Interactive Montessori-Inspired Christmas Display (Photo from Peaceful Parenting)
Children LOVE Christmas – and now’s the perfect time to start creating special Montessori-inspired activities to celebrate the season. Of course, if you don’t celebrate Christmas, many of these activities can be adapted to fit your own special December celebration.
I’ll be focusing on some wonderful Montessori-inspired resources I found online, mainly linking to 2011 posts. I’ll add my posts from last year with links to Montessori-inspired activities from previous years.
Most of the activities will be divided between Christian and secular activities to make it easier for families who might celebrate secular Christmas only or Hanukkah and secular Christmas. I’ll be adding to this post throughout December, so be sure to check back throughout the month.
Montessori-Inspired Printables
0-10 Number Cards and Counters – Christmas (Image from Montessori Print Shop)
Our Worldwide Classroom has free 3-Part Christmas Nomenclature Cards.
Montessori Print Shop has a number of inexpensive Christmas printables.
Our Country Home has Montessori Christmas Tree and Presents Cards and Counters (free printable).
My post Free Preschool Printables for Activity Trays has links to lots of sites with free Christmas printables that can be made into Montessori-inspired activity trays with hands-on activities.
Montessori-Inspired Christian Christmas Activities
Godly Play Advent Materials from Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Portland,Oregon
From last year, I have a post on How to Use Godly Play at Home during Advent. (Godly Play is a Montessori-based religious education program.)
Along with other Montessori-inspired Christmas activities, Barefoot in Suburbia has a Montessori-inspired activity using “hay” transferred to the manger with a tweezers.
Montessori-Inspired Secular- or Mixture of Christian and Secular Christmas Activities
Gift Wrapping Work (Photo from My Montessori Journey)
From last year, I have posts on Activity of the Week – December Poetry Basket and Montessori-Inspired Christmas Activities, Activity of the Week – Montessori-Inspired Decorating the Christmas Tree Activity, and Activity of the Week – Gift Wrapping Work (photo).
Turning Christmas Crafts into Montessori-Oriented Activities
I also had a post about creating Montessori-oriented activity trays from craft ideas: Turning Christmas Crafts into Montessori-Oriented Activities.
Peaceful Parenting has an Interactive Montessori-Inspired Christmas Display (photo at the top of this post).
Andrea Coventry at Associated Content has Montessori Practical Life: Spooning Activities for Christmas and Montessori Practical Life: Tonging Activities for Christmas.
Practicing In and Out with Chenille Sticks (Photo from Our Montessori Home)
Our Montessori Home has Christmas Montessori Toddler Activities and Montessori Christmas: In & Out and Transferring (photo).
H is for Homeschooling has a Christmas Sensory Bin and Christmas Tot Trays.
Mama to 4 Blessings has a Nativity sensory box.
The Activity Mom has Christmas Lights Color Matching.
Christmas Opening and Closing Activity (Photo from Vibrant Beginnings)
Vibrant Wanderings has holiday themed toddler activities
Kingdom of the Pink Princesses has Toddler Holiday Trays, Poinsettia, Free Downloads and More Holiday Works, and Poetry and Christmas Tree.
Jingle Bell Necklace Tay (Photo from To the Lesson!)
To the Lesson has lots of Montessori-inspired Christmas activities, including a jingle bell necklace tray (photo).
Taming the Goblin has a post with Christmas activities and a number matching Christmas tree.
Jingle Bell Transfer (Photo from Homeschool Escapade)
Homeschool Escapade has Winter Tot Trays.
Numbers and Santa Counters (Photo from Leptir)
Leptir has lots of posts with Montessori-inspired Christmas activities, including numbers and Santa Claus counters (photo).
Parenting in the Moment has a number of Montessori-inspired Christmas Activities.
We Can Do All Things has Christmas Learning, including Christmas fabric matching, and Christmas Fine Motor.
Raising Little Rhodies has a number of Christmas-themed activity trays.
Tonging Ornaments (Photo from Discovery Days and Montessori Moments)
Discovery Days and Montessori Moments has Christmas Season Fun (photo), Advent Week 2, Christmas Metal Inset Ideas, and Advent Week 3 ~ DIY Ornaments.
Tracing Cookie Cutters Activity (Photo from Montessori MOMents)
Montessori MOMents started 12 Days of Christmas Montessori Trays with Tracing Cookie Cutters as Pre-Writing Development.
Playing with Words 365 has some fine-motor Christmas activities.
The Adventures of Bear has lots of Montessori-inspired Christmas posts.
Sunrise Learning Lab has Stamping Fun for the Holidays.
Gingerbread Playdough Mat (Photo from The Education of Ours)
The Education of Ours has December Montessori Fun and a gingerbread playdough activity (which included grinding the spices for the playdough).
Jessie from The Education of Ours has Winter Sets Basket, a Counting Activity at Mommy Moment.
Learning Adventures has a number of Christmas activities, including pouring silver balls.
