Christmas Play Rehearsals Day
Sue Wickstead is a children’s author and writes children’s picture books. Sue was once involved with a Playbus play project, which is the inspiration behind many of her picture books. Her books will always have a bus included somewhere.
9.30am Activity:
The Christmas Play Rehearsal
In this book the children are performing their play to their first audience. But will everything go according to plan?
Grown Ups:
This story features the Nativity story. You might have heard or read different versions of the story. What do the children know already? Discuss the story, the characters and animals in it. Discuss what happened in this story. Talk about your favourite parts or characters.
Draw a picture of one or more characters from the story. (Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus; the kings; the shepherd; the angels) Write a sentence or words about their character. This activity supports letter recognition and their creativity.
10.30am Activity:
The Christmas Story
Can you remember the events from the Christmas story?
What happened in the story?
You could use role play and dress up like some of the characters in the story. You could use playmobile figures or Duplo to act out your events.
Grown Ups:
Help your child to think about the sequence of events in the story.
Use role play toys such as Lego, Duplo or Playmobile to act out.
Perhaps make some presents for the kings to give.
What would they wear?
This activity supports language and communication development. It lets them express their knowledge and understanding as well as sequence events.
1:30pm Activity:
Making a Paper Chain of Angels
This is a lovely activity to do together with your child.
Grown Ups:
Ask the children to think about the characters in the Christmas Story.
Share the video of how to make a paper chain of angels.
Help the children to fold their paper and to cut out their angel shape.
Unfold their paper chain to find out how their angels look.
Can you decorate them? Extension: You could make other paper chains. (Snowmen; Christmas Trees) Refer to the video. This activity develops your child’s fine motor skills as well as hand eye co-ordination. It also helps language and communication development.
2:30pm Activity:
Action Songs and Rhymes
Enjoy singing some Christmas songs together with your family.
Grown Ups:
Grown Ups:
Listen and join in with the Christmas song.
Can you join in with instruments?
What other Christmas songs do you know?
This activity supports your child’s expressive arts and language and communication development.
If you've finished these and still have time for fun...
Listen to other versions of the Christmas story, how are they the same?
How are they different?
Advent Poems by Little Lamb Tales
Today is December 9th - Share this short Advent poem with your child called: Star
