Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas: Perfect Pre-K Parent Gift

Five years ago, we started a tradition in our classroom that each year the children will paint a glass Christmas bulb as a gift to their parents.  In an effort to keep this year’s ornament a surprise, I am going to share the designs from the past four years. 

Last year, we made the "Loving Candy Canes" ornament. Use the student’s thumbprints to paint two red & white patterned candy canes in the shape of a heart on a green bulb. 

Poem for "Loving Candy Canes" Ornament

Thumbprints of red and white,
Oh, what a beautiful sight!
Loving Candy Canes, don’t you see. . .
One for you and one for me!

Two years ago, we made the "Tree-mendous Christmas Tree" ornament.  Use the student’s thumbprints to make a Christmas tree. Make one green thumbprint on the top, then two on the next row, three on the third, and four on the fourth row.  Next using the student’s other thumb, paint a brown trunk.  After the paint dries, help your students glue small jewels to the tree with craft glue.  Finally, help them use glittery gold puffy paint to make a star at the  top of the tree.

Poem for "Tree-mendous Christmas Tree" Ornament.
Oh Christmas tree, 

Oh Christmas tree, 
This tree was made. . .
Especially for you by me!

Three years ago, I purchased clear glass bulbs from Hobby Lobby and had the students blow different colors of paint into the ornament with a straw.  They then painted a red heart on the outside of their ornament using the sides of their hands. 

Teacher's Tip:  Use a paintbrush to paint the outside of the
student's hands.  This makes a better print than having the
students dip the sides their hands in paint.

  

Poem for the "Blown from the Heart" Ornament
This ornament was stamped with my hands,
and blown from my heart!

Rework:  For students who did not understand the concept of blowing paint out of a straw and to prevent them from sucking painting into their mouth (how you would typically use a straw), I had them do a marble effect by dipping heart beads into different colors of paint and then dropping them into the inside of the bulb and rolling them gently around.  We left the heart beads in the bulb and rewrote the poem.  The children put one heart beads for every person in their family into the bulb.  

Adapted Poem for this Ornament

This ornament is special don’t you see. . .

Painted hearts circled around for all of you and me.
Together we make a wonderful family!

Four years ago, we started our glass bulb tradition by borrowing an idea from Miss Andrea, one of our paras, who got the snowman bulb from her son the previous year.  You can see the snowman bulb here. 

Home Adaption:  What makes our glass ornament tradition even more dear to my heart is that my paras and I take each year’s idea home and make the glass ornaments with our own children.  Each year my boys make the ornaments for special people in our lives like their aunts, uncles, grandparents, neighbors, teachers and daycare providers.  

To me, the best part of our glass ornament tradition is making a bulb each year for our family tree.  The boys and I love decorating the tree with all the ornaments they have made.  

For our own tree, the boys make the ornaments by themselves and sign them versus an ornament they make together.  That way the ornaments can eventually be keepsakes for each boy when he's grown.

Extra Credit:  Printing the poems on card stock, cutting them apart with scrapbook scissors, and then laminating them makes for a longer lasting keepsake!  

***Post Update:  In response to popular demand, here are the gift tag templates from this post:  Blown from the Heart Ornament, Blown from the Heart - Adapted Version, Tree-mendous Christmas Tree, Loving Candy Canes.***

Small Group Playing Card Activity: Slap Santa

Several years ago, I purchased Christmas playing cards after the season for $ .50.  I really didn’t have a plan for them, just thought they could come in handy.  Last year, I finally came up with a clever game, similar to Slapjack.  

In advance, I cover all the face cards with clipart Santas using packing tape.  

Then as a social small group activity, a teacher turns the cards over one at a time.  If she turns over a number card, the kids have to say the number and if she turns over a Santa they have to slap it and say “Santa!”.  The kids love this adaption of Slapjack.  

For our students with short attention spans, it really helps to add the Santa images to all face cards (instead of jack only), so the frequency of slapping increases. There is less anticipation, more activity.  

