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Even though it’s one of the shortest months of the school year, December is such a busy month in the kindergarten classroom! It can be easy to feel overwhelmed with all of the things that need your attention before students leave for winter break. That’s why I wanted to put together this list of things you should definitely add to your December lesson plans for kindergarten. These ideas will help you make the most of your limited time with students before the long break.
My first suggestion will help you save some time when it comes to redirecting your students and keeping them on track. With everything going on in the classroom during December, it’s more important than ever to keep up with your learning routines. Even though students thrive on consistency, it can be hard for them to focus on some of the regular routines with all of the seasonal excitement going on!
This is why it’s a great idea to add some festive centers to your daily rotation. Students will benefit from the familiar literacy and math practice while channeling some of their excited energy into worthwhile activities.
These fun centers for December include a variety of holiday-themed learning activities that students will be excited to complete!
Crafts are another great addition to your December lesson plans for kindergarten! You can even incorporate academic practice into the craft, as well. For example, there are many different ways that you can use this 3D reindeer craft to practice things like name spelling, family names, or even color words. Assembling the craft also helps students practice following directions as they improve their fine motor skills.
The best part of adding a craft to your December lesson plans is that it can take care of some other things on your to-do list! Do you want to set up a seasonal bulletin board? You can use student-made crafts for a quick and easy holiday bulletin board! Are you looking for a memorable holiday gift for parents? A craft makes the perfect keepsake for your students’ families!
When you’re putting together your lesson plans for December, be sure to include some skill review activities! It’s helpful to give students a chance to sharpen up their skills before they head home for the winter break. By using holiday-themed activities for this review, you can keep students motivated and engaged in the skill practice! You can also incorporate skill review activities just about anywhere in your daily routine. Whether you need another station for centers, morning work, or an activity for fast finishers, review sheets are perfect!
This holiday freebie is a fun way for students to review patterns! Students can practice making a variety of different patterns using Christmas lights. You can use this as a coloring or painting activity, whichever would be more engaging for your students. Just fill out the form and I’ll deliver it straight to your inbox!
Another great way to review important skills before the break is with fun holiday learning games! Students will be eager to play the themed games and probably won’t even notice that they’re hard at work! Learning games are a great way to help your students review literacy and math skills since they can get plenty of repetition without getting bored.
You can also use fun learning games as part of a class party! Learning doesn’t have to be on the back burner when it comes time to celebrate the holiday as a class. One of my favorite learning games is this customizable Christmas sight word game! You can create game mats that are the perfect fit for your students by focusing on specific words, phonics patterns, or even numbers that your students need to practice.
Finally, a thematic unit is an excellent addition to your December lesson plans. You’re able to bring a bit of the season to your classroom while still practicing important math and literacy skills. Kindergarteners are always so excited to complete the themed activities in a unit study!
This Polar Express unit is a great thematic unit for December! After reading “The Polar Express” by Chris Van Allsburg, you can spend several days reviewing important math and literacy skills inspired by this magical story.
Another great thematic unit for December is this gingerbread unit study! A highlight of this thematic unit is comparing different versions of the gingerbread man story. Students can practice a variety of comprehension skills as they compare and contrast the different versions of this familiar story.
You can also embrace the holiday fun over multiple days with a Christmas thematic unit! There are many fun crafts and learning activities in this unit that will help your students get in the holiday spirit while sharpening up their skills before winter break.
If you like the idea of adding more thematic units to your lesson plans, be sure to check out my year-long bundle! I have compiled 23 different thematic units into one organized, easy-to-download resource that will take the guesswork out of adding seasonal activities to your lesson plans.
Each theme comes with a unit-at-a-glance planning page to help you spread out the themed activities over the course of a week (or two, in some cases). These hands-on and engaging activities will help you supplement your core instruction with meaningful practice. Thematic units really are an excellent way to increase student engagement in your classroom!
If you’d like to take a closer look at everything included in this bundle, you can find it in the A Spoonful of Learning shop or on TPT. Just click on the button of your choice below!
Be sure to save this post so you can come back to it later! Just add this pin to your favorite teaching board on Pinterest. You’ll be able to find these ideas when you’re putting together your December lesson plans for kindergarten.
These alphabet books will have students dive deep into learning about each letter of the alphabet while eager to see what activity they get to complete next!
