Christmas
Literacy & ABCs
Move & LearnPreschoolers26 Comments
My kids had such a fun time with this Christmas tree activity! They didn’t even know they were learning.
My neighbor came over after we were doing this activity, the boys were so excited to show him it to him and do it all again. He was impressed with how much they were learning beyond even the obvious, all while the kid just thought they were playing and decorating a Christmas tree for fun!
Of course, that’s what I love to do. Create activities for them, let them have fun, and sneak in a little learning without them even knowing it.
I used my handy painter’s tape for this activity. But a new kind! I discovered green painter’s tape! That’s an affiliate link that will help support hands on : as we grow at no extra cost to you if you decide to purchase.
I found that tape after chatting with my friend Sarah of How Wee Learn after she showed me a similar activity she did. Instead of learning upper and lowercase letter like we decided to try, her kids learned patterning and counting.
Find more move and learn activities using tape here.
The green painter’s tape was perfect for making a Christmas tree. I kept it simple. Instead of an outline, I made zigzags across, much like a garland.
To make it easier, I first taped a triangle for the outline of the tree and then filled in the zigzag, so I knew I was staying somewhat proportional. I reused the outline as I was going so I didn’t waste too much.
I made ornaments from cardstock paper. I just chose a few colorful papers and cut circles from each.
I wrote uppercase letters on the ornaments. I didn’t end up with the whole alphabet, only to T.
On the Christmas tree, I wrote lowercase letters. I decided to write the lowercase letters in order, from the top of the tree going down to the bottom. That way if George got stuck, we could sing the alphabet together to walk along and find it.
On the back of the ornaments, I rolled and stuck on a piece of painter’s tape to make it sticky. I then mixed them all up in a pile. Later on when we did it again, we stuck the ornaments to the wall for them to find and match as they decorated the tree.
I also added a yellow star for the top of the tree! We actually had this on hand from the Christmas Advent calendar we have going right now. Someday I’ll have to share that with you too. I’m just not quick enough!
George grabbed an ornament and told me the letter. He knows his uppercase letters pretty well now.
Then he’d walk along the tree, looking for the lowercase letter. Some were easy. Some were really tricky for him and we sang the ABC song to find it.
It was so exciting for him to watch the Christmas tree come to life with the colorful ornaments! He got more and more excited the more ornaments he added.
Its not just about the upper and lowercase letters. This can be transformed into any type of learning activity.
If you want to learn counting. Put dots on the ornaments and write numbers on the tree to match. You could do the same with addition problems.
If you want to learn sight words, write words in both places for them to match.
If you want to learn beginning letter sounds you could cut out pictures from magazines and tape them on the ornaments to match up to letters on the tree.
It can go on and on.
Be sure to also check out this giant Christmas tree decorating activity from Happy Hooligans that’s perfect for toddlers to get creative during the holidays!
More move and learn ideas:
- Christmas Color Sort from The Pleasantest Thing
- Go on a Letter Hunt in Pretend Snow at Coffee Cups & Crayons
- Alphabet Target Practice at Toddler Approved
- See all our Move & Learn Activities
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Coombe Mill - Fiona says
I love the educational touches you have added here, a great way to learn and have festive fun #TuesdayTutorials
Kim says
Fun idea! Love when kids are having so much fun they don’t realize they are learning too. Thanks for linking up at #made4kids!
Kim says
Fun idea! Love those activities where the kids are having so much fun, they don’t realize how much they are learning. Thanks for sharing at #made4kids!
Kim says
Fun idea! Love those activities where the kids are having so much fun, they don’t realize how much they are learning. Thanks for sharing at #made4kids!
My Bored Toddler says
What a great way to incorporate learning into Christmas! Thanks for sharing on Toddler Fun Friday
Jenny says
These are fantastic ideas and so much fun I bet he played for ever using them. I love doing fun festive projects with the kids. Thank you ever so much for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme
Sam // DIY Just Cuz says
I absolutely LOVE this! I’m surprised to say this, but this is my first time being on your blog, as a new mommy (6 month old, ‘beaut) I am going to peruse and look through your awesome learning activities – so cool. I like tape projects in general, and anything to get the kids moving and active (and LEARNING) is a win. There are so many ways to make a variation to this – very good work. Thanks for sharing this at Welcome Home Wednesday and I’m so excited to have found your blog (about to jump on and follow you on Pinterest!).
Alayna says
That is a fantastic idea. I’m sure the kiddos love it. Thanks for sharing with me at the #HomeMattersParty link party.
Heather H says
What a fun seasonal way to learn lowercase letters. I love how you can extend it to sight words or sounds too. My girls would enjoy this with sight words.
Jess says
This is such a neat idea!
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Jenn Roberts says
This is such a cute idea. Thanks for sharing!
Michelle says
This sounds like a great activity to do with young children and a great learning activity too! Adding the holiday theme probably makes kids love this activity! #alittlebitofeverything
Maestro mummy says
What a brilliant idea- thanks for sharing. My little girl is still a little young for this at 18 months but will try it out with her next Christmas :) #whatevertheweather
Carlee says
What a cute idea! My little guy would love it. He is very into Christmas this year!
Jodie @ Growing Book by Book says
Absolutely love this idea. Perfect for working on letter recognition with my 2 year-old and with a fun holiday flair!
Jamie Reimer says
Thanks Jodie! We had so much fun with it!