School’s almost out for Christmas, and that means you’ll have excited kids back at home with you. How can you help to channel their energy in ways that will help sharpen their minds?
Celebrate the “12 Days of Christmas” with these 12 at-home activities to help your children continue to learn in a fun and festive way. All are easy for parents to do with their children, and most only need basic household items.
The activities below help students work on writing, reading, counting, science, and more and are sure to keep them busy and having fun during winter vacation.
1. Christmas Coloring Page
This Christmas-themed coloring page helps children improve their fine motor skills while they add color to Waterford UPSTART characters Rusty and Rosy.
2. Dear Santa Letter
Fill in the blanks to write a letter to Santa! Kids have a chance to practice writing their name, the date, and a list of items that they would like for Christmas.
3. Fingerpaint Christmas Cards
This activity allows children to be creative and make one-of-a-kind Christmas letters for friends and families! Children use their fingerprints and an ink pad to make holiday creations.
4. Fruit Cane
While candy canes are a fun holiday treat, they also contain a lot of sugar and aren’t the healthiest snack. This activity helps teach pattern recognition and healthy eating as children try to recreate the pattern of a candy cane with the help of bananas and strawberries. Yum!
5. Hanging Alphabet Christmas Lights
Help your child learn letter recognition and the order of the alphabet with this matching game! Children pair the lowercase letter with the corresponding uppercase letter.
6. Christmas Tracer Pages
This activity helps children practice writing their upper and lowercase letters. Children also learn holiday-themed words.
7. Christmas Word Searches
Kids of all ages can have fun with these Christmas word searches. If your kids can’t find all the words on their own, have them ask an older sibling or relative for help.
8. Glitter Glue Snowflake
Encourage your kids to get creative by drawing snowflakes out of glitter glue! If your kids need a hand, they can trace a snowflake through the acetate. Then hang your snowflakes up and watch them sparkle!
9. Crystal Candy Canes
Teach your kids about suspension and crystallization as they make Crystal Candy Canes out of pipe cleaners and Borax. The finished candy canes make for great decorations or ornaments on your tree.
10. Melting Christmas Tree activity
Here’s a science activity that’s sure to get your kids excited about Christmas. Kids build “trees” out of baking soda and then watch them fizz away with the help of vinegar.
11. Snowflake Dot-to-Dot
Help your kids learn to count up to 65 with this dot-to-dot activity. At the end of the dot-to-dot, they’ll have a completed snowflake that they can color in to make their own!
12. Milk Science Experiment
This fun experiment only uses milk, food coloring, cotton swabs, and dish soap. Your children will be amazed with what happens!
