Holiday Activities

Kids Christmas Yoga Poses – Fun and Calming (also for Grownups)

Excitement growing at your house? Here are a few kids Christmas yoga poses shared from last year that are both fun and calming. Hmmm…maybe adults need them too.

holiday yoga for kids

Catch a Snowflake: Go down on all fours, kneeling on your knees. (This is the table pose.) Lift your head up, tilt it back, and open your mouth to catch snowflakes on your tongue.kids Christmas yoga

A Holiday Heart: This time of year touches our heart. Lie all the way down on a mat, press down with your hands and lift up your heart (upper body).kids Christmas yoga
The Candy Cane: Your body will almost look like one. Stand on two feet and stretch high over the head with two hands together. Curve the upper body over to the right and take a deep breath. Let it out and come back to the middle. Now curve over to the left, deep  breath, and back to the middle.

Christmas yoga for kids

The Snowball: Curl down, down, into a ball on the floor.

space yoga for kids

The Star: Stand with your two feet wide apart. Then stretch your arms out to each side. Your body will be like a big X or a star.

yoga for kids

The Christmas Tree: This is the tree pose. Put the palms of hands together and stretch over the head to make a star. Stand on one foot and put the other foot on the knee to make a triangle. It’s hard to balance on one foot and easy to fall over. That’s okay because it takes practice to stand on just one foot.

Yoga works on different levels. Physically, it promotes strength, balance, flexibility, coordination, concentration, and body awareness. On a mental level, the movements build important connections in the brain. This creates pathways that are also used for math and language. Social and emotional skills like cooperation, confidence, and self-regulation  are enhanced with yoga. Yoga helps increase confidence and decrease stress and anxiety.

All of us can use these kids Christmas yoga poses. Do you and your child do any yoga?

 

Kids Can Help with Family Chores – Do You Include Your Child?

With the date getting closer to Christmas, there’s more to do and kids can help with family chores. They like to be included and there’s lots to do.

kids can help with family chores

What are some of the chores that young children can do? This will depend on their ages but washing some non-breakable dishes, dusting, sweeping the floor, putting away clean laundry, getting all the towels to load in the washing machine, setting the forks, knives and spoons on the table for a meal, and putting away a few of the groceries are a few possibilities. The list for cooking and baking seems endless and little hands love to stir and mix. One of the big jobs is picking up and putting away their own toys but somehow this doesn’t seem to be in the same category. Since grownups do the other tasks, helping do those feels like a grown up thing to do.

communication activities for kids

A three-year old we know proudly announced to his mom that he had to help his dad put up the Christmas lights. There’s not much a three-year old can do except maybe watch and hold a tool but that’s not how it seemed to him. He was going to be part of a very important and adult job. When we got some glitter on the floor after doing a craft, Little Sister offered to vacuum. In her words, “I love to vacuum. I’m good at it.” From a child’s point of view, while it might be work, it’s also fun. With the number of times we’ve had to shovel snow this month, the kids’ efforts as really been appreciated, no matter how small.

including kids in chores for learning and fun

Is there something your child can do from the to-do list? Kids can help with family chores and very much need to. The month of December has more than two dozen holidays from a variety of cultures and traditions. For all of them, belonging to the group is an important part of the celebration. Doesn’t being able to help, as well as to celebrate, contribute to a child’s sense of belonging?

Boxes + Paper Tubes = Christmas Fun for Kids

Two very simple ingredients stirred with imagination cook up some another Advent play-of-the-day: boxes + paper tubes = Christmas fun for kids and families.

empty box play

In the midst of adults trying to wrap presents kids are enjoying another tradition, playing with the empty boxes and the long wrapping paper tubes. Combined with imagination, these two objects, used together or separately, call to children to come and play. Why are they so appealing to kids?

