Have Yourself a Meaningful Little Christmas-The Christmas Tree

Well, there was (and still is) a little drama surrounding the usage of Christmas trees. Some have considered them Pagan, they have been outlawed, contested, etc. But I like to think of the evergreen as a symbol of eternal spirit.  Evergreens are green all year round, and like our spirit—stays vibrant and beautiful all year round. Today I am sharing a few ideas of how we can teach children about the symbol of the Christmas tree while also addressing the educational basics of math, literacy, science and music.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Botany {plant identification}

-------------------------------------------------------------

If you live in a climate with an abundance of conifers, get bundled up and take a walk outside! 

Pine Cone Identification Chart

University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point has tree identification cards that can be used to help your budding botanists identify the conifers in their surrounding area. They include pictures of the bark, needles/leaves, cones, fruit and other features of the tree for identification. There are also tons of plant identification resources on Pinterest.

You can create a baggy book by placing samples of the conifers inside of plastic bags and matching them with the plant identification cards. See The "Unworking" Mom's blog for a great tutorial on making baggy books! Martina Huppertová also has a pretty cool tutorial on YouTube about how to make baggy books out of gift bags rather than plastic bags.

And my favorite conifer-related song (okay, it also the only one I know--but that doesn't take away from it's awesomeness):  "C is for Conifer" by They Might be Giants.

---------------------------------------------------------

Math {patterned counting}

---------------------------------------------------------

I created a Skip Counting Christmas Tree to give my crafty daughter a chance to work with number patterns. You can get the FREE template for the craft at my TPT store. The pieces of the tree need to be cut out, and then write a number on each piece of the tree to represents a skip count sequence from the smallest to largest number. I made trees for counting by twos, fives, tens and one hundred. I encouraged my daughter to pick one number piece, and then she found the other corresponding pieces. She then chose two number pattern trees to glue on construction paper and created a winter scene.

For smaller learners you can also just count by ones. The size of the pieces of the tree will reinforce the comparison of numbers since the smallest number will be on the smallest piece of the tree, and the largest number will be on the largest part of the tree. You can also use this craft for those learning the order of the alphabet. You can write one letter of the alphabet on each tree—or—for older children, write a word on each tree and have them place the words in descending alphabetical order.

  

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Literacy & Reading {Deeper Meaning Craft}

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From http://www.mynameissnickerdoodle.com/

Here is a new take on a preschool Christmas craft favorite. Many of you may be aware of the cute Christmas wreaths you and your kiddos can make with cut outs of their hands. To ante up on the Christmas spirit and encourage reading and handwriting skills, you can write words on the hands/berries/bows/wherever they fit that relate to the symbolism of the Christmas wreath.

As I mentioned, the Christmas tree is significant because it stays "ever green" like our spirit. When the evergreen is shaped in the fashion of a circle, it reinforces the idea of eternity—like a circle, our spirit goes on forever.

 You can have a casual conversation with your child(ren) about the eternal nature of our spirit when you are cutting out the hands. {These casual conversations really pique my daughter's interest!} Then ask, "What do you think about when you hear the word 'spirit'?" Try again with words like "eternity" or "evergreen" or "circle". The key here is to aid in the creation of "mind maps" that facilitate a deep understanding and connection to the physical and spiritual world.  Have fun!

 

~*Merry Christmas*~

 

 

 

Have Yourself a Meaningful Little Christmas—The Star

Christmas time is rife with symbols that encourage us to look within to assess and get in touch with who we really are. One of my most favorite symbols of the Christmas season is the star.  In the Nativity story, a bright star led the shepherd and wise men to Jesus. Wise men and shepherds represent those who have the wisdom and awareness to find the truth and nature of divine being. In this story, the star represents the internal positioning system that leads us to our divine blueprint—Jesus.  Today I am sharing mathematical, scientific and literary activities that expose the wisdom and meaning behind the star.  

Stars have been an important navigational system for eons. Their rhythmic dance tells us where we are in space and time. Stars represent a light in the dark, or a piece of understanding in a sea of uncertainty. A light we feel in ourselves that leads us to serenity. 

-------------------------------

Mathematics

------------------------------

Drawings of stars are often depicted as polygons with radial symmetry—meaning that if you fold the shape along its many axes, it will be symmetrical. Thus stars, as we depict them, radiate beautiful symmetrical energy. It's what makes people recognize a "star" rather than some other random shape.

I used star polygon clip art from Clip Art Etc to make some star puzzles. The song "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" works great with this activity because as you see, all of the stars are made up of congruent diamonds (hence: like a diamond in the sky").

I created a puzzle for 4,5,6,7, and 8 pointed stars. (There are also just blank stars). You can download them for FREE at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store (most of my stuff is free).

I printed two copies: one blank one to be used as the template for the puzzle that I printed on blue paper, and another copy that I cut up to be used as the puzzle pieces.

Using the Star Puzzles

Counting & Matching Shapes

• For the littlest ones, you can print two copies of each blank stars and make a matching game. You can also help them count the number of points on the star without counting one twice. (which is quite the struggle for kids starting to count). You can make it fun by placing a star sticker or drawing a star on each point of the star as you count it.
• For fun you can also have your child pick his/her favorite star. Have them glue together their puzzle on a piece of paper with the saying "Like a Diamond in the Sky". Add glitter…lots of glitter…instant smiles.  

Symmetry & Fractions

• Show your children how the star looks the same on both sides when folded along points of symmetry. Challenge your kids to find the points of symmetry on each star. How many points of symmetry can they find?
• I also made a puzzle which shows the fractions for each piece. I am of the persuasion that rather than waiting until 3^rd grade (which the Common Core suggests) to teach fractions, we should be exposing children to the idea of fractions early on while they are in the mode of learning to add and subtract. My child caught on to the concept quite quickly: she has a little brother and knows all about splitting things up into "equal parts".
• To supplement the introduction to fractions, I used the [FREE] Equivalent Fractions Puzzle 1-1/6 from What I Have Learned's TPT Store. I am all of out of colored ink to be quite honest, and so I just made mine of out construction paper and laminated it to make it a puzzle. I love puzzles.   

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Geography & Astronomy--the North Star

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

• For fun: cut out a star shape from some cardboard boxes and have your kids shine a flash light on the shape in the dark. You can even turn out all of the lights to show your children how star light can be used as a navigational system. 



http://ursaminorconstellation.weebly.com/facts.html

• Some consider the star in the Nativity story to be the North Star--a part of Ursa Minor or the "Little Bear/Dipper". There is considerable debate about it, but if you would like to include it in your lesson plan, Souledout.org has a good easy to understand page on Ursa Minor (and Major). You can make a drawing of the constellation as well. Love, California even has an Ursa Minor pillow for sale. I'm thinking if you are crafty you can make a template of the bear and make a paper or felt creation of your own.

-----------------------------------

Deeper Learning

-----------------------------------

• Here is a free writing/drawing prompt to get your child thinking about the star symbolism.
  • Imagine that you had your very own special star in the night sky. It shines brightly and beautifully and is leading you to a place. A magical place where you can become the best person you could ever be. [pause]. What does the person look like to you? What does he/she do Why do they do it?
    
  • "We Three Kings" is a perfect song to compliment this project. 

----------------------

Literacy

----------------------

I am not going to re-invent the wheel here. There are tons of star-related reading and writing activities out there. Although I really like the idea of using sight words with the "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" poem.

 

~*Merry Christmas!*~