This is my great-grandmother, Nikoline, an immigrant from Norway in the late 1800’s. Because of her, I am smitten with everything Norway, and the Norwegian Advent is no exception. The advent celebrates the days prior to Christmas and in Norway, this Christmas calendar is called julekalenderen.
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I love exposing my students to the various cultures and beliefs around the world. I have found that December is just the month for this cultural exploration!
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Look no further for some great Christmas and Winter Thematic units for your kindergarten, preschool, Pre-k, T-K or 1st grade classroom. All of these units are cross-curricular, strategically linked to the common core standards, and scripted for easy use.
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Your students will love making this adorable book of Christmas shapes. Not only is it a great and memorable keepsake, it is a great way to teach mathematical shapes to mastery. At the completion of the project my students usually pass off this common core standard with 100% accuracy; even the tricky hexagon!
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Here are some of my favorite activities I love to do with my students. These products are packed full of future memories.
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In December I love to take my students on a world tour, discussing how holidays are celebrated in different countries and cultures. In Part One we traveled to Germany, Australia, Russia, Denmark, Spain, England, France, South Africa, Ghana, Liberia, Ethiopia, Canada, and Greece. Now the world tour continues!
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Looking for the perfect Christmas Around the World thematic unit? Looking for books, supporting videos and songs? At Christmas time, I love to take my students on a journey around the world to celebrate all the wonderful and diverse ways people celebrate the holidays. It's a great way to introduce them to important social studies concepts in a playful and celebratory way! We love to read books about the different celebrations around the world as we set out on our adventures. Here are a few good ones to start off the journey:
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Looking for a special project to try before your Christmas or Winter break begins? Consider decorating graham cracker “gingerbread” houses!
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Is there anything more magical than the North Pole? I love to bring a little of the North Pole magic into my classroom using this great thematic unit featuring Santa and his Reindeers!
Kids love having Reindeer Day, Elf Day, Jingle Bell Day, Santa Day, and of course North Pole Day (Polar Express Day).
Everything you need to bring in the magic is included in our North Pole Thematic Unit. (Enhanced by it's companion Polar Express Unit). And even better, with all of our thematic units the academic learning is not put on hold for the holidays, rather academics are enhanced with holiday fun!
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For 16 years, my colleague, Kathleen Law, and I, put on he Bears Great Adventure: A Christmas Play (32 productions because of 1/2 day kindergarten), and it was never the same twice! We never knew who was going to have a meltdown caused by severe stage fright, who is going to scream the words at the top of his/her voice, who will find the world is his/her stage, or who will cry endlessly because they cannot see mama (even thought she is on the front row). However, it always turned out to be a great success after a lot of hard work by eager 5 and 6 year olds.
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