It is important to be sensitive to your students' holiday traditions, customs, beliefs, etc... The last thing I want to do is make one of my students uncomfortable with one of my lesson plan themes. The month of December is a time to be aware that all of your students may not celebrate the way you do! In my school, we do not have restrictions on holiday themes, I am free to use Santa, Christmas tree, or reindeer themes if I choose (and I often do). Sometimes I will have a student on my caseload that celebrates something different or doesn't recognize the secular symbols of Christmas. When this occurs, I come upon with alternative themes to make sure all of my students enjoy the activity. I wanted to share a few to give you some ideas too! For your convenience I have linked to blog posts, freebies, Amazon produces (affiliate), and Teachers Pay Teachers resources in each theme. I wrote a similar post about Halloween-----> HERE
Gingerbread!
This theme can be used with all students (just select materials that are not tied to Christmas necessarily). You can do gingerbread men lessons, gingerbread house lessons, or both!
Books to try:
Crafts to try:
Sensory Bin Ideas:
Digital Resources:
Other materials to try:
Snowmen
People often associate a snowman with Christmas, but there are a ton of activities with this theme that are geared more toward winter weather.
Books to try:
Crafts:
Other materials to try:
Digital Resources:
Snowflakes/Snowballs
Books to try:
The Big Snowball (Amazon). This book has pictures in the sentences (perfect for my language students). The version I bought on Amazon even has flashcards to go with it!
Craft Activities
You can make snowflakes by folding and cutting paper (google "paper snowflakes" for ideas)
Other Resources to try:
Digital Activities:
Arctic Animals (Penguins/Polar Bears)
Books to Try:
Sensory Bin Ideas:
TPT Resources:
Digital Resources:
And just for fun! You could do a YETI theme!
Game:
TPT Resources: