#1039. Holiday Celebrations

other, level: Pre-School
Posted Sun Apr 25 09:26:25 PDT 1999 by B.D. DiClemente (bddic@aol.com).
Kinder Tots, Morgantown, Wv, USA
Materials Required: listed in plans
Activity Time: 3 days: each session takes about 30-45 min.
Concepts Taught: multi cultural

HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS

MONDAY

Messy Art: Star of David
Procedure: Have two triangles cut from yellow construction paper. Show the children how to invert one triangle over the other to make a star. Glue to a yellow piece of construction paper.
Materials: 2 yellow triangles / child, 1 / 2 piece of construction paper / child, glue, brushes, glue pots.

Large Motor Activity: Dreidel Dance and The Menorah Candle
Procedure: While singing the dreidel dance song, have the children pretend to spin like the dreidel
does, i. e., fast or slow.
Materials: copy of dreidel song and The Menorah Candle poem, large area to dance.

Dreidel Dance
(Tune: Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel,
A-spinning I will go.
Speed it up and slow it down,
And on the ground I'll go!

The Menorah Candle
I'm a menorah candle
(stand, point at self)
Growing shorter you can see
(bend down slowly)
Melting all my wax
(go down more)
Until there's nothing left to see.
(sit down)

Math Activity: Sort the Stars
Procedure: Cut several different colors of the Star of David, two of each color. Have the children match the colors.
Materials: two of each color of the star of David, laminated, (probably 8 different colors).

TUESDAY

Messy Art: Kwanzaa Candle Holder
Procedure: Provide each child with 3 red paper candles, 3 green paper candles, and 1 black candle plus a candle holder. Have the children glue the candles to the candle holder.
Materials: red paper, green paper, black paper, cut into candle shapes, brown paper cut in shape of candle holder, glue, brushes, glue pots.

Large Motor Activity: Dancing for Kwanzaa
Procedure: Provide children with streamers of red, green, or black. Have the children dance to the beat of a drum. Explain when the drum plays fast, they dance fast. When the drum plays slowly, they dance slowly.
Materials: Red, green, and black streamers, drum and stick, large area to move.

Small Motor Activity: Lacing Candles
Procedure: Provide laminated candles of red, green, and black for the children to lace.
Materials: Laminated candles, yarn.

WEDNESDAY

Small Motor Activity / Messy Art: Collage
Procedure: Sometime before center time, have the children help tear red and green paper into small pieces. Provide each child with a rectangular shape cut of black paper. Have each child glue torn paper to shape.
Materials: Red and green paper torn into small pieces, black rectangular shape, glue, brushes, glue pots.

Large Motor / Self Esteem Activity: I Can
Procedure: Repeat the following poem and have the children do the activities involved:
Like a bunny I can hop
I can spin like a top.
I can reach way up high
And I can almost touch the sky.
In a boat I row and row
Sometimes fast and sometimes slow.
Now a bouncing jumping jack
I pop up and then go back.
Then sway gently in the breeze
Like the little forest trees.
Make silly faces like a clown
And then I quietly settle down.

Materials: Copy of poem, large open area.