Christmas {Around the World Advent}

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{I’m re-posting this because it is such a fun tradition for us. Start today!!}

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In 2009, the Friend magazine had a great advent calendar (pages 24-25).

Every day in December, we learned how kids in different countries celebrate Christmas. We read one each day and tried to do the same activities if we could. I have saved this file and we pull it out each year. I didn’t take many pictures, but here are a few we did…

• Kids in Mexico make farolitos and this is our version.
  1. We used vellum and the kids used crayons to draw Christmasy things.
  2. Tape them into a tube that just fits around a little pint jar
  3. Stick a little tea light candle in and wah-lah. They look really cool when the lights are turned off.

•  Kids in Holland eat banketletter
  1. make a cake in the shape of the first letter in your family's last name.
  2. This is the best I could do for a K-shaped cake. Yummy no matter what letter!

We also had Christmas cake and strawberries like the kids in Japan.

We hung a Coleman lantern on our front porch because that's the closest we could come to putting lighted candles on our roofs like the kids in India.

My 5-year-old loved leaving his shoes by the fireplace and waking up to them filled with candy like the kids in Germany.

We also made a batch of rice pudding (recipe HERE) that we tried like the kids in Norway. We hid a nut in one of the bowls and whoever found it in their pudding got a special prize.

Print out your Christmas Around the World Advent HERE!

Our Candy Cane Preschool Day

• Examine Candy Canes
  1. Show the kids a candy cane.
  2. Have them describe what they see.
     • We noticed the stripes, the colors, the shape, it looks like a letter J upside-down, and like a shepherd’s staff right-side-up.
  3. Let the kids eat a piece of the candy cane and describe the taste.

• Read “The Night Before Christmas” by Clement C. Moore. Illustrated by Mary Engelbreit.
  1. The illustrations by Mary Engelbreit are so much fun. She adds beautiful colors and wonderful detail. My kids love looking at the pictures.
  2. Have the kids use their eyes to look for candy canes while you read each page. Then have them point out all the candy canes they can see!

• Paint a Candy Cane
  1. Print a blank candy cane here.
  2. Pour a small amount of red paint on a plate.
  3. Give the kids a Q-tip and let them add red stripes to their candy cane.

• Candy Cane Bead Ornaments
  1. Set out a bowl of red pony beads and a bowl of white pony beads.
  2. Use a red or white pipe cleaner. String one bead and twist at the bottom (to keep the other beads from sliding off.)
  3. Talk to the kids about the pattern on candy canes … red, white, red, white.
  4. Ask them to string a pattern of beads on their pipe cleaner to make a candy cane.
  5. Twist the last bead and have the kids bend their ornament into a candy cane shape.
  6. Hang on the tree!

 

• Candy Cane Playdough
  1. I used the recipe here and added peppermint extract, red food coloring and glitter to the warmed water and oil (before adding the dry ingredients).
  2. Make a batch of red and a batch of white playdough.
  3. Give the kids a small ball of each color.
  4. Show them how to make a long, skinny snake with each color, then twist them together to make a candy cane.
  5. Pull out the playdough tools and have playing with peppermint playdough.
  6. NOTE: our hands smelled like candy canes when we were finished!

• Candy Cane Snacks … these were yummy!
1. Slice a banana (or 2 or 3)
2. Wash some fresh raspberries (well, fresh from the store).
3. Alternate a banana and a raspberry in a candy cane shape.
4. Pour a glass of milk and drink with cute candy cane striped straws. Available here. We use them in our hot chocolate too

A Grinchy Preschool Day

Tonight is movie night.

We are watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and having grinchy treats. The kids are excited about it. I decided to have a Grinchy preschool today before we watch the movie.

• Read “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” by Dr. Seuss … a holiday classic.

• Little Rhyming Books
  1. Point out several rhyming words in the book.
  2. Read a sentence or two and have the kids guess what the rhyming word could be.
  3. Staple several small papers together, making the bottom piece longer than the rest.
  4. Write a word chunk on the last piece of paper (so you can see it as you read the whole book.) We used –at and –un.
  5. Have the kids help you think of rhyming words and name the beginning letter sound. Write that letter on one flap.
  6. Continue until the whole rhyming flap book is complete.
  7. Help the kids read their rhyming book.

• Grinch Coloring … we used this for part of our next game below.
  1. Print a copy of the Grinch. We used the page here.
  2. Color the Grinch and cut it out.
  3. Cut out a simple Grinch body and legs from green paper.
  4. Glue the Grinch’s head to the body.

• Grinch’s Heart Game
  1. In the book, the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes on Christmas.
  2. Cut out several red hearts.
  3. Talk with the kids about why the Grinch’s heart grew and how it made him feel.
  4. Explain to the kids that the Spirit of Christmas makes our hearts feel good and “grow” inside. Today, every time they do something kind for someone else (make their bed, do a job for them, put their lunch dishes away…) they can leave a heart for that person. When they find a heart, they get to glue it to the Grinch.
  5. Don’t forget to remind the kids and ask them how they feel when they do something nice for someone else. (Don’t forget to do several small acts of service yourself!)

 

• Grinch Bead Bracelet
  1. Give the kids a length of elastic.
  2. Set out a bowl of green beads.
  3. Tape one end of the elastic to the table.
  4. Let the kids string green Grinch beads to make a bracelet.
  5. Tie and wear!

