Christmas-The elves' workshop

AREA SETUP

(Open thematic poster-The elves' workshop) Print, laminate, and decorate the walls of your daycare with all kinds of posters.

Educa-theme-The elves' workshop
(Open educa-theme-The elves' workshop) Print and laminate the elements representing the theme. Display them to present your theme to the children in your group (and their parents).

Educa-decorate-The elves' workshop
(Open educa-decorate-The elves' workshop) Print, laminate, and cut out. Use the illustrations to decorate the walls of your daycare and set the mood for your theme.

Educa-numbers-The elves' workshop
(Open educa-numbers-The elves' workshop) Print and laminate the posters. Display them on a wall to decorate your daycare throughout the theme.

Educa-letters-The elves' workshop
(Open educa-letters-The elves' workshop) Print and laminate the posters. Display them on a wall to decorate your daycare throughout the theme.

SPECIAL TOOL

This special tool was created in response to a special request received. (Open group identification-The elf group) Print and display in a specific location or in your circle time area.

CIRCLE TIME

Elf hunt
Every morning, deposit an elf somewhere in your daycare and encourage children to find it. As soon as they find it, photograph it and print the picture. Display all the pictures on a special wall near your daycare entrance or cloakroom. Children will enjoy showing their parents where the elf was hidden at the end of each day. Wear an elf hat to greet children each day. Name a chief elf every day. Give the chief elf certain privileges and tasks.

PICTURE GAME

The pictures may be used as a memory game or to spark a conversation with your group. Use them to decorate your daycare or a specific thematic corner. (Open picture game-The elves' workshop) Print, laminate, and store the pictures in a Ziploc bag or in your thematic bin.

WRITING ACTIVITIES

(Open writing activities-W like workshop) Print for each child or laminate for use with a dry-erase marker.

Stationery-The elves' workshop
(Open stationery-The elves' workshop) Print. The stationery can be used to communicate with parents, in your writing area, or to identify your thematic bins.

ACTIVITY SHEETS

(Open activity sheets-The elves' workshop) Activity sheets are suggested for each theme. Print and follow instructions.

Educa-nuudles-The elves' workshop

(Open educa-nuudles-The elves' workshop) Print for each child. Have children color the sheet and use Magic Nuudles to give it a three-dimensional look.  Variation: You don't have Magic Nuudles? Have children fill the spaces designed for Magic Nuudles with bingo markers or stickers. To order Magic Nuudles

VARIOIUS WORKSHOPS-Christmas

Construction or building blocks:

• Have only red, white, and green blocks available
• Create a carpet of snow in your area using a roll of cotton padding
• If you have an old Christmas village (made of cardboard), children will love assembling it
• Use papier-maché to build snowy mountains
• Decorate tiny buildings ("Fisher-Price" or others) with ribbons, miniature garlands, etc.
• Add various sizes of gifts
• Cover the floor with Christmas-coloured felt squares
• Use empty wrapping paper rolls to create tunnels, they can be decorated in your arts & crafts area

Arts & crafts:

• Christmas stencils
• Sparkles and sparkly glue
• Construction paper, tissue paper, any kind of paper in Christmas colors (green, red, white, gold, etc.)
• Kraft paper (rolls of brown paper) are great for creating homemade wrapping paper using cookie cutters and paint
• Christmas stationery for writing to Santa
• Poster paint and pinecones instead of regular paintbrushes
• Spread white glue inside a Christmas stencil. Sprinkle with sparkles and gently remove the stencil to create a beautiful, shiny Christmas shape
• Children trace their foot (face) and hands (antlers) in dark construction paper and cut them out. Cut a circle out of red construction paper (nose). Have children assemble the pieces to look like Rudolph
• Have children cut a round shape out of heavy cardboard. Glue green and red muffin cups onto the circle to create a wreath
• Paint old Christmas ornaments with acrylic paint, adding sparkles here and there
• Have a wrapping workshop. Provide wrapping paper, ribbon, tape, and small boxes. Add decorative accessories related to the theme such as confetti, pipe cleaners, ribbon, etc.
• Organize an ornament workshop. Have different sizes of pinecones, cotton padding, Christmas-coloured fun foam pieces, died pasta pieces to make garlands, Mac-Tac to create original stained-glass windows, ribbon, and cardboard on hand.

