Christmas Theme

Magnetic Christmas Sensory Bin: I bought a bunch of random Christmas items at the Dollar Store and used our Magnetic Kit for this sensory bin. Below is a list of all the items we used - feel free to be creative! The trick to sensory bins is to NOT bring everything out at once. We played for over an hour and had a blast! Click here to view my inspiration for the Magnetic Sensory Bin. 

Rice - pretend snow
Jingle Bells - large and small
Styrofoam Balls - pretend snowballs
Toothpicks - used to connect styrofoam balls to make snowmen
Christmas Themed Erasers - we played pretend with the polar bear erasers
Measuring Spoons & Cups - for pouring and scooping
Magnetic Kit - comes with magnetic wands, balls, chips, etc.
Paper Clips
Magnetic Cookie Cutters


Christmas Cookie Cutters, Beads & Play Dough: I bought Christmas Cookie Cutters on Amazon and we used them to play with play dough today. It's always fun to bring in extra accessories with play dough - we chose cookie cutters and beads today. Easton used the beads to make eyes and a "beard" on Santa, shoes on the gingerbread man, and ornaments on the Christmas tree. I love his creativity.


Christmas Slime: I have always hesitated making slime, because I thought it would be a lot of work and messy. I made it today and realized that neither of my previous thoughts were true. This slime only took 5 minutes to make and requires three ingredients - water, glue and liquid starch. Easton loved the look of the slime, but was too hesitant to really play with it. Instead, he placed jewels on top of it and watched how amazed I was playing with it. We still had a great time, but we'll save slime to do again in the future. I wish I would have been more prepared with cute Christmas objects, instead of only jewels. Click here for a tutorial to make Christmas Slime. 


Christmas Puzzles: These were a perfect level for Easton. I handed him a puzzle at a time (three pieces) and he matched the head, tummy and feet together to make a picture. It's possible to mix and match the pieces to make a funny puzzle - santa head, elf body and gingerbread man feet. However, I was more focused on a single matching activity. Click here to print Christmas Mix/Match Puzzles. 

Popular posts from this blog

Ocean Foil Painting

Image
We love foil painting. Last year, my three used monster trucks to paint on foil and this year, my three and 21 month old used q-tips to paint an ocean scene. They both really enjoyed painting and using ocean stickers to complete their ocean. You can view our other Letter O Activities  by clicking the link. Here's what you need: Cardboard Poster Board (I bought mine from The Dollar Tree and cut it into fourths) Tinfoil Tape (I used packing tape, but I'm sure any kind would work) Paint (we used dark blue, light blue and white tempera paint) Q-tips Glitter (optional) Ocean Stickers  (or print ocean clipart to glue on) 1) Wrap a piece of tinfoil around your piece of cardboard. Tape the tinfoil (on the back side of the cardboard) into place. 2) Squeeze paint onto the foil and have your child(ren) swirl the paint around with a q-tip. My 21-month old decided to use his hands to paint (top left), which made the paint lift and chip off a bit when the paint dried.
Read more

Family Home Evening Index

Image
Update: Did you know I'm posting weekly COME FOLLOW ME ideas and lessons for young children (ages 3-12)? The lessons are short, interactive and lots of fun. Click the link for more details.  I started doing a weekly Family Home Evening lesson when my oldest child turned 18 months old. These lessons teach our family about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Restored Gospel - we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The lessons in BLUE are based on principles from the nursery manual, "Behold Your Little Ones" along with supplementary ideas to teach the same principle. The lessons in PINK are from the Sunbeams Manual - which we used at group family home evening lessons at our home. These lessons are meant for toddlers and young children - they're short, interactive and sweet. Baptism Book of Mormon (1) : "The Book of Mormon Teaches me about Jesus" Book of Mormon (2) : The Story of The Book of Mormon Book of Mormon Her
Read more

Family Home Evening: Baptism

Image
**Other Baptismal Lessons:  Kit Kat Baptismal Covenants ,  here (includes covenants with pictures) and here (includes baptism jeopardy).  Prayer: Scripture - John 3:5. Explain that Jesus is speaking in this verse and teaching us something we need to do in order to live in heaven again with Heavenly Father and Jesus. Read the verse and explain that "born of water" is referring to baptism. Song: " When Jesus Christ was Baptized " from the Children's Songbook page 102. When Jesus Was Baptized: Use these visuals (shown below) to teach your children about when Jesus was baptized. Each visual has a summary included. I printed the summaries and glued them onto the back of the pictures, so I could show my children the pictures while reading the summary on the back. Point out any additional details you'd like in the pictures. When I Am Baptized: Teach your children that they can be baptized just as Jesus was baptized. Use these visuals (s
Read more

Obedience (1): The Chocolate Chip Ghost Story

Image
This lesson contains ideas from the current nursery manual, Behold Your Little Ones. Click the link to view the original lesson, " I Will Obey " from LDS.org. Prayer : Scripture : Ephesians 6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right." I explained what 'obey' means and told Easton how happy it makes Heavenly Father when he listens to mom and dad. Song : " Quickly I'll Obey ." (Primary Children's Songbook P. 197) We did the actions from the manual as we sang the song: When my mother calls me (cup hands around mouth) Quickly I'll obey (run quietly in place) I want to do just what is best (nod head up and down) Each and every day. When my father calls me (cup hands around mouth) Quickly I'll obey (run quietly in place) I want to do just what is best (nod head up and down) Each and every day. Heavenly Father loves me (hug self) Blesses me each day (continue hugging self as you tur
Read more