man, Gingerbread Friends, and Gingerbread Baby. These books are perfect for making connections between stories!  The kiddos had a ball running around the school, hunting for that silly gingerbread man! He just kept getting away! In the end, he left us a bag of his cookie friends and engaging foam crafts for some fine motor fun! I love these little cookies, found at Walmart and Dollar General each year.  Gingerbread House Alternative for KindergartenInstead of making gingerbread house (hello houses falling apart and crying kids), we decorate wafer cones and make a gingerbread forest! Provide a plate, plastic knife, cone, cookie, and fun-size bag of M&M's for each student. Then squeeze green icing onto the top of the cones. Students spread it around and pop M&M's on for lights! Lean the gingerbread man on the cone for a sweet little display!  gingerbread Man MoldMake gingerbread crayons! Practice fine motor skills as students rip paper off of broken crayons. Then melt them into candy molds! So fun!!!!  Christmas Books for KindergartenWe love Christmas books! As we read our favorite holiday titles, we create crafts to go along with them. As we read, we continue to discuss our senses. Here is a list of our favorite Christmas books for kindergarten: A Letter to Santa, Who'll Pull Santa's Sleigh Tonight?, Pete the Cat Saves Christmas, and The Night Before Christmas. Have you hung stockings in your classroom yet?! Our students love to hang them up! Then the elf attaches goodies to them on the last day of school before Winter Break!  Kids love these sweet little elf puppets! They have the option of making a puppet or stuffing the bag to make their very own elf buddy!  We LOVE these Christmas Tree Name Crafts, and it's a teacher favorite! This is the perfect follow-up to The Biggest Christmas Tree Ever. (Download the craft by clicking the photo below.)  Christmas crafting just ins't complete without Rudolph! We create theses little guys after reading Who'll Pull Santa's Sleigh Tonight? (Download the craft pack by clicking the photo.)  We also make reindeer food! Add oats and glitter to little cups for each kiddo. Grab this sweet little poem, and tuck it all in a plastic bag! Pick up a fun reindeer hat while you’re at it!   It’s time to get those letters to Santa! After reading A Letter to Santa, we know just what to do!  You know it’s Christmastime in the classroom when the cotton balls and glitter are in full force. (Are you team glitter? Our kindergarten team is split.) After reading Pete the Cat Saves Christmas, we save Christmas for our neighbors who are in the nursing home! Students add their faces to elf crafts, and we drop them off next door. Nurses hang the elves all around the home to spread Christmas joy!  Christmas Morning Work and Center Activities for KindergartenThroughout December, we bust out the markers and change up our morning work with some Christmas coloring pages!  There are SO many little trinkets available at the Dollar Tree, Target, and Walmart during Christmas time! We love to incorporate the goodies into our kindergarten center time!   These Oriental Trading ornaments are the perfect fine motor activity to celebrate Christmas in the classroom! The kiddos are thrilled to have a hand in decorating the room. The bonus is that the ornaments serve as a part of the parent gift, too!  Target's mini erasers get me every time! They can be used for EVERYTHING! Below you see students building numbers, practicing fine motor skills, and playing a dice game!    Our friends, Mrs. V. and her kindergarten class, had an egg nog day when their elf brought them some to taste test! She tied the egg nog in with the og word family when they did a write the room center activity and craft with our product! Thank you for the request of such an engaging lesson, and thank you for sharing your fun with us, Mrs. V.!!  Needs and Wants Lesson for KindergartenAs we discuss what the kids want for Christmas, we explore the differences between needs and wants with this anchor chart.  After we talk about needs and wants, to make a connection to gifts! A parent gift that makes my heart go flippity-flop is below! The kids were SNOW excited to take them home! My husband cuts the wood for me. Other supplies needed include the following materials: one Christmas sock, orange glitter foam, ribbon, 3 felt pads, and black paint. I use a pencil to draw the faces on the snowmen, and the kiddos dip their fingers in it to complete the craft.     Of course, I had to do a snowmen craft at home with the boys, too! These are cut to their height!  The Day Before Christmas BreakHere's how we wrap it all up! Our little elf leaves a note, and "he" attaches some goodies to the students' classroom stockings!   On the day before break, I send the reindeer food home for the kiddos to use on Christmas Eve. I also prep a little bag of Christmas goodies for each student, along with a wrapped Christmas book. We play a "Pass the Present" game. The kids sit in a circle. The rule is that everyone must have a book in his/her lap and books may not touch the ground. When the Christmas music starts, they start passing. When it stops, I pull a name to see who gets to open the book s/he is holding. The kids go crazy for this activity! I just love it!  Cocoa ExpressI just love this magical little cart our staff pushes around from room to room to deliver Christmas cheer! This is THE perfect way to wrap up December!  Decemeber Craft Activiteis for KindergartenIf it's not clear yet, I LOVE Christmas!!! So. If you can dream it, there's a craft for that! Explore our entire December collection of Christmas activities for Science, Writing, and Math! Looking Ahead!Gather more lesson ideas for upcoming themes, too!
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