Monthly Archives: December 2016
Candy Cane Fun
There’s something about the red and white swirl of a candy cane. It’s a happy spot in any Christmas decoration. It’s a yummy treat in any tummy. Today I am sharing a few fun ideas for incorporating candy canes even more into your Christmas celebration. PLEASE don’t feel like you have to do any or certainly not all of these things. The last thing I want to do is add to the business of the season. I offer a wide variety of ideas so that one may speak to you as a little something fun to add to you day.
(Click on each photo below to go to the full blog post about these ideas.)
A snack of bananas and strawberries can add just a little something to an everyday activity.
Crafts are always fun. Hopefully you have some of these supplies on hand.
You can also make some fun candy cane art using finger prints, paint daubbers, stickers, little pieces of paper, or even coloring sections. This practice with patterning is an important math and pre-reading skill as well.
This next idea supports early writing and literacy. After you make these cute little place card holders you can help your child write the names of everyone that will be at dinner. These people are important to your child so there is often extra interest in writing their names.
Another literacy activity would be tracing around the candy cane and using that as the J when writing the name Jesus.
Candy canes can provide some easy science opportunities. Just watching them dissolve is fun but check out the link to learn about alternative ways to investigate.
Finally, candy canes can be used as a family connection activity. Tie or tape the name of each family member (or even include extended family names) around each candy cane. Place them in a container and each evening pull one out. Every person takes a moment to say why they love that person. Follow this with a short prayer of thanks for that special person. I’ve been looking for a sweet activity for our family this Christmas dinner. I think we may just be doing this one.
I hope you are taking advantage of those everyday moments such as reading stories, snuggling in front of a fire and singing songs in the car to enjoy this Christmas season. Hopefully this provides opportunities for other simple activities to enjoy as well. Enjoy!
Christmas Gift Ideas 2016
It is definitely that time of year again. Time for shopping. Each year I’ve put together a list of ideas for Christmas gifts that we recommend for little ones. This year I am going to reference back to those (we still love them!) and link to a blog that I follow.
Our toy recommendations are:
From Christmas 2015
From 2014
We love Lakeshore Learning. This post includes some of our favorites from there.
Books make great gifts too. Here are a couple of posts about books we like.
Not Just Cute is one of our favorite blogs. You’ve probably noticed many of my quotes in the weekly emails are by Amanda Morgan, the writer of this blog. She has a great post about books for children of all ages here.
NOT JUST CUTE-BOOKS
Here is her list of best toys for encouraging imagination:
NOT JUST CUTE -TOYS
Of course we offer all this with the full realization that toys and gifts are not what make Christmas. We are starting to learn our Christmas songs for the Christmas Worship on the 10th and I love hearing from the children about Jesus and all that he has done for us. It is so wonderful to recognize Jesus’ birth every year with our Christmas celebrations. This book is a great one for talking about the real reason for Christmas.
Aldersgate Preschool 
