Friday, December 16, 2011

Tot School – Christmas Trees

(Alex is 47 months, Max is 27 months)

We only did one day of Tot School this week, but we’ve had a lot going on!  Between shopping trips, Christmas baking, and other little things, our time has been filled.

On Wednesday, when Grace was here, we spent some time doing Christmas tree activities.  We read the book The Legend of the Christmas Tree.  This book is a little complicated for 2 – 4 year olds, but I know for sure that Alex understood these basic concepts:

The tree is a triangle.  It has three corners to remind us of the three-in-one God: Father, Son, & Holy Spirit.

The lights on the tree remind us that Jesus is the light of the world.

We went on to do some activities.  Most are from 2TeachingMommies Christmas Tree unit.  The tree sizing activity is from Homeschool Creations.

Alex and Grace did the tree number order puzzle.  For some reason, this was very tricky for both of them.  They were good until about 7, and then (perhaps their patience wore out…) had trouble getting 8 – 10 in order.  We pasted our Christmas trees to construction paper.

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We did the shape tree activity.  Max, who normally loves matching shapes, just wanted to use all the piece to make a really tall Christmas tree.   Grace loved this activity and did it very well.  Alex wouldn’t do it. ;)

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I printed three copies of the magnet page.  The kids took turns using magnets to fill the circles, and then afterwards, they used bingo markers to decorate their trees.  Max is absolutely captivated by this activity!  I left it on the counter, and he did it several time throughout the day!

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Prewriting – following the lines to put the star on the Christmas tree

 December2011 155  Cutting, sorting, and size-sequencing their Christmas trees.

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I’d printed this page for Alex, but Max did it…and did it well!  I was SHOCKED! 
He was so proud of himself that he did it again and again!December2011 163

We finished by making edible Christmas trees.  Each child got a sugar cone, a small cup of green frosting, a kid-sized knife, and some sprinkles and mini M&Ms.  We had some good, sticky fun!

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My kids are just LOVING all the crafts and sticky messes we’ve worked on this month!
Perhaps this month is a prime example of why I need to pull out the paints, frosting, sprinkles, and glue a little more often!  We hope that you and your little ones are truly enjoying your activities this month, as well :)

You can learn more about RRSP, Preschool Corner, or Tot School by clicking on the links below.  You’ll also see what other moms are doing with their tots and preschoolers!

Tot School

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great day you had!! We didn't get any school done this week (my post is from last week :-P) However, next week is much less busy so I am hoping to get in a day or two :-)

Marlynn said...

Fun Fun!!! I know my kids are loving all the crafty stuff we are doing this month too, mom's patience though is getting thinner.