Special Holiday and Winter Themed Montessori Activities for Your Classroom

Montessori Winter-Themed Activities – Part 1 

I always find my Montessori preschool classroom particularly busy during the holiday season. With the excitement of Christmas just around the corner, many of the children begin to lose focus and every year I notice a feeling of restlessness within the environment. I find it helpful to enrich the classroom with special holiday activities to spark the children's interest and to make that last couple of weeks before holidays extra special. I would like to share with you a few of the activities that I have recently implemented and they have certainly been a big hit in my Montessori classroom!

Cinnamon Scented Gingerbread Man



To appeal to the senses, I cut gingerbread men shapes out of sandpaper and set up a tray where the children rubbed a cinnamon stick on the sandpaper and then used a variety of materials to decorate their little gingerbread men ... they smelled soooo yummy!
Making a Snowman

The children had so much fun decorating their own snowman and each one was special in its own way. I simply photocopied a picture of a snowman and mounted it on construction paper. Then the children were able to decorate it with markers, cotton, styrofoam chips, sequins, and googly eyes. There were no two snowmen alike!

Metal Insets Winter Designs





During special holidays, I often place the Montessori Metal Insets at the back of the room (on two tables) so that two children can work with them at a time to create unique holiday creations. The designs that the children have created have been incredible and it helps to renew their interest in the Metal Insets!

Cards and Counters





I am always thinking of how I can change the Montessori Cards and Counters to complement the different seasons and holidays throughout the year and the styrofoam snowflakes and snowmen erasers have been wonderful additions to our Math shelves. Both items were found at a dollar store, as well as the cute little Christmas tree box and sparkly bag. Both activities are continually in use and they have inspired many of our little ones to count on a daily basis!





Snowman Clothespin Activity

Another wonderful dollar store find! When I spotted the snowmen clothespins, I knew they would be perfect for our Montessori Practical Life shelf. The children enjoy clipping them onto the edge of the snowman box and it is such a great way to refine their fine motor skills.

In Part 2 of this series, I will be adding a few more winter-themed activities for the Montessori preschool classroom. Enjoy!

As much as possible, NAMC’s web blog reflects the Montessori curriculum as provided in its teacher training programs. We realize and respect that Montessori schools are unique and may vary their schedules and offerings in accordance with the needs of their individual communities. We hope that our readers will find our articles useful and inspiring as a contribution to the global Montessori community.
© North American Montessori Center - originally posted in its entirety at Montessori Teacher Training on Friday, December 10, 2010.