Over the last few days, our classroom has been buzzing with excitement as the preschoolers helped decorate our windows, walls, and tent to welcome the holiday season. As the environment transformed, the children eagerly shared stories about decorating their own homes. “My Christmas tree has green and red Christmas balls!” Sunshine told Noah H., who replied, “Mine too! And it changes colours!” Jocelyn also proudly shared that her Christmas tree has a “black special button” that makes the lights change colours. These conversations also strengthened their sense of belonging, as the preschoolers connected their personal experiences with their shared classroom environment. Their joyful conversations brought warmth, connection, and a festive spirit to our space. With a big smile, Noah H. expressed his appreciation and says “Thanks for putting all these up!” to his Educators.
Inspired by the children’s growing excitement for the holiday season, we extended their learning with a nature-based art experience. The preschoolers explored a variety of decorations and glitter glue to personalize their trees. “This smells like the tree farm!” Anthony shared. Through this open-ended process, the children had full autonomy to explore and create—whether messy, sticky, sparkly, or colourful. This experience allowed them to revisit previous ideas, deepen their creativity, and support their ongoing excitement for the holiday season in a hands-on learning experience.
Tina (Educator) had more leftover pine branches from a previous Christmas tree art experience, so we explored new ways to use them. We began by inviting the children to use scissors to cut the pine branches, encouraging them to strengthen their fine motor skills. Some children practiced cutting with support as they explored the texture and scent of the branches— “They feel rough!” one child said, while others shared that they “smell like the trees outside.” Building on this sensory exploration, we introduced the pine branches as painting tools. Each child received a small piece to use as a brush. “This feels funny to me,” Noah H. commented, while Zoe noticed, “Look, there’s so many lines on my paper!” The unique marks created by the branches encouraged the children to experiment, observe, and communicate their discoveries with one another. Through these sensory explorations the preschoolers fostered their well-being, and curiosity as they engaged with the natural materials.
Over the past few weeks, our preschool classroom has come together with the warmth and excitement of the holiday season. As the children helped decorate the room and shared stories about their own holiday traditions at home, our space transformed into a community filled with belonging, laughter, and connection. Their enthusiasm inspired us to extend their learning with natural materials—pine branches that encouraged sensory exploration, fine motor development, creativity, and joyful discovery. Through cutting, painting, smelling, touching, and creating, the children expressed themselves in meaningful ways and revisited ideas from previous experiences. These moments reminded us of how children find wonder in the simplest materials, and how their voices, curiosity, and joy shape our classroom every day.
