The holiday season brings with it a special wonder of twinkling lights, cozy gatherings, and magical moments. These moments are prime opportunities to support children’s development through simple activities that will keep their brains and their hands engaged. Perfect for supporting their early childhood development, whether children attend daycare, preschool, or stay home with parents or a caregiver. Keep reading for some enchanting activities that blend the magic of the Christmas season with early learning and development.
Schedule a tour to see our facility, meet our teachers, and see our lesson plans here at Clover Hill Children’s Center. We would love to share how our school brings Christmas magic to life all while nurturing your child’s early childhood development.
1. Outdoor Winter Walks
The world changes in front of your eyes with the onset of winter–there are fewer birds, the plants look different, and there is the exciting chance that snow will blanket it all. Capitalizing on the shift in nature and taking the time for a simple walk to observe holiday decorations, bird tracks, or frosted leaves turns the outdoors into a science lab. Even brief nature explorations reduce stress and improve mood in children, according to research published by the National Library of Medicine. In spending time in and paying attention to nature, children learn to notice patterns, ask questions, and build their observational skills—supporting core pieces of their early childhood education.
When weather permits, we get outside daily, year-round, here at Clover Hill Children’s Center. Call today to ask about our daily classroom schedules and come by for a tour to check out our engaging outdoor play areas!
2. Winter Themed Sensory Bins
Holiday-themed sensory bins filled with items like cotton ball “snow,” arctic creatures, jingle bells, spoons, cups, and evergreen sprigs are all an invitation to explore textures, sounds, and have great imaginative play fun. This type of play is not only soothing but reinforces their fine motor development and cognitive growth, all pivotal in early childhood education. Research from Zero to Three explains that young children learn largely through their senses. As children explore the world around them, they utilize touch, sight, and movement to build their skills and understanding.
We incorporate sensory play in our lives almost daily here at Clover Hill Children’s Center! Call us today to schedule a visit to see our sensory rich learning environments and take a look at our weekly lesson plans!
3. Holiday Baking
Before you stop reading at the thought of baking with toddlers and preschoolers, you can keep this super simple. At home, in a preschool or daycare classroom, easy recipes that require no oven work are fun and simple ways to enjoy the ‘baking’ process while only needing a bowl or two. Things like no-bake cookies, reindeer trail mix or Christmas Muddy Buddies (see a recipe, here) are simple and don’t require much prep–perfect for preschool ‘baking’. According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), involving children in simple cooking tasks like baking helps them explore math concepts such as measuring, counting, and sequencing—making everyday activities a natural part of early childhood education.
Here at Clover Hill Children’s Center we love to take advantage of the everyday opportunities to build on our students’ early childhood education. Call today to learn more about our curriculum and ask about how we encourage and build independence in our classrooms.
4. Ornament Crafting
Crafting strengthens hand muscles, bilateral coordination, and attention skills that prepare children for handwriting and other fine motor activities later on. Small movements are doing big work for small muscles. A homemade ornament like a simple salt-dough handprint, beaded candy cane, or popsicle-stick Christmas tree is not only a cute keepsake, but also an on-theme early-childhood-education-boosting activity for preschool classrooms and kitchen tables alike! Parents.com agrees that developing fine motor skills in preschoolers promotes independence and prepares them for tasks such as holding pencils and controlling tools
You can see our students’ hard work displayed for all to see here at Clover Hill Children’s Center–on the walls, bulletin boards, and even occasionally hanging from the ceiling! Schedule a tour to see their hard work first-hand.
5. Holiday Storytime
Reading the same books over and over might seem like a drag to an adult, but for children it is an opportunity to pick up on storytelling skills, basic word formations, rhyming, language, and more! According to Reading Rockets, reading favorite stories again and again helps young children build vocabulary, understand story structure, and recognize language patterns—making cozy holiday story time both magical and meaningful for early literacy development. Some excellent suggestions are: Snowmen at Night, The Mitten, or Bear Stays Up for Christmas.
We love story time at Clover Hill Children’s Center, so much that it is a part of our daily routine. Come by for a tour and ask our lovely early childhood educators about their classes’ favorites!
Magical Memories for the Holidays
Children are constantly learning. Whether planning activities for a childcare or preschool classroom or looking to keep your little one busy during these colder months, curating festive activities to support their early childhood development can be simple, quick, and provide the chance for some cozy and meaningful connection, as well.
We would love to welcome you and your family here at Clover Hill Children’s Center. Contact us today to learn more about enrollment and to make us a part of your Christmas and holiday plans, today!