Activity of the Day: December 29, 2011

Bell Estimation Jar:
Fill a jar with bells. Have the children take turns estimating how many bells are in the jar. To help with their estimation, have them pull out 10 bells and look at them, they may hold them in their hands or spread them out, whatever helps with their estimation. Then return the 10 bells to the jar. After everyone has estimated count the bells in the jar together.

Activity of the Day: December 28, 2011

Bell Ring Game: 
Instructions on how to make bell rings in art section. Played like Doggie Doggie Where's your Bone? With a twist. Older children will have a hard time keeping the bells quiet, and it will give younger children the advantage of hearing the bells. This is how the game is played. The teacher picks one child to sit in the middle and be the Doggie. Then the other children sit in a circle around the Doggie. The teacher picks one child to hold the bells (bone) behind their back, and all the children sit with their hands behind their back. Say the Chant: 
Doggie, Doggie, 
Where's your bone? 
Somebody took it from it's home, 
Upstairs, downstairs, by the telephone, 
Wake up doggie, Find your bone. 
The Doggie picks up to three people that he/she believes has the bells. One at a time, as picked, the children show their hands. If they pick the right child they "win". Regardless the child with the "bone" become the next Doggie, and the old Doggie pick who will get the bells next. 

Activity of the Day: December 27, 2011

Bell Ring Song: 

Supply each child with a bell ring. (Instructions on how to make bell rings in art section.) Sing this song and follow the directions: Sung to Frere Jacques 
Ring your bells, 
Ring your bells, 
Shake them left and right, 
Shake them hard and light, 
Ring them loud, 
Ring them soft. 

Ring your bells, 
Ring your bells, 
Shake them up and down, 
Shake them all around, 
Ring them loud, 
Ring them soft. 

Activity of the Day: December 26, 2011

Bell ringing 2: 3+ 
Supply the children with pairs of bells. Mix them up. See if they can find their matches by the sound. 

Bell Sort: 3+
Provide the children with many different kinds of bells to sort by size or color.

Activity of the Day: December 25, 2011

Bell balancing: 3+ 

Supply the children with bells and a balance. Show the children how to make the balance even. Count the bells on each side. 

Bell ringing: 3+ 
Supply the children with many different bells. What different sounds do they make. How are the sounds different. 

Activity of the Day: December 24, 2011

Santa Song
written by chicky
Sung to "Frere Jacques"
When I'm sleeping
When I'm sleeping
He will come
He will come
He will eat the cookies
He will eat the cookies
And drink the milk
And drink the milk

Activity of the Day: December 23, 2011

I Know a Man Named Santa
written by chicky
Sung to "The More We Get Together" 
I know a man named Santa
Named Santa, Named Santa
He has nine reindeer 

He travels round the world
Round the world, round the world
He travels round the world
To delivers his gifts. 

He comes down the chimney
The chimney, the chimney
He comes down the chimney

To deliver the gifts.  

Activity of the Day: December 22, 2011

He'll be coming down the Chimney 
Sung to "She'll be coming around the mountain" 
He'll be coming down the chimney when he comes, 
He'll be coming down the chimney when he comes, 
He'll be coming down the chimney, 
He'll be coming down the chimney, 
He'll be coming down the chimney when he comes. 

He'll be bringing lots of presents when he comes, 
He'll be bringing lots of presents when he comes, 
He'll be bringing lots of presents, 
He'll be bringing lots of presents, 
He'll be bringing lots of presents when he comes. 

He'll be driving nine reindeer when he comes, 
He'll be driving nine reindeer when he comes, 
He'll be driving nine reindeer, 
He'll be driving nine reindeer, 
He'll be driving nine reindeer when he comes. 

Activity of the Day: December 21, 2011

Candy Cane Weighing
Supply the children with a balance and candy canes to experiment with.

Activity of the Day: December 20, 2011

Christmas Stars
Cut out many different star shapes. Have the child glue the stars onto a piece of dark blue paper to represent the night sky.

Activity of the Day: December 19, 2011

Play "Who stole the Cookie?"
Class: Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?
Teacher: (Ann) stole the cookie from the cookie jar?
Ann: Who me?
Class: Yes you!
Ann: Couldn't be!
Class: Then who?
Ann: (Tommy) stole the cookie from the cookie jar?
Tommy: Who me?
Class: Yes you!
Tommy: Couldn't be!
Class: Then who?

