By Gigi on November 26th, 2017
This Christmas patterning activity is one of many pattern pin sets that we use in our classrooms. Pattern pins are easy to make, inexpensive, hands-on learning tools. Plus, they are super cute, the kids love them, and they work those small hand muscles!
MATERIALS USED:
– Paint mixing sticks
– Paint (craft or spray)
– Clothespins
– Jingle bells
– Christmas mini bows
– Hot glue gun
For this set, we painted the mixing sticks brown; we always use a dark color for our bases, so that the patterns really stand out. You can pick up mixing sticks at Home Depot, Lowe’s, or your local paint store. We found jingle bells and mini Christmas bows at Dollar Tree, and hot glued them to the tops of clothespins.
You might first introduce pattern pins and demonstrate the concept of patterning in a large group, and then work with small groups of children, making patterns together.
Students will not only create patterns, but they will also copy and extend patterns that are represented on other sticks (made by you or other students). For this reason, it’s a good idea to have multiple bases on hand. Be sure to encourage your students to identify their patterns and describe what is and what is not a pattern.
By Gigi on November 22nd, 2017
As a parent and a teacher, it’s always been fun and important for me to introduce ALL of my children to what I loved and adored, and learned from when I was young.
So every holiday season, I bring out the The Gingerbread Man
. To me, this first edition Giant Golden Book was the most magical story ever. As a child I spent hours looking over the vibrant illustrations of Bill and Bonnie Rutherford, letting my imagination run away right along with that fearless, little yummy cookie.
This classic book is ideal for reading aloud and makes for an excellent literary-based art activity; gingerbread men and houses. Last year, we used our creations to decorate our classroom window.
The houses are made of basic shapes (squares, rectangles, and triangles) and can be cut out by you or by your children depending on their ability. This year, I will be offering even more materials such as stiff felt, fuzzy sticks, bows, etc., so maybe we’ll see some gingerbread girls!
MATERIALS USED:
– Construction paper
– Our gingerbread template
– Googly eyes
– Ricrac
– Acrylic craft jewels
– Stiff felt/fabric
– Sparkle/glitter pom poms
– Buttons
– Holiday scrapbook paper
– Sequins
– Mini bows
– White foam (roofs)
– Holiday fuzzy sticks
NOTE: Be sure to check out our Christmas Math and Literacy pack for more gingerbread activities!
By Gigi on November 13th, 2017
These free printable Christmas trees provide children with a fun way to match numerals with quantity. Have students identify the number on each tree and “decorate” it with the corresponding number of “ornaments”. Encourage children to count every item once, using one number word.
To extend this activity, ask pre-kers to examine and compare the number sets of trees. Ask, “Which set has more? Which set has less?” when showing 2 sets. Remind children that the world less means not as many.
You can also use this tree game as an opportunity to practice adding and taking away skills.
Use words such as more, plus, all together, total, etc. to help students gain an understating of “adding more”. “There is 1 ornament on this Christmas tree, and 2 ornaments on this tree. How many ornaments are on the trees all together?” Set up trees 1, 2 and 3 in a row to model this addition problem. Do the same with subtraction, using words such as less, take away, and how many are left.
Download our free numbered Christmas trees. For heavy use, I recommend printing on cardstock and lamination.
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. To me, this first edition Giant Golden Book was the most magical story ever. As a child I spent hours looking over the vibrant illustrations of Bill and Bonnie Rutherford, letting my imagination run away right along with that fearless, little yummy cookie.
