Write
all about it!
*Draw Santa's sleigh and
reindeer.
*What do you think the North Pole looks like?
*At Christmas, I can
smell/hear/see/taste/feel......
*All I want for Christmas is...
*If you worked for Santa, what would your job be?
*What would is the best gift you could give
someone?
*What would be the best present to give your Mom
or Dad?
* The presents were all wrapped in pretty bows,
Zachary decided to....
*I love to give to others because....
*T'was the night before Christmas and .....
I created three free
Santa letter forms you can use to create your
letters.
Click Free letters to Santa
Templates to
download the set!
If you are looking for a
great Christmas gift for each child,
video each classmate reading the letter and set
it to DVD.
Click here to see an example
of one I did for my son’s second grade class
years ago.
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Some
Math Ideas
Graphing Ideas: Where we
will spend the holiday, Our favorite kind of
Christmas Cookie, Our favorite Christmas Song...
The dollar shops often
sell the seasonal metallic confetti that you
place inside greeting cards. Use it in your
class for a fun math readiness activity.
Tape a few short rows of scotch tape (sticky side
up) onto a small
square of paper. The children then place
the seasonal shapes onto the tape and form
patterns. They "read" them to the class
when they are
done..."Snowflake, snowflake, holly,
snowflake, snowflake, holly..." Well,
you get the idea!
Fun With Christmas Foods!
This time of year it is
easy to find Holiday themed activities for Math
fun! I know some school cannot use food - sorry!
I also realize that it is important to make sure
there are no allergies in your classroom before
doing these activities.
Find the winter shapes
macaroni and you have many a math lesson at your
finger tips with the macaroni and the free
printables from Teaching Heart!
| Pages
2 and 3 have sorting and graphing
activities to use with these shapes. I
put a few of each in a Ziploc and then
give each student a bag to work with.
Page 2 is Preschool and Kindergarten
level! 
Page 3 is first
and second grade level.
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Page 6
is patterning. You can even have students
glue the correct shape on.
 Teaching
Heart Winter Shapes Macaroni Activities
– Click to Download!
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Holiday Christmas
Themed Marshmallows
 I love
all the Holiday Themed Marshmallows they
have out this year. Not sure if they had
the snowmen last year or if they are new
this year, but they are yummy!!! I have a
free set of printables to go along with
the Gingerbread, Snowmen, and Holiday
shapes. You just need to buy the mallows
and you are set! I got mine at Walmart.
|
 The
following page is for first and second
graders. They must sort, tally, graph,
and then read their results by answering
questions about their data.
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 The
first page in the set is for Preschool
and Kindergarten. They must sort, count,
write the numbers, and then circle the
shape they have the most and least of! (I
put a set amount in a baggie for each
student)
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Gingerbread
and Snowman Marshmallow Sheet –
Click Here! to download
these two sheets. I have a
similar sheet in my Preschool
and Kindergarten Gingerbread Packet here. It
only uses the Gingerbread and Holiday
Mallows.
You can learn
more about this
sheet by clicking here!
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Christmas
themed fruit snacks
Found these at Target the other day. They
are cute Christmas themed fruit snacks in
the shapes of Santa, trees, stars, and
candy canes. So of course I had to make a
sorting and graphing sheet!!!
Above is a simple sorting sheet. Great
for Pre K and Kindergarten classes.
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Below
is a sorting and graphing sheet great for
first and second grades. 
Click
to Download Fruit Snack Sorting and
Graphing From Teaching Heart
For more free winter
planning ideas – click here
– there are TONS!!!
Support TEaching
Heart and shop our store. Lots of winter
files to make
learning fun!
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Christmas
themed Goldfish Shapes
 My file has a
sorting sheet and
a graph, tally, and read-it sheet to use
with these fish!!!
Click here to
download the free printables!
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Bingo!!!
Winter and Christmas sets!!!
The GREAT thing about
these two Bingo Games
is that every picture called will be
on the card (just in a different order)
– this allows for everyone to cover
a
picture at every turn but still just one
winner. (Keeps all engaged knowing they
must find the picture on every turn.) You
get 12 different cards for each game +
A set of larger calling cards.
This is part of our easy
print and go games for Christmas and
Winter... Four great and easy to use
games for $3.50!
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BBoard
ideas
Cover a
board with a white background and place
the title Stocking Stuffers on the board.
Make a large stocking out of poster
board. Staple it to the board. Make sure
the top is opened so that it can be
stuffed. Have each child write his or her
name on a strip of paper. Ask them to cut
out pictures from magazines of things
they would like for Christmas and glue
them to their strip. Now stuff the
stocking!
Class
Choir
Have each
student draw his or her portrait on a
paper plate. ask them to draw the mouth
in a singing position. Attach a red bow
to the chin of each face. Arrange the
faces on the class bulletin board with
the title, "Our Class Choir".
Dear
Santa
In the
center of your bulletin board put a
picture of a reindeer or Santa. Give each
of your children a piece of paper folded
in half. Have them write or draw the list
of gifts they want Santa to bring them.