Activity of the Day: December 18, 2011

Christmas Shape Match Up
There are many ways to set this up depending on the skill level or the particular skill you wish to work on. Try these different set ups: (Use your own Christmas Shapes... wreath, tree, star, bell, ornament... etc)
---Cut out Christmas Shapes from different colors of paper. Give each child one Christmas Shape. Ask the children to find one person with the same color Christmas Shape. 
---Cut out Christmas Shapes from different colors of paper. Cut the Christmas Shapes in half using a puzzle type cut, like zig zag or interlocking pieces. Give each child one half of a Christmas Shape, and ask them to find the person with the other half. 
Or Give the children two pieces and have the children make a circle, with one child that has one match on one side and the other match on the other side. You may end up with 2 or more circles depending on how the Christmas Shape pieces are distributed. 
---Cut out Christmas Shapes from one color of paper. Cut the Christmas Shapes in half using a puzzle type cut, like zig zag or interlocking pieces. Give each child one half of a Christmas Shape, and ask them to find the person with the other half. 
Or Give the children two pieces and have the children make a circle, with one child that has one match on one side and the other match on the other side. You may end up with 2 or more circles depending on how the Christmas Shape pieces are distributed. 
---Cut the Christmas Shapes from one color of paper. Label one set of Christmas Shapes with numbers, i.e. if you have 20 children, label the Christmas Shapes with the numbers one to ten. The other half, draw one dot on one, two on another, and so on until ten. Give each child one Christmas Shape and have them find the child with their match. 
---Cut the Christmas Shapes from one color of paper. Place matching stickers on two Christmas Shapes. Give each child one Christmas Shape and have them find the child with their match. 
---Cut the Christmas Shapes from one color of paper. Cut the Christmas Shapes in half using a puzzle type cut, like zig zag or interlocking pieces. Place matching stickers on each half of a Christmas Shape. Give each child one Christmas Shape half and have them find the child with their match. 
---Place matching Christmas stickers on separate index cards. Give each child a card and ask them to find the child with their match. 
---Try all the above, but in a file folder format. Glue one part of the Christmas Shape to the file folder and laminate it's match. 

Activity of the Day: December 17, 2011

Candy Cane Balance
Supply each child with a candy cane. Ask them to balance it on their head. then have the children walk from point A to point B. (Preset marks..) Whoever makes it across without dropping their cane wins.

Activity of the Day: December 16, 2011

What time is it Santa? 
This is a fun game to play outside. You can change the name to suit any theme. 
The children all line up against a wall or fence. 
And one child, (Santa) or the teacher faces away from the children, a good distance away from the children. 
The children yell, what time is it "Santa", 
Santa answers 1 o'clock, and the children all take one step toward Santa. 
The children yell again, what time is it "Santa", 
Santa answers (fill in the blank) o'clock, and the children all take same number of step toward Santa. 
This continues until all the children are very close to Santa, then Santa will answer it's midnight, and chases the children back to the fence or wall that they started at. The first person Santa touches will be the new Santa. 

Activity of the Day: December 15, 2011

Where is your Gift? 
Played like "Doggie Doggie where's your bone?" 
Have one child sit in the middle of the circle, and hide their eyes. Give another child a Small Gift to hide behind their back. Have all the other children put their hands behind their back. Chant the following song: 
Santa, Santa
Where's your gift
You better wake up
and find it swift.
The child in the middle gets three guesses. Then the child who had the gift goes into the middle. 

Activity of the Day: December 14, 2011

Christmas Tree Hop 
Cut out large Christmas Tree shapes from colored paper. Laminate them and cut them out. Place them on the floor and ask the children to hop from one tree to another. These may also be used at seat markers for group time. 

Activity of the Day: December 13, 2011

Count the Stripes
Make many different candy cane shapes with different different numbers of stripes. Have the children count the stripes on the candy canes. If you made candy cane art (above) then have each child count the stripes on their candy cane. You could ask the children who had the most, the least and make a chart of how many lines were on the candy canes. Which number of stripes did most people make? 