This is play where kids are like creative elves. “A plain, ordinary box comes with no limits, no instructions, and no expectations. Kids are in control in their own zone….A cardboard box is not empty; just like our kids, it is full of potential. With imagination it can be anything: a camper, a boat, a bus, a house, a spaceship, a hospital, a fort, anything. It can be transportation to anywhere and as big as the universe or it can be exactly where it is as a small, but safe and secure area. While a box is a defined space, it is flexible for the needs of the child.”

A wrapping paper tube has almost as many possibilities. Beyond that of the best head-bonker, a paper tube can be a pirate’s saber, a knight’s sword, a bridge, tunnel, telescope, a marble road, a tree, cane, or wand. It’s fun for riding like a cowboy’s horse or Harry Potter’s broom. Whatever it is, the choice belongs to the child.

empty box transportation play

Toys are a major item at this time of year. The lowly cardboard box is considered a toy and recognized in the U.S. National Toy Hall. While we can’t call imagination a toy, it is certainly part of play. While you are busy with other things, with a box and paper tube children can also be busy moving their bodies and stretching their brains. Boxes + paper tubes = Christmas fun because children can fill them with play. Isn’t play a wonderful gift to give a child?

Kids Recycled Christmas Decoration – Handmade and Homemade Too

Christmas has a very special kind of magic; a kids recycled Christmas decoration is a way kids can make some of that magic and pass it along to others. In Big Sister’s own words after she made something to give away, “I feel good.” Just a quick search oh Google gives so many ideas for … Continue reading Kids Recycled Christmas Decoration – Handmade and Homemade Too

Gingerbread House Decorating – Sweet and Tasty Math Play

Kids would love to do math if we made sure such great activities as gingerbread house decorating were included. This is sure sweet and tasty math play. How can decorating a gingerbread house be math? Math is not just numbers, but shapes too. Check out the shapes of the wall and roof. The top of the … Continue reading Gingerbread House Decorating – Sweet and Tasty Math Play

Active Fun Christmas Games for Kids – Outdoors and Indoors

With all the excitement, kids need some active fun Christmas Games to channel their energy. Use these ideas and add your own for outside and inside play. Follow Rudolph: This is a dress for the weather and spend time outdoors game. Kids take turns being Rudolph and leading the rest of the reindeer around the … Continue reading Active Fun Christmas Games for Kids – Outdoors and Indoors

Construction Play with Blocks and Other Building Toys

Is there space at your house for construction play with blocks and other building toys? Your child can be a Christmas elf and play in his/her own workshop. Here’s part of a previous post on a block and building play-of-the-day: There’s a wonderful variety of construction toys using plastic, like Lego and Lasy; wood as … Continue reading Construction Play with Blocks and Other Building Toys

Christmas Art Patterns and Art Play Time for Kids

While art play time doesn’t necessarily mean doing a craft or project, the kids made some candy canes using Christmas art patterns, paper and paint dabbers. These were fun and simple to make. Patterns, that is a repetitive sequence like red-green/red-green is something I’ve included in blogs almost every month. Little Sister has made patterns … Continue reading Christmas Art Patterns and Art Play Time for Kids

Play-of-the-Day Advent Calendar – Christmas Outdoor Fun

Is the weather in your area part of Christmas outdoor fun? No matter where you live, dress kids for the weather and take them outside for fun and play. This weekend, it’s snowing here. With the temperature right around freezing, it’s perfect weather for making snowmen. That’s certainly what the kids did as soon as … Continue reading Play-of-the-Day Advent Calendar – Christmas Outdoor Fun

Simple Christmas Cooking with Kids –Christmas Red and Green Snack

Christmas cooking with kids doesn’t have to be complicated. You can make simple and special Christmas snacks with red and green veggies or fruit and dips. Kids love to help in the kitchen. Being included in making traditional foods and yummy baked treats creates memories that last a lifetime. Besides the goodies, snacks are fun to … Continue reading Simple Christmas Cooking with Kids –Christmas Red and Green Snack