You can see a sampling of the activity mats that are included in the file above (I know I don't always want to have to download the whole file to decide whether or not I think it will be useful!) Most of the mats include the main 'Christmas word' in bubble writing, so the child can be encouraged to roll out playdough 'snakes' to shape into the letters of each word.

There is also a template sheet (above) for building an igloo out of sugar cubes. Any colouring should be completed first, then children can be helped to put glue along the base outline for the igloo. The next layer will require another layer of glue along the top of the sugar cubes already put down, etc. This is probably a 2 day project, as after 2-3 layers of sugar cubes, I suspect you'll probably want to leave the igloos to dry before continuing. 

​I know the last week of school can be hectic, so I thought there might be a few teachers who would appreciate these activities as a fun way to celebrate the Christmas season, fill some time educationally and enjoy messy play (because what child in the early years doesn't like messy play?!). To download the file, click on the 'Christmas Early Years Activity Mats' picture at the top of this blog post. 

I wanted to have a classroom tree this year, but was a bit worried that if I took in ornaments from home, they might get broken...

And ornaments from a teacher's home aren't very personal anyway, so I decided to let my class make their own ornaments to decorate the class tree. 

These 'ornaments' (I use the term loosely!) are very easy to make, as you can see from the picture to the left. The children just colour the picture (they can also colour the frame and either colour or trace the word), you punch a hole in the top, thread a bit of ribbon through the hole, laminate, and hang on your class

tree. Laminating isn't necessary, of course, but it improves durability - and if you put the child's name and the month/year on the back, it also makes these little 'ornaments' into a nice keepsake for parents at the end of term. 

In the file, I've included colour versions of the different ornaments. I used these as my 'look what I prepared earlier' version (a bit of a cheat, but we are always so short on time...).

​At the end of the file, there are a couple of different versions of Christmas colouring/writing sheets (suitable for pre-K/K, probably). If you think you could use these in your own class, just click on the picture above. 

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