Does anyone else spend a lot of their days teaching their kids to start sentences with “May I please have?”
This holiday season I want to be proactive and talk about the difference between a “want” and a “need.” I want Sean Patrick to begin to learn that needs come first and then anything else (that we might like) is a gift that is not a guarantee. Hmmm… we use I want a lot too come to think of it.
So, Today we talked about money. How daddy goes to work to earn money and we can save the money, use the money for things we need, share the money, and then spend the money on things that we decide on (together as a family).
I showed Sean Patrick the first page of the printable and we talked about it (using simplified language).
Next, we talked about the next page of the printable.
Then, we used magazines to cut out pictures of things that we need every day and glued them on the side of the third page of the printable under the jar that says “need.”
Finally, we cut out pictures of things that we want but we will talk about and think about for a couple days before we put it on our list to Santa.
Here is what our finished product looked like:
If you want this printable by itself I sell this printable in my TeachersPayTeachers Store HERE.
But, if you want to pay an EASY $5 TOTAL and get all of my printables and resources then click HERE.
My kids had a blast choosing which template Christmas Tree they wanted to paint this morning. They chose the colors they wanted to paint with and they carefully tried to fill in the circles using their q-tips.
These templates are perfect for q-tip painting, dot-painting, fingerpainting, or glueing and decorating.
We talked about what a real Christmas tree looks like (the colors, shapes, accessories, etc.) and we talked about the size of the tree using non-standard measurement (two hands tall, one forearm tall, 4 toy eggs tall, etc.).
As I pulled out my Advent Calendar with daily Scripture verses about the anticipation and birth of Jesus, I thought of so many other things that I wanted to do to get ready for Jesus’ party that we all know of as our Christmas Celebration.
So, I made an activity calendar and thought y’all might want to jump on board and remember WHO this month is REALLY all about.
I will be posting a printable EVERY day until Christmas so you will have lots you can do with your kiddos.
If you just want this printable it is only $1 HERE, but my membership is only a one time payment of $5 and I have TONS of resources so you may want to join instead. 😉
I am going to talk to Sean Patrick tomorrow morning about this and here is how the conversation will start:
“Look at this cute Santa picture. What do you think about him? What do you notice? (Wait for him to notice numbers) We are going to use the numbers to tell us how many days there are until Santa comes. We will cover up one number each day until we fill his beard. When his beard is full that will mean that it is time to bake cookies for Santa! It will be a calendar countdown! So lets cover up the first number – this is twenty-four (a two and a four).”
I plan to let Sean Patrick fill one circle each day with dot paint first and then glue a cotton ball on each number as we countdown.
And here is what it might look like when it is time to bake cookies for Santa:
It took my family a while to get into the hype of Elf on the Shelf. I thought, “Oh, no. Yet another Christmas gimmick.” But you know what? After receiving our elf, Captain, in the mail from my aunt erm… Santa, he immediately became a fixture in our house during Christmas time. The kids LOVE Captain!
I thought for sure my super-literal and practical-brained child would just laugh the whole thing off, but he seriously bought into it last year. Not just that, we (unintentionally) used our Elf on the Shelf as a learning tool for correcting Captain’s naughty behavior. Each morning we would wake up, see Captain’s mischief, and talk to him about his behavior… we also asked him to apologize.
Our elf sure did get in a lot of trouble… and we had so much fun plotting his next move! But, I gotta say, it did get a little tricky trying to come up with so many things for him to do! And we didn’t even start on December 1st! So this year, we are going to make a list, and check it twice, of what Captain will be doing each day. To help you out, I am going to share Captain’s antics from last year with you… enjoy! Oh, and each morning, the kids discovered a handwritten note from our elf (Mommy got really good at writing left-handed) 😉
20 Days til Christmas – The Rescue Bots were not pleased with our new house guest. They captured him inside a mason jar while Captain was writing a note to our kids.
19 Days til Christmas – After this, the boys made Captain and the toys call a truce. They have been friends ever since.
18 Days til Christmas – Mischievous Captain climbed down a rope that hung from the curtains to reach the pictures.
17 Days til Christmas – Captain rode the sailboat back to the North Pole that night.
16 Days til Christmas – The boys forgot to clean up their popcorn mess, so Captain took full advantage!
15 Days til Christmas – Our stuffed friends had a snowball fight with Captain! Marshmallows everywhere!
14 Days til Christmas – Captain the Elf spent the night playing on Mommy’s computer. Santa also sent the kids a personal video message too!
13 Days til Christmas – “Oh Captain! No, we are NOT allowed to play with toilet paper.”
12 Days til Christmas – before our gymnastics class…
11 Days til Christmas – “Captain didn’t put the cap back on the toothpaste…”
10 Days til Christmas – how ’bout a little education thrown in there?
9 Days til Christmas – This wasn’t the best idea because I couldn’t put the baby in her swing all day long (did I mention that if anyone touches the elf, he loses his magic???).
8 Days til Christmas – because the kids kept pressing the button on the guitar ornament. They didn’t touch it again after this.
7 Days til Christmas – following a trip to the zoo!
6 Days til Christmas – and day 437 of potty training.
5 Days til Christmas – The day of James’ Christmas play at school… riding the stocking holders.
4 Days til Christmas – with all of our Christmas cards that we received.
3 Days til Christmas – testing out the snicker doodles before we leave them out for Santa.
2 Days til Christmas – decorated the stars on top of the kids’ Christmas trees. We tied this one into reading Matthew 2:9-11 out of the Bible.
1 Day til Christmas – SANTAAAAAA! Captain the Elf headed back to the North Pole til next December.
Please share your Elf on the Shelf ideas with us on Facebook @themommyteacher!