Sugar Cookie Preparations (Photo from Work And Day, Day By Day)
Work And Play, Day By Day has Kids Making Sugar Cookies.
Joyfully Weary has Preschool Syllabus: Christmas.
Montessori with a Twist of Life has Montessori-inspired Christmas activities including lacing bells.
The Iowa Farmer’s Wife has pouring jingle bells and Nativity and gingerbread activities.
Christmas Word Matching (Photo from Raising Genius Fish)
Raising Genius Fish has Christmas Word Matching and Christmas Vowel Sound Sorting.
Gingerbread Man Counting Activity (Photo from The Work Plan)
Christmas Tree Sensorial Extension (Photo from Mi Escuelita Montessori)
The Work Plan has Christmas-Inspired Works and Works the Children are Loving (with more fun gingerbread activities), and Gingerbread Playdoh.
We Don’t Need No Education has elementary-level math story problems with a Christmas theme using a free printable by Shelley Gray and Christmas-Inspired Works for elementary level.
Mi Escuelita Montessori has a Christmas tree sensorial extension.
American Montessori Consulting has Christmas in Australia – Links for Unit Study, Christmas Around the World Part I, Christmas Around the World Part II, and Furoshiki – Ancient Japanese Art of Wrapping Presents and Christmas Flower Arranging.
Are you preparing any Montessori-inspired Christmas activities?
Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy!
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This post definitely gets me in the Christmas spririt! Thanks for sharing these cute ideas. I’ll be posting later this week about our December activities in the classrom. Have a great day,
Sasha
Thanks, Sasha! I’ll look forward to your December activities … and I know I’ll be adding them to this post! Have a great week! 🙂
As always, you create such a lovely collection of activities gathered in one place. Lovely Christmas activities and links. -heather
Thanks so much for your kind comment, Heather! I love researching for activities – and I’ll have fun adding to the post throughout the month! 🙂
Great ideas! I love the gift wrapping in particular – definitely an idea to file away for when my daughter is a bit older 🙂 Thanks, Deb!
Thanks, Melissa! Gift wrapping is an activity I wish I would have had as a preschooler. I’m still a bit gift-wrapping challenged. 😉
The Christmas tree activity is so cute!
Thanks for your comment, JDaniel4’s Mom! I love activities like that … they’re simple to prepare but fun and work on a number of skills. 🙂
Thank you for featuring me! I can’t wait to check out all of these great ideas! Thanks for the great collection of posts!
My pleasure, Jen! And thanks for sharing your wonderful ideas … I LOVE the interactive Christmas display! 🙂
Great Post! I always look forward to your Montessori Monday post,so inforhmative,and inspiring! Thank you so much for sharing.
Thanks so much for your kind comment! I always look forward to your posts, too! 🙂
Wonderful collection of ideas here.
I admit, I am going more Charlotte Mason than Montessori for the season with lots of family reading and outdoor time, but Montessorians love good books, too, so if anyone wants to check out my extensive book list, I linked my PDF of ABC Advent Plans at http://traininghappyhearts.blogspot.com/2011/11/planning-simple-yet-complete-advent.html Enjoy!
Thanks, Martianne! Your post is perfect for my post tomorrow (today for you). Putting it together now! 🙂
I love the Christmas interactive display! I have linked up as well although not a lot of “montessori” in our last couple of weeks but a lot of fun still!
Am going to have to come back tomorrow {It is getting late here!} to click through all the links as I have Christmas Tot School planning to get done! Am sure to find a ton of inspiration.
Thanks for hosting.
Thanks for your comment, Lulu – and for linking up! You always have some great Montessori-inspired activity trays, and I love that you work to follow your boys’ interests and provide a variety of activities! 🙂
You have done it again with a wonderful round up of Montessori inspired activities. I love the sugar cookie tray. Thank you so much for linking up to AfterSchool. It’s always so nice to see your link there!
Thanks, Kelly! You have so many wonderful activities that would work well here, too, but I decided that they would all fit well at https://livingmontessorinow.com/2011/11/29/december-2011-family-activities/
Deb you always have such a great round-up of ideas! Love the gingerbread counting activity you featured!
Beth (TGIF)
Thanks, Beth! I have so much fun finding these activities online – and I love your Christmas activities, too (which I have in my December 2011 Family Activities post)! 🙂
What a fabulous array of activities 🙂
Thank you for linking to my 3 part Cards 🙂
Thanks, Kyle! It was my pleasure linking to your lovely 3-part cards … thanks for sharing them! 🙂
Thanks so much for adding the post to my happy birthday hopping!!!!
Deb — you’ve always got a TON of ideas here and I’m so grateful for your inspiration.
Debbie
RainbowsWithinReach
Thanks for your kind comment, Debbie! I probably have way too much fun with all this! I’ve been having fun today working on my activities for tomorrow’s PreK + K Sharing post. 🙂
Thanks so much for adding me to your christmas activities list.
I just found your comment. It was my pleasure … you have some great Christmas activities! 🙂