Grinch Movie Night

• Watch the classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”

• Enjoy Grinchy Treats
  1. Grinchy Popcorn … original recipe here. Sweet and salty. This got thumbs up all around  
     • Pop popcorn and remove the seeds.
     • Melt green candy melts in the microwave according to the directions.
     • Pour all over the popcorn and stir well.
     • Spread the popcorn over a sheet of parchment and let cool.
  2. Grinchy Milkshake
     • Blend green mint ice cream and milk in a blender.
     • Pour into glasses and serve.
     • Another Grinch drink with lime sherbet and 7up here.
  3. Grinchy Snacks
     • green grapes
     • cucumber slices, broccoli and dip
     • green M&Ms

Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree

 

• Trim a Paper Tree … a fun gathering activity the kids really enjoyed!
1. Put a large sheet of craft paper on the wall (I just got a package from Amazon last night filled with this brown paper. It was perfect!)
2. Draw a simple Christmas tree outline.
3. Set out colorful paper, scissors and glue sticks.
4. Show the kids the tree and tell them it’s missing the ornaments! Have them cut out any size & shape of ornaments they like. Great scissor practice!
5. Let them glue their ornaments on the tree. My kids loved this and stuck with it until the tree was full!

• Read “Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree” by Robert Barry
1. This is a new book for us this year. We love it!
2. Mr. Willowby puts up his tall, tall Christmas tree in the parlor and realizes it just a bit too tall. The butler chops off the top and gives it to the upstairs maid. She sets up her tree and finds it just a bit too tall. She cuts off the top and sets it outside where the gardener finds it and takes it home. On and on until several more animals enjoy a piece of Mr. Willowby’s Christmas tree!
3. The illustrations are wonderful. This is one of our favorite books now.

• Stacking Cone Christmas Tree
  1. Make a stacking Christmas tree set with the tutorial here from Bella Dia.
  2. Give each of the kids a set (unassembled) and let them figure out how to stack them in order. We actually just shared one set.
  3. Read the story again.
  4. This time, have the kids remove part of the tree every time the tree gets chopped in the story.

 

• Paper Strips Tree … what a fun, simple idea from Mrs. Lee
  1. Cut several green strips of paper into varying lengths.
  2. Have the kids arrange the strips from longest (bottom) to shortest (top).
  3. Then glue the strips to a red paper.
  4. Add a brown trunk and top with a yellow star!
  5. Use a Q-tip to add snow with white paint.

• Christmas Craft Stick Tree … inspiration found here at Mommyapolis. 
  1. Color several craft sticks green (use green crayons, markers or green paint!) We colored one brown and 3 green. 
  2. Cut the craft sticks so they end up being varying lengths. I just used regular scissors to cut them. 
  3. Have the kids arrange the sticks from longest to shortest.
  4. Glue to a wide craft stick (I love using hot glue, but if you want the kids to be able to do it on their own, regular white glues works … just takes longer to dry.)
  5. Add fun, glittery sequins, beads, buttons or any other little treasures you like.
  6. Add a loop to the top (again, I prefer hot glue) and you have a cute preschooler-made ornament

• Decorate a Christmas Tree Game … Mr. Willowby trimmed his Christmas tree. We’ll do the same, with a yummy, colorful treat!
  1. The game board, cards and instructions can be found at Criss-Cross Applesauce (thank you so much for the great printable!!)
  2. Print the game, the M&M pieces and grab a big bag of M&Ms.
  3. Each preschooler needs 20 M&Ms.
  4. Have them sort the M&Ms into the color-labeled boxes. I colored over the words with crayon for the non-readers. 
  5. Begin by drawing a card and adding that many M&M decorations to their tree.
  6. Continue until all of the trees are full of decorations!

• Christmas Tree Lunch
1. Make your favorite sandwich and cut it into triangles.
2. Stack two triangles to make a tree.
3. Add crackers or pretzels to make the trunk.
4. Give the kids colorful cereal, raisins, mini marshmallows, cheerios or other little snack to decorate their Christmas tree sandwich.

K is for {Chocolate} Kisses!

• Read “The Biggest Kiss” by Joanna Walsh & Judi Abbott
  1. A very cute story about lots of different kisses!
  2. I love the illustrations.

 

• Preschool Journal K Page
  1. Practice writing Kk and “Kiss”
  2. Put kiss stickers all over the page
  3. Or put on red lipstick and kiss the page!

  

• Memory Match Kiss Game … A fun twist on one of our favorite games. Inspiration here.
• Use dot stickers to put matching labels on the bottom of several Hershey’s kisses. We did matching pairs of all the letters A-K.
• Use the kisses to play a game of memory match

• Kiss Number Line … a simple introduction to adding and subtracting using a number line. Original idea found here
  • Have the kids write 1-10 on blank kisses
  • Glue in order on a long strip of paper.
  • Give simple addition or subtraction problems. Use chocolate kisses to move up and down the number line.

• Chocolate Kiss Drawings … a fun idea we found here
  • Use a sturdy white paper plate. I found that a plain paper plate worked much better than the glossy finish.
  • Use the tip of a Hershey’s kiss to draw a chocolatey picture.

• Christmas Kiss ABC Game
  • Print out the Christmas tree game here.
  • You’ll need a big bowl of Hershey’s kisses (at least 26 for each preschooler)
  • Use a set of A-Z letter tiles, or magnet letters or letter cards.
  • Have the kids choose a letter and say it’s name.
  • Cover the matching letter on their Christmas tree with a kiss.
  • Continue until all the letters are covered and you have a glimmering, chocolately Christmas tree!

• Christmas Kiss Countdown … a tradition around here
  • Use the same Christmas tree game and kisses from above.
  • Hot glue the kisses to the tree. I put a dot of hot glue in each circle and the kids carefully put a chocolate kiss on the glue.
  • Hang up your Christmas countdown! My kids get to choose one kiss each day after their morning jobs are done.
  • See another version we’ve done in the past here.