Drawing:

• Coloring pages related to the theme (ornaments, Christmas trees, angels, etc.)
• Educatall creative coloring page or one you've created
• Musical drawings can be done to the sound and rhythm of various Christmas carols

Role play:

• The North Pole's mailroom-letters, postcards, stamps from different countries (ask parents to help you find them), white or colourful envelopes, Christmas stickers, new or used Christmas cards, a special mailbox crafted by the group or yourself, a mailbag (ask your local post office if they have old ones they can give you or make your own with a decorated shoe bag), a postman's shirt and hat
• Mrs. Claus' kitchen-a rolling pin, pie plates, Christmas trays, cookie cutters, plastic cookies, a hat for Mrs. Claus, an apron, oven mitts, white modeling dough (homemade) with a touch of cinnamon, cookie sheets, spatulas, cake pans
• Santa's toy workshop-hats, ears, tutus, tights, colourful socks, pointed shoes, bracelets, necklaces, and small bells for the elves. A hat, beard, boots, belt, and red costume for Santa. A headband with antlers and red makeup (or a clown nose) for Rudolph. Your workbench and tools can be used to build and repair toys.
• Christmas morning-pyjamas, wool stockings, slippers, pretend gifts which may be unwrapped (ask parents for leftover wrapping paper), pretend food items to make breakfast, a beautiful Christmas tablecloth and decorative plates, snowflakes for decorating windows, laminated pictures of festive breakfasts, reunited families, etc.

Manipulation:

• Memory game with educatall picture game
• Green, red, or white modeling dough...add a few sparkles
• Puzzles related to the theme
• Christmas-coloured necklace beads
• Sound boxes wrapped in Christmas paper
• Different types of paper and fabric which can be manipulated to discover sounds and texture
• Stimulation bottles filled with Christmas decorations and sparkles
• Christmas magnets and a cookie sheet
• Different sizes of bells
• A Lite Brite game

Pre-reading:

• Beautiful Christmas cards can be manipulated and admired, musical ones are great!
• Storybooks about Christmas and winter
• Christmas music and books and CD sets about Christmas
• Sequential stories about Christmas

Pre-writing:

• Hunt and seek games
• Activity sheets related to the theme
• Games with educatall word flashcards
• Tracing and maze games about the North Pole
• Stationery and special crayons to write to Santa
• An old typewriter
• Christmas stickers (used as stamps)

Motor skills:

• Musical chairs played to the sound of Christmas carols
• Pretend to be Santa's reindeer, hitched to his sleigh
• Wrap a surprise gift and children pass it around a circle while wearing their winter mittens and hat
• A treasure hunt for small gifts indoors or outdoors
• Musical instruments

Sensory bins:

• Water table with toys, soap, and towels. Children can pretend to wash toys before Santa delivers them to boys and girls
• Salt or sugar bin. Hide various Christmas objects, pinecones, or branches from a pine tree...like in Santa's forest
• Real snow with mittens or gloves
• Cereal bins (reindeer food)
• Small containers filled with sparkles
• Container filled with ribbon and bows of all sizes and colors
• Pine needles, pinecones, coniferous branches
• Big balls (GIGANTIC) of modeling dough in Christmas colors (red, green, white) and allow children to mix colors together
• Container filled with various Christmas objects collected here and there over the years (candles, bells, unbreakable ornaments, etc.)
• Green and red ice cubes

Science:

• Include pinecones, pine needles, branches, and magnifying glasses in your area
• Provide several pinecones and a scale
• Make your own Christmas-coloured modeling dough

Kitchen:

• Make your own eggnog and enjoy it as a group:
  o 4 eggs
  o 2 tsp vanilla
  o 4 tbsp honey
  o 4 cups of 1 or 2% milk
  o Beat all ingredients together, pour into attractive glasses, and top with grated nutmeg. Serve immediately
• Bake sugar cookies. Children love measuring, calculating, pouring, etc. They can even make their favourite shapes.
• A nice cup of hot chocolate! Mmmmm.

LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES

Word flashcards

Use the cards to spark a conversation with your group or in your reading and writing area. They may also be used to identify your thematic bins. (Open word flashcards-The elves' workshop) (Open giant word flashcards-The elves' workshop) Print. hat, bell, shoes, costume, workshop, repair, wrapping paper, candy cane, nose, small, green, elf

Finger puppets-The elves' workshop
(Open finger puppets-The elves' workshop) Print and laminate the puppets. Cut out the holes so children can insert their fingers. They will enjoy creating stories with the puppets.

Felt board-The elves' workshop
(Open felt board-The elves' workshop) Print the different elements and glue them on felt. Glue four pieces of black felt on a large piece of cardboard to make a felt board. Display your felt board on a wall. The felt shapes will stick to the felt board. Children will enjoy moving them around to create scenes and stories.

ROUTINES AND TRANSITIONS

Elf path
(Open elf path) Print several copies. Use the illustrations to create a path that leads to the areas within your daycare children visit most throughout the day (cloakroom, bathroom, table, etc.).

Game-This is my spot-The elves' workshop
(Open game-This is my spot-The elves' workshop) Print two copies. Laminate and cut out the cards. Glue one copy of each card on the table using adhesive paper. Drop the other copies in a bag. Children take turns picking a card to determine their spot at the table for the day. You may also use the cards to determine naptime spots or for your task train.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MOTOR SKILLS

Elf lacing
(Open lacing-The elves' workshop) Print, laminate, and punch holes around the contour of each model. Children can use string, a shoelace, or ribbon to lace the shapes.

Elf game
(Open game-Elf) Print, laminate, cut out the pieces, and glue the elf on the wall. Give one laminated bell to each child. Blindfold one child at a time and have them try to stick their bell as close to the correct spot on the elf's hat as possible.

The elves are flying away
Set your parachute on the floor. Deposit elf hats and tiny bells on it and invite children to each hold one parachute handle. When you give the signal, children must shake the parachute as strongly as possible to send the elf hats and bells flying in the air.

The elf hat
This activity requires an elf hat and a scarf. Have your group stand in a circle. One child becomes the elf and stands in the centre of the circle. The elf wears the elf hat on his head and hides his/her eyes with the scarf. Sing a Christmas song with your group. As you sing, tap a child's head. This child steals the elf's hat and hides it behind his/her back. The other children place their hands behind their back too. When everyone is ready, tell the elf he/she can remove the scarf. Have the elf look around the circle and try to guess who stole the elf hat. If you wish, you may provide clues. Once the elf has discovered who stole the hat, the child holding the elf hat stands in the centre of the circle for the next round.

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Elf tag
Select a child to play the role of Santa Claus. The other children are elves. The elves are lazy and often run away from Santa's workshop. For this reason, Santa must catch the elves so they can go back to work and continue to prepare for Christmas.

Elf hide and seek
Hide one or more elves in your yard. When you give the signal, children set off to find them. Every time a child finds an elf, he/she must give it to you. Once all the elves have been found, hide them all over again.

MUSICAL AND RHYTHMIC ACTIVITIES

Elves
Play music and encourage children to dance around the daycare. You are Santa Claus. When you touch a child with your magic wand, they become elves and must stand still. When you touch them again, they may resume dancing.

Musical elf
Deposit several hula hoops on the floor. The elves walk around the hula hoops, to the sound of Christmas music. When the music stops, each little elf must find a home (a hula hoop). Remove one hula hoop at the end of each round, just like in musical chairs. Variation for younger children: To the sound of music, invite children to hop from one hula hoop to the next. Hold babies in your arms and hop with them.

