These trees turned out so pretty. The kiddos did a great job! They used tissue paper on the tree and white paint for the snow.
​ I gave them the extra scraps from wrapping gifts to cut and paste into their journals. Look at the problem solving skills.....she used a cup to hold down the paper so it wouldn't curl up. I love seeing progress!! ​

They made Jj is for jellyfish and jaguar!  In our fine motor journals they drew Christmas lights.  For their name they made a cute Rudolph!

We have been practicing our Rudolph drawings!  This is their final version! So cute!

We use our fine motor journals every day with the older kiddos, and I also introduce them to our 2-year-olds so they can start strengthening their little hands. For the younger ones, it’s mostly scribbles, and that is 100% perfect! This is where it all starts!  Today a 2 year old held her journal up vertically and told me she was drawing a waterfall!
They also get the chance to use stickers in their journals. This simple activity requires concentration, pinching, and coordination, making it a great way to build those early fine motor skills. The kids are always so proud of their work!

Today we painted our gingerbread men and added lots of fun decorations!
We also talked about where ginger comes from. I showed them that ginger is actually a root, and everyone had a chance to smell the ginger spice before we started painting. We mixed paint with ginger spice to give our small gingerbread men a warm, cozy smell, such a great sensory experience. The kiddos were not too fond of the smell but then I let them smell pumpkin pie spice and they loved it! ​

Today we continued working on patterns. We practiced making stripes by using just our fingertips to paint, such a great way to build fine motor skills. The younger kiddos got to paint their whole hand and make handprint candy canes, which turned out adorable!
We also used beads to create candy cane shapes… but I played a little trick on them! I told them, “It’s not a candy cane, it’s a Jj for jingle bell!” They thought it was so silly and loved discovering the hidden letter.
Another fun and day of learning! 🎄✨

Today we worked on creating patterns! We started by using our stacking counters to build simple AB patterns, and then the kiddos practiced making their own patterns in their journals using strips of red and green paper.
Learning to create patterns is important in preschool because it helps build early math skills, teaches children to recognize sequences, and strengthens problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities.
For the kiddos who needed a little extra support, we used a Christmas tree activity with number prompts. They matched each light bulb to the corresponding number.
For the older kids, we offered an extra challenge, they placed the light bulbs in numerical order without any prompts. 
We are starting to work on letter Jj, they were encouraged to pretend as if they were ice fishing in their journals.  Make a line for the ice and go down, down, down with your hook! 
To finish the day they explored in our new sensory bin.  I hid a mini gingerbread man in each bin and they were encouraged to find him!