Christmas stockings and candy cane glitter in preschool

We have wrapped up our holiday activities for this year but there are so many things I never got around to sharing so I hope you will bear with me as I wrap up the year with a few more holiday activity posts…

In the process of blogging over the past few weeks, I have received some comments from folks sharing ideas that I just love and one of those ideas was to crush up candy canes to use as “glitter” on paper.  I am not sure how others use their crushed up candy canes but I liked the idea and figured something would come to me…

To make the candy cane glitter, the children broke their candy canes into smaller pieces, placed them in a baggy, and then went outside to crush the candy canes with hammers.  If you plan to use a hammer, I highly recommend wearing eye goggles or using smaller hammers than we did or even covering the baggies with a cloth to soften the blow.  Our kids like to hammer hard!  We also had to make sure to double bag the candy canes because it didn’t take much for holes to be made in our baggies…

Because I wasn’t sure what we would use the crushed up candy canes for, the bags were set aside for a couple of weeks. I finally set out the crushed up candy cane for the children to use as candy cane glitter on their stockings.

I also set out cotton balls and white paper strips for the children to use.  Every child could choose to use the materials they desired and each child created a unique stocking with the materials…

Some children went all out and added all the materials to their stockings and others selected only one material to use on their stockings…

It is always fun to watch my students as they create. The children are becoming increasingly confident and sure of how they want to proceed when we introduce any new art experience…

Sometimes, I barely get the materials out on the table and the children have already jumped in to implement their plan of action. There was a time that I would try to give specific directions on how to make a stocking but I have learned that the children’s ideas turn out far more inventive and creative when I give them the freedom to create on their own…

One thing we did learn is that the candy cane glitter will “bleed” into the glue and even through the paper if we use too much – but we didn’t let that minor concern stop us from doing it any way….

After the stockings were dry, I added a loop and stapled the edges so we could use them for our Christmas party and gift exchange….

Deborah J Stewart

Deborah J Stewart

Every time I think I know everything I need to know about teaching young children, God says, "Hold on a minute!" and gives me a new challenge.

Let me tell ya...

With each new challenge that you overcome, you will find yourself better equipped and more passionate about teaching young children.

God didn't call wimps to lead, teach, or care for His children. Nope, he has high expectations, so get ready. You will have to give your very best but after teaching for over 30 years, I can tell you that it is a wonderful and rewarding journey.

Whenever your calling feels hard, just remember, 'He who began a good work in you (and in the children you serve) will be faithful to complete it.'

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