Christmas Craft For Preschoolers

Does your preschool celebrate Christmas? Every school culture is different, and within a school, the classroom culture is unique. Every year teachers need to reflect on how and if they will celebrate different holidays. It’s not an easy thing when you teach in a secular school to decide which holidays to focus on. Developmentally appropriate practice asks teachers to make sure what they are teaching is culturally relevant, and I urge all teachers to take time to reflect on each of your families before doing what’s always been done. I teach at a Lutheran church-affiliated school, and so we do celebrate Christmas in class, and this activity is a great Christmas craft for preschoolers. It’s easy to do independently, so I can use it as an invitation to create, allowing children who aren’t interested to work on other things. It strengthens fine motor skills as the students remove the backing from the sticky back foam and add the triangles to the tree. Also, it gives us a chance to talk about all the different types of triangles; they don’t all look exactly alike!

Christmas Tree Craft

Gather your materials. This craft is so easy to set up, which is probably why it was on my lesson plan the Monday after Thanksgiving yet again this year. You will need sticky back foam in green and then whatever other colors you have on hand. Oh, and some scissors.

Start by cutting out a large triangle in green. I guess it doesn’t have to be green, but I work with 2-3-year-olds who typically want it to be green, so over the years, I have just cut them from green foam.

Next, cut out the small triangles. I like to cut different types of triangles, various sizes, and of course, lots of colors. I will have more colors at school, but I only had these colors on hand at home.

Peel

Stick!

Aren’t they pretty? It’s such a simple activity, perfect for Christmas parties, because you don’t have to wait for any glue to dry so guests can take them home as soon as kiddos start getting antsy. They also make great crafts for the last day of preschool again, because there is no need for any glue to dry.

 

Christmas Tree Book for Preschoolers

Our book recommendations include affiliate links.

 

10 Trim-the-Tree’ers (Holiday Counting Books) by Janet Schulman I am a massive fan of this series that includes Halloween, Easter, and Valentine’s Day versions as well. In this one, the group of little friends is decorating a Christmas tree, and readers count along as they add their items to the tree, all with a rhyming text. This whole series has the same group of racially diverse kids. I also like that the kids all live in an apartment. It’s a small detail, but for my students, it’s very odd not to live in a house. I like that this series she loves so much helps me widen their horizons even just a little.

More Christmas Activities for your 2-3-year-olds

This is a collection of activities that I have used for years in my classroom for 2-3-year-olds, but older children enjoy them as well. Check out the list here.