It’s finally December, which means decorations are going up, snow is coming down, and you have a lot to do before the holidays roll around. There may be only one month left of 2020, but the end of the year will bring a return to school. Whether you are setting up the tree, baking challah, or coordinating many different holiday get-togethers over Zoom, you won’t always have time to make sure your child stays on track with their learning.
Never fear! This is the perfect time of year to use learning-based activities to get your kids in the festive spirit and help them learn while having fun. Play helps children develop new skills while having fun and being creative. There are many fun activities you can do over the holidays that will also improve your child’s writing, math, and art skills.
Here’s some fun holiday activities that will help your child learn while having fun and getting into the festive spirit:
Bake Christmas cookies together, and then have fun decorating them.
Have your child review fractions while measuring ingredients, practise their 2-D shapes with different fun cookie cutters, and name the icing colours. Try making triangle-shaped pieces of dough and using them to make Christmas trees or circles to make snowmen. Create piping bags by snipping the corner off of a sandwich baggie and let your child practise their hand-eye coordination icing fun designs onto their masterpieces. Plus, you get to eat the delicious results!
Make homemade Christmas or holiday cards.
Everyone loved to receive festive cards, and with a bit of craft time, your child can make homemade cards for their friends, teacher, grandparents and anyone else. Books in the Big Skills for Little Hands series, like I Can Cut and Colour and Fold, can help young children practise their card-making skills. Your child can practise their hand-eye coordination, cutting skills, gluing skills and folding skills. Help them cut out geometric shapes to make snowmen, Christmas trees, Santa hats and more to decorate their cards.
Write a letter to Santa and include a holiday drawing.
Don’t forget to let your child practise their letter writing by writing a list to Santa! Want to make sure those letters are the best they can be? The Big Skills for Little Hands Early Concepts and Trace and Draw can help young children practise writing their letters and drawing fun animals. For older children, our graded CCP Writing books or Key Skills Cursive Writing workbook can help them hone their writing skills before they make their final copy. Encourage your child to use bright colours and draw pictures to go with their Santa letters.
Don’t forget that Santa is Canadian! If your child sends their letter with a return address to Santa Claus, North Pole, H0H 0H0, Canada by December 10, Santa’s helpers will write back!
Build a snowman – whether you have snow or not.
Who doesn’t love playing in the snow before going inside to have a nice warm cup of hot chocolate? Your child can practise their fine motor skills and get some exercise by building a snowman and decorating it with carrots, sticks, stones, scarves and more. Don’t have any snow? Your child can make a yummy edible snowman inside with marshmallows, pretzel sticks, chocolate chips or other tasty treats.
For parents:Stocking Stuffers
Are you stuck on stockings? Stockings are one of the best parts of Christmas, but it can be hard to find fun items to fill them up. We have some great My Big Time Book of Fun puzzle books that can be the perfect addition to your child’s stocking, with mazes, word searches and crosswords for ages 4-7. Don’t forget to add a holiday treat that they can snack on!
12 Days of Christmas Giveaways
Who doesn’t love a giveaway? At Telegraph Road Entertainment and Canadian Curriculum Press, we’re celebrating the holiday season with twelve days of giveaways - and twelve giveaways a day! It’s a chimney-full of fun prizes that make great Christmas presents, stocking stuffers, or activities to enjoy together as a family. No, it won’t be turtledoves or golden rings. You’ll have to go to our Instagram accounts (@canadiancurriculumpress and @telegraphroad.entertainment) and interact with each day’s post. Tune in to our Instagram Live every day at 8 p.m. starting TONIGHT, December 1, to find out what the elves are delivering. Don’t forget to engage on our posts and spread the Christmas cheer!
Everyone loved to receive festive cards, and with a bit of craft time, your child can make homemade cards for their friends, teacher, grandparents and anyone else. Books in the Big Skills for Little Hands series, like I Can Cut and Colour and Fold, can help young children practise their card-making skills. Your child can practise their hand-eye coordination, cutting skills, gluing skills and folding skills. Help them cut out geometric shapes to make snowmen, Christmas trees, Santa hats and more to decorate their cards.
Don’t forget to let your child practise their letter writing by writing a list to Santa! Want to make sure those letters are the best they can be? The Big Skills for Little Hands Early Concepts and Trace and Draw can help young children practise writing their letters and drawing fun animals. For older children, our graded CCP Writing books or Key Skills Cursive Writing workbook can help them hone their writing skills before they make their final copy. Encourage your child to use bright colours and draw pictures to go with their Santa letters.
Are you stuck on stockings? Stockings are one of the best parts of Christmas, but it can be hard to find fun items to fill them up. We have some great My Big Time Book of Fun puzzle books that can be the perfect addition to your child’s stocking, with mazes, word searches and crosswords for ages 4-7. Don’t forget to add a holiday treat that they can snack on!