This activity works on the skill of watching and attending to task.  For my students who have a difficult time watching and attending, I often play the game one-on-one at direct instruction or play it with two children versus a large group of four or six.  

For my more advanced students, I add in a more challenging skill.  I created a deck of Slap Penguin where half of the face cards are Penguins and half are Polar Bears.  Then I took a pair of gloves and used puffy paint to make a Polar Bear on one and a Penguin on the other.  The kids wear them to play the game.  If they are wearing a Penguin glove, they only slap Penguin cards. If they are wearing a Polar Bear glove, they only slap PolarBear cards.  This adds a whole new element of waiting, watching and attending.  The kids really have to watch to slap the right card.  It is not about watching their peers and reacting when they do, but rather watching and responding independently. 

Supplies for the Slap Penguin game.

My boys playing Slap Penguin.

Instructor's Insight:  The great part about this game is it works on hand dominance for  those kids that still switch between using their left and right hand. I paint the object on the front and back of each glove so it can be used for a left-handed or right-handed student.  It also gives the student time to independently practice putting on his/her gloves.  So often before outdoor time and at dismissal, we are in a hurry to get outside and don't take the opportunity to have students practice putting on their gloves themselves.  This gives them a motivating time to practice the skill.

Teacher's Tip: For kids who are not yet ready for gloves, use mittens for less of a challenge. 

Extra Credit: For students who are ready to work in large groups, program each face card with a different Christmas object or character. This gives more kids the opportunity to play.

  

Money Saving Thought: Buy playing cards and gloves at the dollar store. Make up generic forms of this game to play all year long or other seasonal versions such as Halloween, Valentines, Fire Safety, and Dinosaurs.  

  

Webinar Series - Modifications in an Early Childhood Classroom

I will be leading the discussion at an upcoming webinar this Tuesday, November 27th from 3:30 - 4:15 pm.  Hope to have you all in attendance!  

A big thanks to the Technical Assistance Support Network (TASN) for hosting the event and asking me to present.  Check them out!  They offer fantastic training and resources throughout the year. 

Here are the details:

Webinar Series - Modifications in an Early Childhood Classroom
November 27th, 3:30 - 4:15pm.  Lindy McDaniel, Regional Consultant for TASN/ATBS will be presenting a webinar on Modifications in an Early Childhood Classroom.

Register Here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WRMJY3T

For registration questions, please email: Katie Thomas at kthomas3@kumc.edu

A Special Thank You

As we approach Thanksgiving, I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has supported me in starting my blog.  My family, friends and colleagues have been nothing but supportive in my dream to share what I do with others.  I really appreciate the support from each of you as I truly could not do what I do without you.  

A huge thank you goes out to my big sister, Stacy, as she is the master mind behind all of it.  I give her the ideas, information and photos and she gives me feedback, edits my work and posts it in a professional manner.  As a matter of fact, this is the very first post I have posted without her support as a surprise tribute to her—so please excuse any editing mistakes. 

Dear Stacy, Thank you so much for all that you do!!! I love you, Lindy

(Stacy on the left, Lindy on the right and
our new baby niece, Kendall in the middle)

 

Thanksgiving Trail Mix Feast

Every Thanksgiving we have a feast to celebrate the holiday and practice skills the children will need for their own family gatherings.  We work on using good table manners, requesting items politely, waiting our turn, and making appropriate social conversation at the table.  

Many of my student's families express concerns and fears about their children with Autism and other social delays participating in social events.  This activity is one way we can practice skills in a calm friendly environment. Hopefully, the practice carries over into each family's holiday celebration. 

One week prior to our feast, I send home with each student a quart or gallon-sized bag (dependent on our classroom size).   Each student is asked to bring his/her bag back to school filled with a nonperishable food item that will serve in our class trail mix.   (Here is the note I send home to each family.)  

