I Spy Winter Holidays! Lesson Plan

What We Are Learning

Social Studies Focus:

holiday traditions

Theme Vocabulary:

spy, holiday, gifts, cards, cozy

Skills We’re Practicing:

group discussion, read-aloud comprehension, concepts of print, critical thinking, vocabulary, noticing differences

In It’s Winter! by Renée Kurilla, children delight in all the wonders that winter can bring. They enjoy everything from celebrating holidays and sledding down a snowy hill to sipping hot cocoa. As you read this story with your students, ask them to share some of the things they look forward to in the winter.

Materials: butcher paper; scissors; art materials (e.g., paint, glue, paintbrushes, markers, crayons, buttons, pom-poms, scrap paper)

Create a new “classmate” for the holiday season!
To prepare, cut a 4-foot-long sheet of butcher paper. Place the paper on the floor and ask one of your students to lie down on it. Tell them that they are helping to make a new gingerbread cookie classmate. Use a marker to trace their body, producing a general shape without too many details.
Next, set up art materials, including paints, glue, paintbrushes, markers, crayons, beads, buttons, string, yarn, or scraps of construction paper. Have children work together to decorate the gingerbread person’s body.
After the craft has dried, cut out the gingerbread classmate. Gather students together in a circle in the meeting area, placing their new classmate in the center of the circle. Have students share what they notice and talk about the experience they had when decorating it. Give the gingerbread classmate a festive name and display it where everyone can enjoy! art/collaboration

Materials: large sheets of white paper, paint, brushes, tape, scissors, small items from the classroom (e.g., plastic animals, small blocks)

Work on fine-motor and prediction skills with a festive, giving twist!
Set out large pieces of white paper and paints and brushes or crayons and markers. Have children decorate the paper.
While the papers dry, have children select a small item from the classroom. Once the papers are dry, have children wrap their item and tape it closed.
During circle time, put the wrapped items in the center of the circle. Children can take turns selecting a wrapped present (not the one they wrapped) and guessing what’s inside. Remind them to use their senses of touch, sight, and sound to make their guess. Then they can unwrap it and return it to its place in the classroom. Kids can then take their wrapping paper home! fine-motor skills/prediction