Christmas Activities for Kindergarten
Christmas time is approaching, and you might be looking for a fun way to incorporate some holiday spirit into your instruction. One great way to do this is by using a Christmas color-by-number activity. Color by number worksheets are great educational activities for several reasons: they are low-prep, versatile, and kids of all ages – especially kindergarten students – love them! In honor of the holiday season, we wanted to share some of our favorite ways to use Christmas color-by-number worksheets in kindergarten.
Color by Number Christmas Activities for Kindergarten
Color by number pages is a simple activity where young children color in a picture according to a key. If you’re going for a Christmas theme, look for color-by-number activities that feature a Christmas picture, such as a gingerbread man, Santa Claus, or a Christmas tree. You can often find these printable activities included in packs of free Christmas printables online, or you can easily create your own from blank Christmas coloring sheets.
If you want to incorporate color-by-number printables in your classroom this Christmas season, here are five different ways to use them.
Making Color By Number Pages Educational
Color by Numbers for Kindergarten Math Skills
Color by numbers is a great way for students to practice new math concepts. Some skills that can be easily incorporated into a color-by-number include:
- Number recognition: The picture shows various representations of numbers (10 frames, tallies, fingers, etc.), and students color in according to the number shown. A coloring page focused on a concept look subitizing can help students build strong number sense!
- Simple addition or subtraction: The coloring page includes several simple additions and/or subtraction equations, and students color in according to the answer to the problem.
Color by Numbers for Language Skills
Christmas color-by-number pages can also be customized to help students with language skills. Here are some ways to incorporate these Christmas pages into your English language arts instruction.
- Letter recognition: Color by numbers can help students practice matching uppercase or lowercase letters. The picture would include several letters – either all lower or uppercase – and the key would have the opposite. Alternatively, the picture could feature several words, and students color in the picture according to the letter the words start with.
- Sight words: Students practice sight word recognition by coloring the picture according to their sight words.
Ways to Use Christmas Color By Number In Your Classroom
Here are five ways to incorporate these fun Christmas activities with your kindergarteners.
1. Morning Work
If you typically have morning work for your students to complete when they first enter the classroom, a color-by-number activity is an excellent option for this! It’s low-prep: make copies and have them ready for your students when they walk in. Plus, it’s sure to keep your students engaged, so you have a little extra time in the morning to get ready for the day!
2. Early-Finisher Work
Another option for using a color-by-number page is to make it available as early-finisher work. Students who complete independent classwork quickly may have this fun Christmas worksheet to work on while they wait for the rest of the students to finish. Not only does it keep them occupied, but it also provides some great extra practice as well! It’s always a good idea to keep several activities like this on hand to occupy your early finishers in a productive but engaging way, so they don’t disturb the rest of the class.
3. Homework
One easy way to use color by numbers is to send them home for homework! This activity could be a fun way to change things up during a time of year when students are ready for a break from school. They are still getting some academic practice, but it feels like coloring to them! To make it even more special, allow students to involve the entire family in the activity’s coloring part.
4. Literacy or Math Centers
Color-by-number worksheets make great centers! Sight word coloring pages could be part of a word work literacy center, while a math sheet could be part of an independent work or other activity station. If you use the activity this way, go over the page with your class beforehand, so they understand what to do when they reach that center. At the center, make sure to include plenty of copies of the coloring page and all the colors they might need to complete it.
5. Christmas Party Activity
If you are having a class Christmas party, a Christmas color by number is a fun activity to have available for your students to complete. Consider putting together an entire printable pack. There are plenty of other Christmas worksheets available online, such as printable Christmas coloring pages, word searches, mazes, and more that you could use.
Find several activities you wish to use and print them off (you can find free printables online), then make copies as a packet for each student in your class. Hand out the packets to students at the beginning of the party for them to work on while they eat, watch a movie, or are in between other activities. If desired, give it to them at the beginning of the school day to keep them interested as they await the upcoming party.
Benefits of Color by Number Worksheets in Kindergarten
A Christmas color-by-number is an excellent option! A Christmas color-by-number is an excellent option if you’re looking for a simple and engaging way to add Christmas fun to your instruction before the holidays. Not only do students love these activities, but there are many other benefits to them as well. Some of these benefits include:
- They are low prep for the teacher, as you can find many printable pages online. Even if you choose to make your own, it is still relatively easy to put together.
- Color-by-number sheets are versatile and can help students practice various skills, from sight words to number recognition to math operations.
- Coloring strengthens fine motor skills. Color-by-number activities also help students with color recognition and learning color words since they must identify the correct color for each part of the picture they are coloring.
In addition to the primary skill the worksheet covers, these worksheets also cover many other secondary skills.
We hope this post has inspired you and given you some fresh, new ideas to use in your classroom this holiday season. As you can see, color-by-number Christmas activities are a great tool to use in the classroom during Christmas. Even older kids have so much fun with them!
