I think it would be fun to do a Christmas Fair for our students. We have 6 classes. What do you recommend having?? I thought of 1. Games and 2. Making an ornament. :help:
Decorating a tree is always fun... my favorite version is having thee cut the triangle out, hole punch all over, and glue tissue paper to the back. They look awesome hung in a window. But there are tons of other ways to decorate them, might depend on the age of the kids. To incorporate math... roll a die and put that many ornaments on a tree.. or play the same game with jingle bells. I also like marble-painting candy canes (especially if you put glitter in the paint!!!) Do all your studens celebrate Christmas... do you want to go with a more ecumenical celebration of winter or winter holidays? I can't remember what kind of school you teach in, I just don't like to offend people. (Besides, I love it when I have kids tell me they're asking Santa for a dreidal for Christmas!!!)
We don't center around Santa during the holidays; most parents at our school do. We do Nativity, Jesus' birth and fun stuff like the gingerbread boy, candy canes, christmas trees, etc... Any more ideas anyone? I like the idea about the marble-painting!
For Preschoolers, how about coloring pages? Red and green paper chains (precut of course, needing only to be glued together.) Using a white crayon to draw a snowscape on black paper. Making a winter bird feeder. Some peanut butter slathered onto a pine cone, then rolled in bird feed and tied is fairly easy (though sometimes a bit messy.) Baggie-sized packs of reindeer food: Oatmeal flakes mixed with glitter. (I don't know why they eat glitter, but that's how it always came home with my kids. )
Speaking as a mom of 3: wouldn't that pretty much guarantee that at least one preschooler would EAT the glitter in the hopes of becoming airborn??
Ha ha, Alice, knowing my class of preschoolers it would! You could make candy cane reindeer (glue wiggly eyes and a pom pom nose on the crook of the cane and wrap brown pipe cleaners around for antlers) I have a really cute craft stick snowman ornament that's actually super easy! You paint a large craft stick white, use a sharpie for eyes and mouth - a small triangle of orange felt for a carrot....actually I think I have a picture of it.... Not the greatest picture, but you should be able to get the idea. I've used scraps of Christmas-y fabric to make the hats/scarves. You could also use solid colors of whatever you have! With the marble painting -you could also add a tiny bit of peppermint extract to the paint, so they smell like candy canes! What if you did a whole group "re-enactment" of the Nativity story. Have kids sit in groups of shepherds, angels, etc. and a narrator (or teacher) reads the story - and the kids help out - by shouting out a group line altogether. (Angels could say "Glory to God in the Highest", etc.) I'm still thinking...
Woweee; you guys are awesome! Love, love, love the ideas! I absolutely think the Nativity drama would be well worth doing too! They will get a kick out of that one!
You could make Rice Krispie bars and put them in a cookie sheet - to make them thinner. Then cut them out in a Christmas tree shape. The kids could use a plastic knife to put on green frosting. Also, you could have assorted other edible decorations (sprinkles and so on) for them to decorate their tree. (Great for fine motor skills!)
Gingerbread Boy... I like to read it with my kids, but change teh ending to the gingerbread boy running away and I think I saw him this morning... look, here he is (gingerbread boy cutout)... oh, he left us a clue as to where he was going next! They do a scavenger hunt around the building to familiar locations (water fountain, gym, office, nurse, etc) until they find my Gingerbread Man Beanie Baby. (Usually, with permission, he ends up hiding in the principal's office. They LOVE that)... it's even better when he's hiding with a boy of gingerbread cookies or the mix and then we can bake them I use photos for my clues, but that could easily change depending on the abilities of your kids.
They don't eat the glitter silly. The light from Roudolph's Nose shines on the glitter to help the reindeer see where you sprinkled the food.:lol:
What about popcorn chains? You could lay a sheet on the floor to catch all the pieces that fall/break. Or stringing red/white/green beads together to make 'jewelry' for moms/sisters as presents?
We tell the kids that the reindeer look for the sparkles of the glitter to know that that is where the food is.
Instead of glitter, we use colored sugar. It's sparkly, edible, and won't harm any animals who eat it from the lawn.
If you pop the popcorn a few days in advance and let it set in a brown paper bag, the popcorn will soften up a bit and will not break as easily when you push the string throug it.
I have made marble painted paper candy canes for years. I never thought of adding peppermint. That is such a great idea!!!
Can you share with me how to make marble painting candy canes? They sound so interesting! I want to make sure I do it right. Thanks in advance!