Elf parade
Have children wear an elf hat. Add a garland strip to the tip of each child's hat and apply blush to their cheeks and the tips of their nose. Provide musical instruments and parade around your daycare. Don't forget to take pictures! Variation for younger children: For very young children, an elf hat, a red nose, a musical instrument and Christmas music are all you need to have loads of fun.

COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES

Educ-Intruder-The elves' workshop
(Open educ-intruder-The elves' workshop) Print and laminate. Children must find the six (6) intruders in the scene.

Educa-symmetry-The elves' workshop
(Open educa-symmetry-The elves' workshop) Print. Children must color the bottom picture (black & white) to make it identical to the top picture (in color).

Educ-pairs-The elves' workshop
(Open educ-pairs-The elves' workshop) Print. Children must color identical items using the same color or draw a line between them. For durable, eco-friendly use, laminate for use with a dry-erase marker.

Educ-differences-The elves' workshop
(Open educ-differences-The elves' workshop) Print and laminate for durable, eco-friendly use. Children must identify the differences between the two illustrations and circle them with a dry-erase marker.

Puzzles-The elves' workshop
(Open puzzles-The elves' workshop) Print, laminate, and cut out the pieces. Children must place the pieces correctly to recreate the scenes.

MORAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

I am an elf
Children pretend they are elves repairing and wrapping toys for Christmas. They can also create new toys with building blocks or recycled materials. To make this activity last even longer, children can act out the most popular toys such as a doll, a fire truck, a puppy, etc.

Dress-up dolls-The elves' workshop
(Open dress-up dolls-The elves' workshop) Print and laminate. Leave all the pieces on a table. Children will enjoy dressing the elf over and over again.

EARLY SCIENCE/MANIPULATION/OBSERVATION

Exploring bells
Elf costumes and hats are often decorated with tiny bells. For this reason, this theme is perfect for exploring tiny bells and the gentle sounds they produce with your group.

1. Drop one tiny bell in a plastic container (peanut butter) and put the lid back on. Can you hear the tiny bell?
2. If I hold a tiny bell firmly in my hand and shake it, can I hear it?
3. If I bang two tiny bells together, will this produce the same sound as when I shake a single tiny bell in my hand?
4. If I drop one tiny bell in a glass of water and stir, will I hear the bell?
5. Do several tiny bells produce a louder sound than a single tiny bell?
6. If I throw a tiny bell, does it produce the same sound as when I shake it?

CULINARY ACTIVITIES

Creative recipe-Elf Rice Krispies
(Open creative recipe-Elf Rice Krispies) Print.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup of margarine or butter
  
• 5 cups of miniature marshmallows
  
• 6 cups of Rice Krispies cereal
  
• Icing
  
• Candy pieces

Steps:

1. In a large pot, melt margarine over low heat.
2. Add marshmallows and stir until mixture is homogeneous. Remove from heat.
3. Incorporate the cereal and stir until it is completely coated with the mixture.
4. Press the preparation in a dish lined with waxed paper. Set aside to cool.
5. Use a Christmas cookie cutter to cut shapes. Insert a Popsicle stick in each one.
6. Use a spoon to spread icing on the shapes and decorate with candy pieces.

Creative recipe-Elf cakes
(Open creative recipe-Elf cakes)

Ingredients:

• 2 boxes of vanilla cake mix
  
• Food coloring (several colors)
  
• White or green icing
  
• Christmas candy pieces

Steps:

1. Prepare the two boxes of cake mix as indicated on the package.
2. Divide batter among several bowls.
3. Add a different color of food coloring to each bowl.
4. Deposit paper muffin cups in each section of a muffin tin or, if you prefer, grease each section of the muffin tin.
5. Have children drop small spoonfuls of different colors of cake batter in each section of the muffin tin.
6. Bake according to instructions.
7. Set aside to cool. Decorate your elf cakes with colourful icing and candy pieces.

Creative recipe-Christmas jelly
(Open creative recipe-Christmas jelly) Print.

Basic recipe

• 250 g of fruit pulp
  
• 3 packets of gelatin
  
• 45 ml of sugar
  
• 125 ml of sugar
  
• 125 ml of sugar
  
• 15 ml of unsalted butter

Trick: Since you must stir constantly, measure and divide the ingredients prior to beginning the preparation.

