We kicked off our Christmas crafting activities this past week.  The boys sure seemed to enjoy our first craft/art project of the month.  Each one decorated pine cones with shimmery sequins, Christmas buttons, and white snowy glitter.  I was so impressed with how much attention they gave to this project.  They worked a lot longer than I thought that they would.  Check out the picture that is posted of the finished product. Didn't they do a wonderful job?

Our story for the day was, O Christmas Tree.  We learned how the evergreen reminds us of how God's love for us lives on forever.  We learned about the tradition of decorating Christmas trees which was started by the pastor, Martin Luther.  We learned how he puts lights/candles on his tree, a tradition that continues today.  We talked about how the lights remind us of how Jesus is a light in a dark world. So many of our traditions actually have religious meanings. 

We played a Christmas matching game in which the children had to match the number of stars on each card to the corresponding card with the same number.  We also used flannel board Christmas pieces for the children to pretend with and during music, we rode on a sleigh with our jingle bells.  Now, if I can just remember to put the Christmas tree in the classroom this week! 

This upcoming Wednesday, we will decorate glass Christmas ornaments.  This is an activity that the children enjoy every year.  We have one more Wednesday left after this week.  That's our extended day so plan on getting your last minute shopping in that day.  I'll have the kids from 9:30-3:00. We'll be celebrating Andrew's birthday that day with pizza and desserts and we'll watch a Christmas movie together.  Mark your calendars!

Check out the music and movement pictures.  Due to another Wednesday rainfall, we had to do some extra music, movement and tumbling.