Examples of food items the children may bring are: cheese crackers, cheerios, chocolate chips, marshmallows, pretzels, banana chips, etc.  Teacher's Tip: I always ask that they bring their bags back the day before the party so I have time to gather snacks for anyone who forgets.  Before the feast, I put each food item in a serving bowl.

On the day of our feast, the children decorate a small paper sack with Thanksgiving stamps, stickers, or smelly markers.   Next, we sit in a circle and read our Thanksgiving social story.

SOCIAL STORY:  Our Thanksgiving Trail Mix Feast

Would you like some. . . (with a picture of what the child brought)

"Yes, please" or "No, thank you"

Would you like a big amount or a little amount?

Put it in your bag.  Wait to eat.

Thank You. You're welcome.

The students then create their own personal trail mix.  Each student uses visuals from the social story to request the snacks they would like to put in their paper sack.  

Each student goes around and asks his/her peers if they would like the some of his/her snack.  The children must respond with “Yes, please” or “No, thank you”.  If the answer is "Yes, please", the child serving the snack says “Would you like a small scoop or large scoop?”. The child receiving the snack uses their best manners to respond.

The activity is a perfect way for kids to practice manners and wait their turn.  The thing I like the most about the activity is the repetition allows students to get several turns of serving and requesting the snacks.  

Instructor's Insight:  Several of my students have sensory food issues meaning they don’t like the taste, or texture of various foods. This activity gives them the opportunity to politely say "No, thank you" and/or experience new foods.  I am always surprised by what each child decides to add to his/her individual mix.

To the make the event even more special, we invite parents to join us and the children get to choose to wear their pilgrim hat/bonnet or Native American headband.  We turn our cube chairs over and turn them into a table. The kids then gather around the makeshift table just like the first Thanksgiving.
  

Playdough Activity Promoting Fine Motor Skill Development

Provide your students with white playdough and metal pie pans.  Ask them to make a pie crust!! A pretend pie crust is a great fine motor skill development activity. 

My boys exercising their fine motor skills.

The kids love this activity especially if you incorporate it into your pretend play center or use it as an extension after reading I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie.  

Instructor's Insight: It can also be a great cooperative play if you partner up and have children work together to use their fine motor skills to spread the crust. 

Teacher's Tip:  You can use mini pie pans for younger students or students with less fine motor strength.  That way they get to participate and be successful at the same activity.  You can also do it with foil disposable pie pans for an extra challenge as they are more flimsy and need more motor control to complete the task. 

Another fun playdough activity for kids during the Thanksgiving holiday is to add various cooking utensils.  Over the years, I have collected several types of  potato mashers. The kids love to push playdough down with them to make different types of prints.  

E.J. putting my kitchen utensils to good use.

Native American Headband: A November Art & Math Small Group Project

Like many classrooms, our students make Native American headbands.  Although in my classroom this activity serves as a small group art, social, language and math activity.  

In advance, I cut out red, blue, yellow, orange, green, and purple feathers. I also cut out the brown strips of paper to make the headband. I draw 3 to 8 purple lines on the headband to serve as visual marks for the students to know where to apply glue.  We use purple glue sticks from Elmer's so the children can use the match-to-match philosophy by putting purple glue on top of the purple marker lines. This tells the student how much glue they need to use and how much work they have to do to complete the activity. 

This headband will require five feathers.
Instructor's Insight:  For children with shorter attention spans, add fewer lines!

The students start by writing their name in the middle of the brown strip of paper.  Then, we turn the paper over and begin playing the game.  The children take turns rolling a color die.  (You make one with free printable dice from http://www.toolsforeducators.com/ or you can purchase a colored die at any teacher supply store in the early childhood section.)  

My son adding feathers to his headband.

After rolling, they request that color feather from the teacher leading the small group.  If the student is nonverbal or do not yet know color words, he/she can do this by pointing to the corresponding color on an Aided-Language Board.   They then glue the feather on their headband while the next player rolls the dice to make his/her feather selection. 

