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. 

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Mathematics

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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.   

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Geography & Astronomy--the North Star

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• 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.

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Deeper Learning

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• 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. 

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Literacy

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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!*~