December Work

 

Every month I like to set new work out on our cart. We use this cart for free work. This is work that coordinates with what we are learning about and what season or holiday it is and can be used duing rainy, cold or super hot (don't want to be outside) days. My kids even do the work on it if they are bored. December is one of the best months for free or spare time works, because there are so many things you can put out if you celebrate Christmas. Especially during that two week break when the kids are home all day whining about how bored they are. This along with some December busy bags (here) will help with the boredom. Simply point them in the right direction. So here are the works I put out this year. I really hope you enjoy and even try putting out some work out for your kids this Christmas season.

Cleaning Tray: This is a work we have out almost all year long. My kids use the spray bottle (filled with water) to wash windows or outdoor furniture (during the summer). The broom in this kit is wonderful for sweeping works. You can see an idea of a Christmas sweeping work here. Everything here (with the exception of the tray itself) was purchased at the Dollar Tree.



Flower Sorting: I purchased some silk flowers from the dollar tree and cut off two or three of each flower. Making sure there were only three different flower styles used. Now the kids pull the vases off of the cart and arrange the flower by color into the vase. The vase was purchased at Michael's about a year ago.

Decorate a Wreath: I simply used any and all left over flowers, berries, pine cones, etc. from the flower sorting work and cut them. I made sure the wire wasn't sharp and then folded the wire in half. Now all the children have to do is stick the decoration into the wreath, wire first. Everything pictured here was purchased at the Dollar Tree.

Toothpick Sorting: This is a great work that helps to develop good hand-eye coordination. You can make your own by printing out pictures and gluing them to a toothpick, but again these were at the Dollar Tree. In fact everything in this picture was.

Window Clings: You can find these things anywhere... and they don't have to be gel for the kids to enjoy them. I buy a few for each season. As you can see my daughter is already doing a number on these. Those little red dots where white. :) As a bonus, I have my kids clean the window where they used the clings. This is a great way to teach them to clean up after themselves.

Peg Game: This is one of those games where you have to jump a peg and try to remove all the pegs until there is only one left. My kids still haven't gotten down to just one, but they boy do they try. Great for kids of all ages and again you can find this one and the container at the Dollar Tree.

Puzzles: You can find tons of puzzles for all ages and all seasons at the Dollar Tree.

Cookie Cutters and Play-Doh: My kids love Play-doh so much that my husband and father ended up building them a play-doh table that changes into a Lego table. So when I was searching for ideas at the Dollar Tree and ran across a 6 pack of Christmas cookie cutters, I knew exactly what I would do with them. Now my kids just get the basket and a plastic place mat of the cart and have at it.

Boy/Girl Stockings: I bought the two pack of stockings and some girl toys and boy toys at the Dollar Tree. With this work children must sort the toys into the proper stocking, one for a boy and the other for a girl.

Decorate a Christmas Tree: Every child loves to decorate the tree. This is a tree I have had for about 7 years now. Over the years I have purchased ornaments just the right size for it. But... since I somehow misplaced my ornaments I had to purchase new ones this year. Thank goodness for the Dollar Tree. This is one of those works that my kids absolutely love.