Our preschool Christmas pajama party…

One thing that I am really not that good at is planning special events and parties for the children. I tend to use a very specific approach in the classroom and all have some sort of teaching or developmental goal so planning games or activities just for the fun of it is actually quite a challenge for me….

I am not complaining, just commenting on an area that I either need to hand over to my parents or really work on improving.  I felt so disorganized for this day, but I don’t think the children really noticed – but I felt it. It really wasn’t all that bad – I just wanted to do better.  Moving on – here are a few highlights of what we did today….

Searching under the tree for a present..

Each of the children brought in one gift and set it under the tree.  I also added a gift for each child under the tree. We just had to start off our day opening those gifts – the children were too excited to possibly do anything else until they got to open some gifts!

Filling up candy canes…

I set out candy and empty candy cane tubes for the children to fill up and put in their stockings. Once the children had filled their tubes, we used clear packing tape to seal them and send them home…

Completing our cards for mom and dad…

We had previously made Christmas cards for our parents and I saved the completed cards for today (if you didn’t see our parent cards, you can view them by clicking here)

Today, we colored a picture on the inside of the cards and folded them in half to prepare them for our parent gifts which we had also previously made (if you didn’t see our parent gift, you can view them by clicking here)

Wrapping up the parent Christmas gifts…

The children also wrapped their own parent gift to take home

Once the children wrapped up the parent gift, they decorated the white wrapping (butcher) paper with markers and added a bow to the top…

The parent gifts and cards were now all ready to take home…

Stories, Songs, and Games

We read two books today – “The Polar Express” and “There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Bell.”  Before reading “There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Bell,” I gave each child a Christmas bell. Each time I said the word “bell” the children rang their bells. We also sang some Christmas songs including “Ring Those Bells” which I previously shared with you.

We also played musical stocking. The children passed the stocking around the circle while we played some lively Christmas music.  Then when the music stopped, the child holding the stocking picked a gift out of the stocking.  All the gifts in the stocking were the same and we played until each child had a gift from the stocking…

Snack and a movie…

Since this was a pajama party, we had donuts and milk for snack (breakfast) and we set back to watch a short movie in our “classroom theatre”…

We watched “The Gruffalo” narrated by Helena Bonham Carter.  The children and I had never seen this movie before and we all LOVED it.  The movie lasts about 30 minutes long and the children chose to sit in chairs:)

Watching the movie on our classroom wall, using my laptop and projector, was a very big deal!!   This was a 3D movie so the animation and graphics were outstanding. This movie was also told in story book form – it was extremely well done. We had never watched a movie in our class before and so this was a very fun treat for us all…

So that covers all the highlights of our Christmas pajama party – if you have ever had a pajama party or a holiday party, I would love to hear your ideas in the comment below so please share!

The books we read today and the Gruffalo movie…

      

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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