Free preschool lesson unit: Five senses of Christmas part 1

Preschool time is so much fun around Christmas because there are so many different ideas and activities to do. My son is part of a co-op preschool group and it is finally my turn to teach. Seriously I am really excited!

Last year I created the fives senses of Christmas lesson unit for my son and I loved it so much, we are doing it again this year with our co-op preschool and it even better this year than last. Over the next couple weeks, I will be sharing lesson ideas and activities for each sense. There will be 3 parts to this lesson unit!

*UPDATE: Here is the links to Part 2 and Part 3 of the five senses of Christmas

To start this unit, I like to read Mouse's First Christmas by Lauren Thompson

This cute story is about a little mouse who discovers new sights, smells, and taste but quite doesn't understand what it all is until he meets a jolly man with a special Christmas message. It is a good introduction for the five senses. 

After we read this story, I introduced our Christmas mouse

and I did a quick introduction about the five senses.

FREE download of the Christmas mouse HERE

Over the next several weeks, we took different days to talk about each sense and had so much fun with different games, learning activities, and books. 

I also made this cute booklet with our Christmas mouse and pictures that can be colored that went with each sense. 

THE FIVES SENSES OF CHRISTMAS ARE:

I CAN SEE CHRISTMAS COLORS

I CAN TASTE CANDY CANES

I CAN HEAR CHRISTMAS BELLS

I CAN TOUCH PRESENTS AND BOWS

I CAN SMELL GINGERBREAD COOKIES

 There is the option for a boy and girl gingerbread cookie coloring page. 

FREE fives senses Christmas coloring book can be DOWNLOADED HERE.

The first sense we began with was 

I CAN SEE CHRISTMAS COLORS.

Activities

L is for Christmas lights

You can DOWNLOAD the L template with the string lights HERE
and then have your child use their fingerprints to make the lights.

My name on Christmas lights

For this activity, I downloaded this free font from www.ffont.net
and then cut each light out. Using this string light TEMPLATE,
I had my child glue their name onto the paper.

Christmas light patterns

There are 4 sets of Christmas light patterns that can be DOWNLOADED HERE.

Christmas lights skittle sort

You can DOWNLOAD the Christmas light skittle mat HERE.

The next post I will be sharing is part 2 of 3 of the five senses of Christmas. They will be I CAN TASTE CANDY CANES AND I CAN HEAR CHRISTMAS BELLS. 

Busy Bags: Round 2

This is round 2 of our favorite busy bags. If you missed Busy Bags: Round 1, you can find it here. 

PATTERN STICKS

These pattern sticks were made using color coding labels. I used this TEMPLATE to make the pattern cards and laminated them. Then put the color coding labels on the Popsicle sticks. You can make as many different pattern cards as you would like.

NUMBER WHEEL

Here is a free PRINTABLE for the number wheel. Once I printed it out, I glued it onto cardboard. You then write numbers 1-10 on a clothespin and have your child clip them on to the correct number of dots.  

BUTTON SNAKE

You can find free instructions on how to make this from Mama Gab. There are different versions of this activity but I liked this one because of the felt shapes. This activity was given to me and the person that gave this to me added a snake tail, eyes, and tongue. I think it is so cute.

POPSICLE STICK PUZZLES

These Popsicle stick puzzles are a popular activity but they are nice because they kids enjoy them and there are so many options on what pictures to use. These Popsicle stick puzzles represent the four seasons and are graphics of mycutegraphics.com You can print out each picture from HERE, cut on the dotted lines and then use Mod Podge to glue them onto the Popsicle stick. I store each puzzle in a snack size Ziploc bag to keep them from getting all mixed together. 

All of our busy bags activities are stored away in a Ziploc bag and then we have all the bags in a plastic bin so they can be easily stored away. Do you have any favorite busy bags? I would love to share your ideas!