Christmas Ideas

   Our class enjoys the holiday season.  We do a lot of projects, cooking, reading stories and fun pages.  Many of the projects we complete focus on IEP objectives and skills the students are currently working on.  As with all the activities in our classroom, we incorporate fun, learning and skill development.  Enjoy this wonderful Christmas season!

Vocabulary Development Ideas

-Students list various Christmas words.  Use the word list to make bingo games, write stories, make word scrambles, etc.

-Word scramble - write one letter on each card for a Christmas word.  Mix up the letters.  Using the posted word list students unscramble the words.

-Our class likes to play hangman with the words for the current theme we are working on.  This is a good filler for the last few minutes of class.  It is good practice for writing, taking turns, reading, and having fun.

Journal Ideas

Make a Christmas journal-cut out a large construction paper shape (I use a simple clip art picture - bell, gift, tree, etc), add several sheets of lined and plain paper.  Use this journal to complete the following activities.  

-Draw Santa be sure to add lots of details.

-Draw a Christmas tree.

-Write a letter to Santa describing how to get to your house.

-At Christmas, I can smell/hear/see/taste/feel......

-Christmas Card writing-each student selects an old, used Christmas card, cuts out the picture, glues to one page in the journal.  The student then writes about what they see in the picture.

Arts and Crafts Projects

-Silver Bells - students use 2 styrofoam cups.  Cover the cups with foil.  Poke a hole in the bottom of each cup, insert a pipe cleaner (this will form the clapper-attach a jingle bell).  Tie red or green ribbon to the pipe cleaner, make the ribbon long enough to create a hanger for the bells.  Add Christmas decorations-greens, holly, pinecones, etc.  We hang our bells from the ceiling.

-Brown Paper Stockings - each student will need 2 pieces of a large brown paper bag.  Use the inside of the paper bags, no writing on this part.  Make a large shape of a stocking.  Cut out.  Decorate the stocking with various Christmas card pictures the students cut out from old cards.  Students use a hole punch to put holes around the outside edge.  Leaving the top open students will sew the two stocking parts together using red or green yarn.  Hang the stockings from a "fireplace" bulletin board.

-Coffee Filter Angel - fold a coffee filter in half to make the angel's wings.  Cut out a paper triangle and glue it to the coffee filter to make the body.  Glue a circle for the head.  Use a marker to make a face.  Add a glitter pipe cleaner ring for the halo.  Add glitter around the edges of the coffee filter!

-Christmas Tree Mobile - cut a large Christmas tree shape (triangle) out of a 12x18 sheet of green construction paper.  Cut the tree into two inch wide strips.  Lay the strips in order about an inch apart.  Carefully tape or glue a piece of green yarn centered to the back of the strips.  Add a brown trunk to the bottom.  Decorate the tree with sequins, a star, glitter, buttons, or whatever you find!

-Candy Canes - cut a large size (10-12inches) candy cane shape out of white tagboard.  Roll small squares of tissue paper into loose balls.  Glue on the candy cane to make red stripes.

-Our parent gifts - we will make snowman soup.

Snowman Soup

The Soup:
1 Pkg. Hot Chocolate Mix
3 Hershey Kisses
15 Marshmallows (More If Needed)
1 candy cane

Put all the items in a Christmas ziploc baggie.  Or use pint or quart jars tied with Christmas ribbon and holly sprig.  We also decorate brown or white lunch bags to use as gift bags for the snowman soup.  The poem is typed and attached to the ziploc baggie.  

Was told you've been real good this year
Always glad to hear it
With freezing weather drawing near
You'll need to warm the spirit
So here's a little Snowman Soup
Complete with stirring stick
Add hot water, sip it slow
It's sure to do the trick!

Games

-I Went Shopping - One player begins by saying, "I went Christmas shopping, and I bought a ________." The next player repeats the original statement and adds another item, saying, "I went Christmas shopping, and I bought a ________ and a ________." Each player must repeat all previous items in sequences and add an additional item. Anyone who makes a mistake is out.

-Christmas "What's Missing?" - On a tray place 15-20 Christmas related items  or pictures of Christmas items.  Discuss each item.  Take the tray away and remove 1 item without the students watching.  Show the students the tray and they figure out what is missing.  As the game progresses take away 2, 3, or 4 items at a time.

-Santa Claus Scramble - Write the letters S-A-N-T-A C-L-A-U-S on individual index cards. Do this four times, making four sets, or forty cards (or if your group is smaller make three sets). Place the cards in a brown paper bag. To play - have the players divide into two teams on opposite sides of the room. Pass the bag that contains the letters. The teams alternate in picking a letter. The first team to combine their letters to spell SANTA CLAUS wins!  You could also use any other Christmas word, Rudolph, cookie, December, etc.   Use shorter words and each player tries to spell the word individually.

Cooking

-Rudolph Sandwich - make a peanut butter sandwich. Cut it crossways for a triangle, add raisin eyes, pretzel sticks for the antlers, a cherry for the nose.

Links

-Davis Creek Elementary School projects - lots of pictures

-Christmas Alphabet Book

Jesus is the reason for the season!