Here are
some pictures of some bulletin board art
projects!
  
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My Favorite Songs, Poems, and Fingerplays
SHY
SANTA
Isn't it the strangest thing,
That Santa is so
shy?
(hide face with hands)
We can never, never catch him, (make fingers run)
No matter how we try.
It isn't any use to
watch, (hold hand to eyes
and look)
Because my parents said,
"Santa Claus will only come
When children are in
bed!" (shake finger)
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10
LITTLE ELVES
10 Little Elves
Jumping in the slay
One falls off and.... slides away
Santa calls the reindeer and the reindeer say
"No more jumping in Santa's slay
9 little elves
jumping in the slay
etc.
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Try a video that your
class can sing and dance with!
|
Christmas
Presents
See the many presents by the
Christmas tree,
(Point to eye; sweep hand in wide half-circle;
form tree with hands.)
Some for you,
(Point to others.)
And some for me.
(Point to self.)
Long ones,
(Spread hands wide apart.)
Tall ones,
(Hold hand high above head.)
Short ones, too.
(Hold hands close together.)
And here is a round one
(Make circle with arms.)
Wrapped in blue.
Isn't it fun to look and see
(Point to eyes.)
All the presents by the
Christmas tree?
(Sweep hand in wide half-circle; form tree with
hands.)
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A precious song from
the 1974 show, “T’was the Night Before
Christmas”
This has to be my favorite Christmas TV show. I
remember watching this when I was a kid. Last
year I searched everywhere to find this on DVD or
even on TV to share with my kiddos. I could find
it on VHS but never on DVD. I hit the jackpot
this year however. I began searching again and
kept ending up on a Frosty the Snowman DVD (the
one where he meets his wife). Luckily I read the
reviews and found that Twas the Night Before
Christmas is not out on DVD by itself, rather, it
is on the DVD “Frosty’s Winter
Wonderland” (The Rankin Bass
Version) If you want this DVD, check it out and
pick it up, it will not let you down…It is
the same version as we all know and love!!!Below is the
link to the DVD on Amazon …
Gotta love the price! Also, the song on the DVD
that I love is called Even a Miracle Needs a
Hand. I found the lyrics to the song here. I have
listed them below!
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Even A Miracle
Needs a Hand
Miracles happen most every day
to people like you and me
but don’t expect a miracle
unless you help make it to be
You hope while I hurry
You pray while I plan
We’ll do what’s necessary cause
Even a miracle needs a hand
You love and I’ll labor
You sit while I stand
Get help from a next door neighbor cause
Even a miracle needs a hand
We’ll help our maker
to make our dreams come true
but I can’t do it alone
So here’s what we’re gonna do
You hope while I hurry
You pray while I plan
We’ll do what’s necessary cause
Even a miracle needs a hand
We’ll help our maker
to make our dreams come true
but we can’t do it alone
So what are we’re gonna do
You wish while I whittle
You drip while I dry
Lets all try to help a little cause
Even a miracle needs a hand |
Christmas Games
FREE Center Ideas
Christmas
Card Express-Old and new Christmas cards,
stamps(old/new),pens, pencils, markers, stickers,
envelopes, scale, mailbag, mailbox (these last
two can be handmade). Let children make and send
christmas cards.
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Program Santa
cut-outs with numbers. You could program them
with counts. Count by 2's, 5's, 10's. Place the
cutouts in a ziploc baggie. This becomes a center
that the student can take back to their desk.
|
| Check out the Teaching
Heart Blog
for More Christmas Ideas and centers! |
 Two FREE
Christmas Math Centers.
Center 1:(ADDING) Students match
the math problem to the present with the correct
answer. (First and Second Grade).
Center 2: (COUNTING) Or Students
match the bells to the
correct present by counting the bells.
(PreK and Kindergarten)
Visit Teaching Heart
for More Winter Ideas http://www.teachingheart.net/xmas.html
Shop our store if you
like our products. Thanks! http://www.e-junkie.com/teachingheart
Download
Counting and Adding CHristmas Presents Center
– Click Here!
|
Great Books and
Activities To Match
Rotten
Ralph's Rotten Christmas
Discuss all
the rotten things Ralph did and then have your
students write
about what they think was Ralph's most rotten
moment!
The Littlest Christmas Tree:
A Tale of Growing & Becoming
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Christmas
ABC
After reading this
book, have your
class brainstorm holiday words. Give
each student a large construction paper Christmas
tree with the letters: C, H, R, I, S, T, M, A,
S printed vertically. Have students
fill in Christmas words that begin with those
letters:
How
Santa Lost His Job
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The
Snowy Day
by Ezra
Jack Keats
Boardbook
- bigbook
/
Hardcover
/ paperback
Click
for a large unit to match this book!
Who's
That Knocking on Christmas Eve?
by Jan Brett
Cold Lady!!