1. In a food processor, purée the fruit pulp until smooth. You may use raspberries, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, or blueberries. You will need 300 g of fruit to yield 250 g of pulp. Press the purée through a sieve if you wish to remove all small seeds.
   
2. Combine the gelatin (3 packets will yield 45 ml of gelatin) and 45 ml of sugar.
   
3. Pour the pulp in a heavy pot. If possible, use a non-stick pot.
   
4. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Immediately sprinkle the mixture with the gelatin and sugar mixture, while stirring.
   
5. Cook for 1 minute while mixture continues to boil, stirring to avoid the formation of lumps. Add 125 ml of sugar and bring to a boil once again.
   
6. Add the remaining sugar (125 ml) and the butter, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil once more and cook, stirring non-stop for 5 to 8 minutes while scraping the sides of the pot.
   
7. Pour the mixture in a greased 8-inch square pan. Refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours.
   
8. Use a knife or cookie cutters to cut the jelly.
   
9. Enjoy!

Elf house
Purchase tea biscuits (Social Tea) and assemble them by sticking them together with icing to form a small house. When you are satisfied with the shape of the house, spread icing all over and let children decorate it with candy pieces. Variation for younger children: Avoid using candy pieces that are very small. If you wish, you may use pudding to hold the cookies together instead of icing. You may even offer larger cookies to limit manipulations. Of course, have several wet facecloths on hand to clean little hands (and faces)!

ARTS & CRAFTS

Puppets-The elves' workshop
(Open puppets-The elves' workshop) Print the models on heavy cardboard. Have children cut them out and decorate them with a variety of materials. Glue a Popsicle stick behind each model to create puppets.

Models-The elves' workshop
(Open models-The elves' workshop) Print. Use the models as needed for a variety of crafts and projects throughout the theme.

Elf stained glass
(Open models-The elves' workshop) Print the color or black and white version. On heavy cardboard, trace and cut out the shapes you wish to use. Keep only the contour of each shape. Glue a piece of cellophane paper over the cardboard frame. Glue glitter all around the contour. Stick your stained glass in a window. Variation: Trace the shapes on adhesive paper and fill them with confetti, tissue paper, pieces of construction paper, etc. Stick a piece of adhesive paper on top and cut out. Hang your stained glass in a window or door.

Crumpled elf
(Open models-The elves' workshop) Print the color or black and white version for each child. Have them tear and crumple pieces of green, red, and white tissue paper and use the crumpled pieces to fill the shape they prefer.

My miniature elf
(Open miniature elf) Print, cut out, and color. Glue the pieces on an empty toilet paper roll to make it look like an elf. Hang from the ceiling or in your Christmas tree.

Elf garland
(Open models-The elves' workshop) Print the color or black and white version. Let children decorate the elves with glitter, paint, and other materials. Cut them out and assemble them to form a garland you can hang within your daycare or near your daycare entrance.

My elf
(Open my elf) Print for each child. Have children cut out the various parts and color them. Assemble them with fasteners when they are done.

COLORING PAGES

(Open coloring pages theme-The elves' workshop) Print for each child. Use a hole-punch to make holes along one side and join the pages together with ribbon. Throughout the month of December, have children color the pages. This coloring book will make the perfect gift for parents.

I am learning to draw-An elf hat
(Open I am learning to draw-An elf hat) Print and laminate the model sheet. Invite children to practice their drawing technique on the model sheet. Later, they can try to draw an elf hat on their own.

Complete the drawing-The elves' workshop
(Open complete the drawing-The elves' workshop) Print for each child. Encourage them to complete the drawing.

SONGS & RHYMES

(Open songs & rhymes-Santa's elves)

Santa's elves
By: Patricia Morrison
Sung to: Are you sleeping?

Are you working
Are you working
On my gifts
On my gifts
Soon it will be Christmas
Soon it will be Christmas
Santa's elves
Santa's elves

Have fun!

The Educatall team