An Aided-Language  Board

Aided Language Boards are similar to Picture Exchange Systems without the added velcro and pull off component.  You can read more about Aided Language Stimulation and work by Linda Burkhardt.  

This is one of my favorite Thanksgiving activities because it serves so many purposes--- color naming, turn-taking, gluing, and requesting.  You can even incorporate counting, and concepts like more and less.    

Multi-Purpose Seasonal Sorting Activity

Check out this fun way to review concepts such as colors, shapes, letters, numbers or even Thanksgiving vocabulary.  

All you need is a disposable pie pan, glue gun and one piece of off-white felt.  

1. Cut your felt into a circle the size of your pie pan. 
2. Fold it in half and cut three slits in the middle.  
3. Glue it to the edge of the pie pan.

Here's a photo of the completed "pie".

You then have a "pie" to draw cards or objects out of.  Put small items or flash cards inside the slit of the pie. Students take turns pulling out various cards or items after you sing:  "What’s in the pie?" to the tune of “Are you Sleeping?”  

What’s in the pie? What’s in the pie? Stick your hand in and find out. Stick your hand in and find out.  What’s in the pie? What’s in the pie?  

Lesson Plan Note:  I use this activity as an extension to one of my favorite Thanksgiving books by Alison Jackson, "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie". 

Instructor's Insight: Put the same number of items in the pie as students who are playing the game. This gives the students a visual cue of how long the activity will last.  When the pie is empty, we are all done.  

Here we are using the activity to practice Thanksgiving vocabulary,
as well as sorting the items by color. 

Teacher's Tip:  Get the most out of this activity by adding other concepts to the game. For example, if you have three different colored items in the pie then have three sorting bowls beside the pie for the kids to sort the items by color. Or if you have numbers in the pie, have a Velcro paint stick outside the pie and put Velcro on the back of the numbers so that students can put the numbers in order as they pull them out of the pie.  

Extra Credit: It is always good to have a structured place for kids to put game pieces so they are not fiddling with them and can attend to the task at hand.

 

Thanksgiving Pretend Play

Here's a creative pretend play idea for Thanksgiving. During the month of November, we transform our dramatic play center into a Thanksgiving Feast.  We remove all pretend food from the center except those that would be found at the first Thanksgiving like vegetables, breads, and turkey. 

I also replace our regular dress up clothing with homemade pilgrim and Native American costumes.  The costumes are made from bath towels.  To make the pilgrim costumes, I purchase black bath towels and white hand towels. I fold the towels in half and hot glue the white towel to the middle of the black towel.  I cut a half circle on the crease of the fold so that when you open the towels they have a circular opening for the children’s head.  The students wear them like a poncho.  

My son, EJ, playing a happy pilgrim.

To make the Native American costumes, I purchase tan bath towels. Fold them in half and cut a triangle on the fold to make a diamond opening for the children’s head to go through. Then, I paint Native American designs on them with fabric paint.  

 EJ portraying a Native American boy
who is fed up with his mother!  

Each year the children make Pilgrim hats and bonnets, as well as Native American headbands during art small groups to use in the dramatic play Thanksgiving center and then double as their hats for our Thanksgiving feast.  

Payton, my youngest son, demoing the Native American headband. 

To encourage purposeful play in the dramatic play Thanksgiving Feast Center, I share books like “Thanksgiving Day” by Anne Rockwell so the students can see images of the first Thanksgiving.  

Instructor's Insight:  Some years, my students do not have the skills to pretend play on their own. On those occasions, I create a video model of how to play at the play center. My son and a friend come in after school to play in the center naturally. I record their play on my iPad and narrate what they are doing so my students can understand how to play pretend. 

(For more research on video modeling, check out this site:  http://www.socialskillbuilder.com/articles/video-modeling-research.html)