The festive season and the children’s strong interest in Christmas guided the class to explore and respond to this theme in meaningful ways. Jenny created a sensory bin filled with Christmas ornaments, inviting children to explore freely. This activity provided opportunities for creativity as children decorated according to their imagination. Mehar showed remarkable creativity by mixing ornaments to create a beautiful piece of art. Quinn requested to play the song “Jingle Bells,” which immediately captured the attention of many children. The song quickly became the hit of the month, with children gathering wherever singing was happening. They practised singing “Jingle Bells” and continue to enjoy singing it even now.
Since September, we have been learning to respect other cultures and interests. As part of our Christmas inquiry, we learned that for Christians, Christmas marks the birth of Jesus Christ, while for others it represents decorations, Christmas trees, lights, vacations, and gift-giving. To explore these different perspectives, we read a variety of books including Holy Night, Christmas Cats, and ELF hunt. The children sang, danced, and enjoyed many Christmas songs such as “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and “Silent Night,” learning about Christmas traditions and their meanings.
Tirhas and the children created a beautiful Christmas display by painting brown paper blue to represent the sky. The children then crafted stars and angels, and each child made a Christmas wreath, ornaments, and Christmas socks. These creative activities encouraged meaningful engagement and discussions about the decorations they see at home and in their surrounding environment. The children also shared their personal experiences, such as taking photos with Santa and booking appointments at shopping malls.
Jenny and the children also created a cardboard Christmas tree and enjoyed painting it green. They made a variety of decorations, including stars, balls, gingerbread men, and other crafts, to decorate the tree. Attaching the decorations was highly engaging and brought great enjoyment to the children. Julia made Christmas-scented playdough, allowing the children to engage in pretend baking experiences similar to what they observe at home. A fun science experiment using vinegar and baking soda created an exciting fizzy reaction, which particularly captured the children’s interest when Christmas cookie cutters were used. Art activities involving glue and sparkles added extra joy and encouraged creativity.
Santa was invited into the classroom, giving each child the opportunity to share their wish. The children did very well to wait patiently for their turn. One child needed an educator to stand beside her, while the others eagerly ran and jumped onto Santa’s lap when their names were called. They confidently sat with him, chatted, and thanked Santa for bringing gifts and candy canes. Opening the gifts was a challenge as each child waited for their turn. They were instructed to close their eyes until their name was called. Some children opened their eyes to say they were closed, while others pretended. A few understood the trick and kept their eyes closed longer, earning the chance to open gifts. Some children asked friends for help, while Lennox confidently stated he would open his gift by himself and did not want help.
It was impressive to observe the children’s confidence and self-determination as they expressed how and who they wanted to help them. The gifts included guitars, letter, animal and, shape puzzles, kitchen toys and others. The guitar was the most popular, with Simone demonstrating how to explore it, while Everley and Robbie showed great interest and talent in playing the guitar.
Finally, we made Christmas gift photo frames using painted and glued Popsicle sticks. Photos were taken with Christmas decorations, printed, and placed into the frames. Each child received three photos, including one black-and-white image. These frames can be hung at home or folded and reused every year as a special memory. Many parents expressed appreciation for the time and effort the educators and children put into creating these meaningful gifts. It was an experience that children learned not only to receive gifts but to also give!
We look forward to a new year of learning about many different celebrations!
