Advent Calendar Activity Ideas

Each year we try to do activities for our Advent Calendar. 

Sometimes this includes big productions and some effort on my part while other days it is the simplest things. 

No matter what it is we try to be intentional and present with one another keeping our focus on the true meaning of Christmas. 

Here are just some ideas we have done over the years:

Make a cardboard gingerbread house	Take a ride on the Polar Express	Drive around and look at lights
Open a gift	Make cards for a friend	Bake cookies
Give cookies to neighbors	Christmas mug shopping	Put up Christmas lights
Stroll the lights	Go see gingerbread houses	Wrap presents
Dance to Christmas music	Christmas tree farm	See lights in the Garden
Make ornaments for family	Play games by the tree	Color a Christmas picture
Build a blanket fort	Watch a Christmas movie	Christmas craft
Wear PJ’s all day	Make paper chains	Take pictures with Christmas props
Donate old toys	Wear red and green	Leave a treat for mail man
Paint a festive scene	Read Christmas stories by the tree	Open a present
Make gingerbread man pancakes	See the Nutcracker	Wrap presents
Make tie dye shirts	See a living nativity	Make cranberry & popcorn garland
Dehydrate oranges	Make a cardboard polar express	Go on a light hunt

What are some activities you have done with your family? 

Gingerbread Man Theme 2017

Recap of the last two weeks as we followed a Gingerbread Man Theme.

Our two weeks worth of our Montessori Inspired trays:

1. Beginning blend family sort

2. Sandpaper numbers and buttons

3. Place value with gingerbread men (tens) and buttons (ones)

4. Read to your Gingerbread Baby

5. Gingerbread man sewing 

6. Beginning letter sound boxes

7. Toys and textiles from India exploration 

1. Felt gingerbread man 

2. Gingerbread man sound box match

3. Gingerbread man dot cards, numerals and buttons

4. Beginning letter sound and object match

5. Roll and count buttons on the gingerbread man

6. Gingerbread man story 3 part cards

7. Gingerbread man retelling story rocks

A favorite advent activity we do each year is to build a cardboard gingerbread house. It’s evolved so differently each year. The size and style of boxes we are able to get our hands on has a major role in how they are built. But no matter their form the girls love playing, Reading, coloring whatever each December. 

This year it’s made of boxes, paper plates and some red paint. That’s it!


Here are the Invitations I set out for the girls these two weeks:

Invitation to build: Can you build a gingerbread house using play dough?

Invitation to Draw: What do you think the inside of a gingerbread house may look like? (using chalk pastels)

Invitation to Draw: How many gingerbread men can you trace to fit onto one sheet of paper?

Invitation to Build: Can you build a bridge for the Gingerbread Man to cross the river?

Invitation to Learn: Why can't the Gingerbread Man just simply swim across the river?





AFFILIATION LINKS BELOW
Any purchase using these links are at no additional costs to you but it does help support my family, thank you!

Gingerbread Man Paper Boxes:
http://amzn.to/2z8tZyL

PlayDoh:
http://amzn.to/2ABJ9io

Sandpaper Numbers with box:
http://amzn.to/2ASSoaI

Sandpaper Letters:
http://amzn.to/2AWOBcz

Place Value Numbers 1 -9999
http://amzn.to/2BmOCZC

Here's to leaps of faith!

My first post. YIKES!
I have been so timid about starting a blog to merely share what we do on an educational learning level here in our home. But here I am, taking the leap!

Backstory on myself. I LOVE teaching. It is and has always been my favorite thing to do. I can remember being in Kindergarten myself and knowing I wanted to be a teacher just like mine. She was amazing, kind, thoughtful and FUN! Do you ever wish you could go back and tell your teachers just how amazing they were and what influence they had on your life? Yes, me too.

I went on to grow up babysitting and creating activities for the kids I cared for and from there went to school to get my degree in Early Childhood Education with a Masters in Reading Education. I taught for a few years in the public school system. I then decided  I wanted to stay home with my two babies playing with them and just having fun. I didn't know then that I would homeschool until my oldest became Kindergarten age and I knew I wanted to have a strong role in their educational foundation. I knew I wanted them to have a longer childhood of play and time for their self directed interests.

So, here I am. Mother to a 6 year old (first grader) and a 4 year old (preK), teaching them through play based hands on activities that cater to their interests and educational needs.

I like to incorporate several learning styles into our day as each as a part that really strikes me as essential to being sure my girls are getting the most out of their childhood.  I utilize Montessori, Reggio, Charlotte Mason, Nature and Whole Body Learning woven in and out of each bit of our days. I am NOT officially trained in any of these areas. In fact, I feel my actual educational background is quite the opposite of these paths but I feel my role as their teacher is to include them as it best suits their sensitive periods.

As I have been through this journey, I have found several friends that have benefited from my hands on lessons and wanted to also share with more as I know this homeschool journey can be so tricky to navigate without having to add coming up with fun lessons for your kids to the plate. My hopes through this blog is you find even a small nibble of something you can incorporate into your own homes or even classrooms if is allowed and somewhere children will reap the benefits of play based hands on activities and their minds will be opened and treasure the moments that occurred from the lesson from teacher to student.

Thank you for all the support. Much prayers have gone into these first steps and because of you all I have gained courage to share.