Christmas is the most magical time of the year, especially in kindergarten! As teachers, we get to help create that holiday magic for our students in our classroom. And I have tons of fun ideas to help!
Milk Carton Gingerbread Houses
Making gingerbread houses is probably my all time favorite kindergarten activity of the entire year! Students always have a blast and this turns into a core memory that they always talk about for years later.
One way I make this easier with little kids, is by using milk cartons. About a week before this project, I start saving students’ milk cartons from the school lunch. I rinse them out and let them dry, then staple them shut and glue them to a plate.
Then, students use frosting to “glue” graham crackers to the milk carton to make the walls. They also use the frosting to add whatever candy they want to their house. You can ask families to donate candy or you can find tons of options at the dollar store for fairly cheap. You can also make this academic by having students graph the number of each type of candy that they used.
Sight Word Candy Cane Craft
Crafts are a must in kindergarten, and I love these sight word candy canes because they also incorporate learning. All students have to do is cut out the red candy cane shape and a list of sight words. Then, they glue the words on to the make the stripes. I even make each student their own individualized sight word list, so that they can practice the words that they need.
Reindeer Directed Drawing
I love doing directed drawings in kindergarten, and these reindeer are one of my top favorites from the year. They always turn out SO cute! And surprisingly, this one is actually fairly easy for students to draw.
Whenever I do directed drawings with my class, I always have them draw in pencil first, in case they make mistakes. Then, they color the picture. Finally, I have them trace over their draw with black marker so it stands out more when we hang them up.
Fine Motor Activities
Fine motor bins are how I soft start the day in my classroom every day. Students come in and get to do fun hands-on, fine motor activities at their tables. These activities include building with different materials, cutting, hole punching, etc. The December morning bins are all related to Christmas. Students always have so much fun with these activities and look forward to the new theme each month.
Color By Code Activities
Color By Code activities are always a huge hit with my students. They are great for reviewing skills we have worked on, such as letters and numbers. I use them all the time as early finisher activities, morning work, and even in my writing center that students can visit during free play time.
December Read Alouds
There is nothing I love more than some fun holiday themed read alouds. Christmas has so many of the cutest stories. Some of my favorites include Olive, the Other Reindeer, Santa Duck, and of course, The Gingerbread Man and all of its variations.
But, you can check out all of my favorite December read alouds!
Gingerbread Sensory Bin
By this point in the year, most of my students have mastered the alphabet and letter sounds. So, I make this fun gingerbread sensory bin to help them review letter sounds and also work on handwriting. I throw some tinsel or garland, and some fun ornaments into a bin. These are all easy to find at the dollar store this time of the year. Then, I add the gingerbread cards and recording sheet. Students pick a card, say the initial sound, and then trace that letter.
Christmas Tree Number Sense Puzzles
These Christmas tree number sense puzzles make a great holiday math center activity! Students have to match the ornaments to the tree. They have to find all of the different ways to make a number, such as on a 10-frame, fingers, dice, tally marks, etc. This is perfect hands-on practice for reviewing counting and numbers 1-10.
Christmas Writing Center
The writing center is an area in my classroom that is set up all year long and I simply change out the themes every few weeks. So of course, in December a Christmas theme is fitting!
When students go to the writing center, they can choose from tons of different literacy activities, from working on beginning sounds, labeling, writing stories, etc.
Other Christmas Activities
Math the Room is a fun math center where students walk around the room to find picture cards, count how many, and record their answer. There is also options for teen numbers, addition, and subtraction.
BINGO is the perfect activity for any holiday celebration in the classroom. Students always love playing BINGO and this would be great to do during a class party. You can even throw in some prizes.
I hope you were able to get some ideas to help celebrate Christmas in your classroom! If you are looking for Christmas gift ideas for parents or your students, you can read about that HERE.