For Great Ideas to match, click
here!!
|
Polar
Express
by Chris Van Allsburgh
(Houghton Mifflin 1985)
Get
the hardback
/ Get
the tape / Get
the gift pack
Click
for many ideas to go with this book!
Auntie
Claus
The
Night Before Christmas : Poem
get
the tape/
hardback/paperback
Click
here for ideas to match this book
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17 Christmases is
a Christmas adventure for a family
that goes on a holiday road trip to visit
relatives and friends in 17 states. They
start in Californiamake their way all over the USA
seeing new things and
experiencing how Christmas is different
depending on where you live. One thing that
remains constant is the celebration of the birth
of Jesus by their family and friends no matter
what state they are in. We enjoyed reading
this especially because my eight year old son
loves Geography. They discuss 17 states and
many of which we were familiar with and the ones
we weren’t we learned a little about. My
4 year old daughter enjoyed the story. The
text is fun to read with the rhyming on each
page. The illustrations do a good job of
showing what a certain state may look like at
Christmas Time. Then the ending of the story
finds the little boy thankfully climbing into bed
in his home state saying, "I thank God for
Jesus and family galore, For seventeen
Christmases---never a chore." I
highly recommend this Christmas story especially
if you find yourself traveling from place to
place to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
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We all know the story
of Spookley The
Square Pumpkin, by Joe Troiana!
However, how many of you know The Legend of
Mistletoe and the Christmas Kittens written by
Joe Troiana and illustrated by Lydia Halverson???
I didn’t until I was kindly sent a copy of
the book and the cutest little stuffed plush
kitten… Even better I have a book and a
plush to give away to one lucky reader…
Plus, you know you want to compare and contrast
these two books with the printable I made. Read
on to learn more. 
Mistletoe
like Spookley is different yet so loveable and
cute you want to grab him out of the pages of the
book. You can’t help but love this uniquely
striped green cat with little red paws.
“Mistletoe was born on Christmas day and
when the other kittens saw him… they ran
away.” The first few pages are sad as
Mistletoe grows up trying to find a home and
spending his first Christmas alone. Then he meets
three kittens. Mistletoe is no longer concerned
with himself and his quest to find a home, but
focuses on the kittens he has found. One night
Mistletoe hustles through a storm with the
kittens on his back in hopes of finding a warm
place for his new found kittens. Mistletoe finds
a warm farmhouse to sneak into and a special
surprise under the tree from Santa… or is
Mistletoe himself the gift? Read and find out how
happily this story turns out. As a parent and
teacher one of my goals is to teach my children
that giving is always better than receiving. This
little story shows just that from the super
colorful illustrations to way the story flows and
teaches the lesson that it is better to receive.
How about a
Printable to match the book?
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
THE PDF!
|
A Class Book Idea
Santa
Helper Class Book
Make a title page;
"If we were Santa's Helpers" You may
place a graphic of Santa on the cover.
Give each student a page.
Leave a space at the top for the student to
illustrate their paragraph. The paragraph may
read:
I would like to be Santa's
Helper.
We would fly
to_________________.
I would wave to
_________________as I flew in Santa's sleigh.
The best part about being
a helper to Santa would be
________________________________________.
The students fill in the
blanks and illustrate. Bind all the pages
together to make a class book!
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Here is my
blacklines for the book. You could purchase these
or make your own. Click
to learn more!
|
Individual Books
Here
is a book that the student colors to match the
words in the book. It is a seven page book called
See Santa. You could make one of these for each
student in your class. The students color the
part of Santa after they read the sentences.
After they finish this, it becomes and easy to
read book. They can use the pictures to decode
the words. The pages in this book read:
See Santa's red hat.
See Santa's pink cheeks.
See Santa's black boots.
See Santa's green mittens.
See Santa's blue eyes.
See Santa's white beard.
See Santa's red suit.
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Here is my
blacklines for the book, I have colored some of
the pages,. You could purchase these or make your
own. Click
to learn more!
|
Make a book that
each student in your class can illustrate to
match the words. It is fun to make these type of
books using the Brown Bear Pattern. One book I
like to make with my class is called, Little Boy,
Little Boy What Do You See? I place a graphic of
a tree on the front cover. The words in the book
read:
I see a green tree looking
at me. (student would draw a green tree)
Follow this pattern using other objects.
For grade k-1 - use this
book as a group activity. When the book is
finished they have a book that is easy to read at
home.
For grades 2-3 - use this
book as a comprehension tool. The student reads
it independently and illustrates after reading.
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Check
out all the ideas here and be sure to follow!
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Free Christmas Activity Sheets
One thing I like to do with fun activity sheets is to
print a few of each and place them in a box with the
title, "FUN TIME SHEETS". I allow my students
to take a sheet during indoor recess or free time. This
is also great for early finishers. They enjoy this
special activity!
Activity Books From Amazon.com
Click on a title to learn more!
Some Helpful Links
My Faves!
Some Craft Or Parent Gift
Ideas!
Teacher Resources
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