'Tis the Season for Preschool Christmas Activities

Christmas activities offer preschool teachers the chance to teach their students more about Christmas than just Santa Claus, though that is a fun subject to talk about! Teachers have the chance to introduce their students to concepts such as charity and tolerance. These are topics that are learned best at a young age and can carry through into a lifetime of of good deeds. Take this opportunity to use the activities below to have some fun, bring some magic into the classroom and plant the seed of charity.

Bring a small tree into the room and have children help you to decorate it with some of the decorations that they can make below. As you decorate the tree, here's a cute story to tell the children to prevent them from playing with the lights. Don't put any tinsel on the tree as decorations.

Every light in the tree holds a small fairy. When the lights are on, the fairies are using their small hands to create tinsel and ribbons. They hide in the light so that their secret is not exposed. When the lights are off, the fairies are sleeping in preparation for the next day's work. If anyone plays with the lights, the fairies will become afraid and go away the next time the lights are off.

Help students to make paper chains for the tree by cutting strips of paper and gluing them in circles around each other to create links for a Christmas chain.

Use clothespins to create reindeer by turning them so that they are sideways and painting them brown, then adding a nose, eyes and mouth with magic markers.

Create small stockings by cutting two shapes of a stocking out of construction paper. Glue the edges together, except for the top. Decorate with glitter and ribbons. Place cotton balls along the top edge of the stocking.

Make reindeer food by mixing oatmeal and glitter in small bags or use the small stocking as holders. Children should place the "food" outside for the reindeer on Christmas. Send a note home to parents so that they know to remove the "food" early in the morning so that the children believe the reindeer at it and the birds won't have access to it.

Try doing a community helpers unit on charity so that students can learn about the act of giving and tolerance. Talk with your students about charitable giving and arrange a food drive so that children can donate canned goods to take to the nearest food bank or shelter.