Activity of the Day: December 12, 2011

Santa's Reindeer 2
Paint the child's foot brown, but not the toes. Press the foot firmly onto a piece of white paper. Clean the child's foot with soap and water. Paint the child's hands brown, then have them press their hands firmly onto the paper near the top of where there foot was. Clean the child's hands with soap and water. Dry completely. Paint two of the child's fingers blue and one thumb red. Have the child press their fingers and thumb firmly onto a separate piece of white paper. The two blue fingers will be the eyes, and the red thumb will be the nose. After the paint dries, have the child cut out their finger and thumb prints and glue them onto their reindeer.

Activity of the Day: December 11, 2011

Stamping Patterns
Use Christmas Theme rubber stamps to create a simple pattern on the top half of a piece of paper. Ask your child to help you recreate the pattern on the bottom half of the paper. Tip: Start with one stamp, and have your child pick which stamp you used. Start slowly and work your way up to more complicated patterns.

Activity of the Day: December 10, 2011

Christmas Star Seriation
Supply the children with many stars with numbers on them. Have the children line up the numbers 1, 2, 3, etc. 

Activity of the Day: December 9, 2011

Paint on Wet Paper 
You can also use this as a science experiment. Explain diffusion, the spreading of the paint on the paper, through the water. Wet the paper and have the children paint on the paper with red and green paints.

Activity of the Day: December 8, 2011

All I want for Christmas- Bulletin Board Idea
Fold a piece of paper in half, to create a card. Have the card fold up. On the inside have the children cut out and paste things they would like for Christmas. Then have the children use wrapping paper for the outside. Use Christmas labels to identify each child's artwork. 

Activity of the Day: December 7, 2011

Candy Canes
This activity can be set up for all ages. 
Most advanced:
They may draw their own candy can shape onto a white piece of paper and cut it out on their own. Then have them paint on the red stripes, or they may use red crayons or markers.
Little advanced:
You draw the candy can shape onto a white piece of paper and the children cut it out on their own. Then have them paint on the red stripes, or they may use red crayons or markers.
Moderate:
You draw the candy can shape onto a white piece of paper and the children cut it out on their own. Draw lines where the stripes should be. Then have them paint on the red stripes, or they may use red crayons or markers.
Simple:
You draw the candy can shape onto a white piece of paper and the cut it out for them. Draw lines where the stripes should be. Then have them paint on the red stripes, or they may use red crayons or markers.
Very Simple:
You draw the candy can shape onto a white piece of finger paint paper and the cut it out for them. Place masking tape where the stripes will be. Then have them paint on the red stripes, or they may use red crayons or markers. When the project is dry remove the tape. This way young toddlers can paint the whole thing without "making a mistake".

Activity of the Day: December 6, 2011

Christmas Star Sort
Supply the children with different size stars. Have the children sort the stars according to size.

Activity of the Day: December 5, 2011

Pine Branch Painting
Supply the children with a pine branch, with pine needles on it, instead of a paint brush. You could use red and green for a holiday picture, or whatever colors they wish.

Activity of the Day: December 4, 2011

Pine Cones 
Collect pines cones or ask your parents to bring in some. Tie a ribbon around the top of the pine cone. Have the children apply glitter glue to them. Use them on a tree for decoration.

Activity of the Day: December 3, 2011

Christmas Tree Memory
Obtain Christmas Tree stickers. You will need two of each shape. Measure the largest sticker, then cut card stock in square shapes that are slightly larger than the largest sticker. Place each sticker on its own card stock square. You can now use these cards to play memory.

Activity of the Day: December 2, 2011

Cookie Cutter Matching
Put a small amount of tempera paint in a large shallow container. (A pie tin works well) Dip the cookie cutter in the paint and press onto a piece of paper to create a print. Place a few different Christmas cookie cutter shapes onto one piece of paper. After the paint has dried, you can use this as a matching activity. The child should match the actual cookie cutter to the print on the paper.

Activity of the Day: December 1, 2011

Fingerprint Tree
Either have the children cut out their own tree or make one for them. Then let them use a non-toxic stamp pad to put fingerprints (Christmas Ornaments and lights) on the tree.