Looking for ways to make learning more fun and enjoyable for your students? Here are some educational school activities for students in international schools in Manila as well as private and public institutions.
Unleash their creativity and coloring skills with Christmas scratch art-making and simple activities like the Donate-a-toy project.
Christmas Scratch Art
Instead of Christmas cards, why not let your students make their own inspired by scratch cards? Making their own scratch art sheet invites experimentation with different colors which encourages creativity. Making the scratch art sheet requires only a couple of materials and easy instructions.
Materials
- Choice of paper, heavy paper or cardboard or lightweight matte cardstock
- Colored oil pastels
- Popsicle sticks
- Pens
Instructions
- Using the colored oil pastels, shade the entire paper with any color. Different and multiple colors can be overlapped for a colorful scratch art sheet.
- Once the entire paper is covered, use the color back to shade it. Make sure you shade the entire paper to ensure the effect of scratch art is revealed.
- If you want to make a more Christmassy scratch art, replace the black-colored layer with red or green.
- After all layers of color have been applied, take the popsicle stick and draw objects related to Christmas like a reindeer, snowflakes, Santa, a Christmas tree, etc.
Christmas Wreath Making
To imbibe the Holiday spirit in the children, make them create their own version of Christmas wreaths. Their creation could be the main decorative ornaments of the classroom or they take their work home for their parents. Materials needed to do this project are a sheet of green construction paper and another scrap paper, preferably in the color red, to be used for bows and berries. Here is a quick step-by-step instruction.
- Simply fold the green construction paper in half and mark the no-cutting zone by using a pen and ruler to ensure a straight line. The no-cutting zone should be the part where the paper opens and not the folded part.
- Draw tick marks every half-inch along the top and the bottom then connect them to make straight lines.
- Cut the horizontal lines beginning at the fold.
- Unfold the paper and roll it on its underside.
- Using tape or stapler, seal the part where both ends of the paper meet.
- Once you have made a cylindrical shape, join both ends to make a wreath.
- Take your red scrap paper and outline berries and ribbons. Cut them out and stick them on the wreath.
Donate-a-Toy Project
For the days to come before Christmas, make your students bring gently used toys to school every day. Toys that they are willing to donate to children in orphanages and charities. By doing this project, make sure to write a letter of notice to parents to let them know about the activity.
Christmas Card Journal Writing
The activity enhances children’s writing skills. The Christmas scratch art card can be used in this project to make writing more fun and enjoyable for the children. Before you make them start writing, give them suggestions on topics to write about. It could be a letter to their parents, for Santa, a friend, or for teachers. Aside from that, they can also write their Christmas wish list to Santa and an explanation of why they are deserving of all their wishes.
Cookie Decorating
Aside from the materials below, you may also need bowls, spoons, paper towels, and scissors. The instructions are simple. Assemble the couplers, decorating bags, and tips. In separate bowls, mix the food coloring with royal icing. The more colors, the more creative the children can get. Transfer the now-colored icing into the decorating bag and start decorating the cookies! Use the toothpick to flatten the icing.
Materials
- Cut-out cookies
- Royal icing
- Food coloring
- Disposable decorating bags
- Standard couplers
- Decorating tips, different sizes
- Spatula
- Rubber bands
- Toothpicks
Film Viewing
You have already decorated the entire classroom and had the children prepare their own cookies, and now you can enjoy your favorite Christmas movies and specials. Make the entire classroom more magical for the students by hanging up Christmas lights. Every day, make the children watch one movie. After each movie, ask each student their learnings. Here are some of the movies that all children love!
- Olaf’s Frozen Adventure
- Arthur Christmas
- The Prep & Landing Series
- A Christmas Carol
- A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa
- The Polar Express
- Mickey’s Christmas Carol
- An All Dogs Christmas Carol
- A Doggone Christmas
Key Takeaway
When performing these activities in class, make sure to provide your full supervision. Especially if the project involves cutting and pasting. These activities are suitable for International schools in Manila as well as private and public institutions. On a final note, try out all the activities on the list including the film viewing.
