Week 18  - Christmas - 4th Week of December

Items Needed: Bible 
Tactile Number:  8
Tactile Letters:  Mm
Name:  Dry erase board and marker or chalkboard and chalk
Video:  Veggie Tales: The Toy That Saved Christmas
Books:   My "M" Book, My Eight Book, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
Worksheet: Circular Lines Worksheet, Mountain "M", Mouse with a Cookie Coloring Sheet, Bingo Cards (3-Year December Cards)  
CD-Rom:  Charlie Church Mouse Preschool
Activities:  Nativity pieces wrapped in a box, calendar, number and/or letter flashcards, crayons, paper, Christmas ideas (see below), stuffed animal, cloves, glue, applesauce, cinnamon, cookie cutters, ribbon, straw
Letter M Activity, Number 8 Poster

Bible Story: Birth of Baby Jesus
Scripture:  Luke 2
The New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes: pg 240-246
The Beginner's Bible: pg 271, 277
My Story Bible:  pg 60-67
Through the Bible Felt:  pg 153-158

Verse: Isaiah 9:6 - For unto us a child is born, for unto us a son is given.
Tune:  “Mary Had Little Lamb”
For unto us a Child is born
Child is born, Child is born
For unto us a Son is given
Isaiah 9:6

Bible Song:  Away in a Manger (Traditional)
Away in a manger (rock baby in your arms)
No crib for a bed (shake head "no")
The little Lord Jesus (point up)
Laid down His sweet head (place hands beside head to "sleep")
The stars in the sky (flick fingers in the air)
Looked down where He lay (place hand on forehead and "look")
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay (place hands beside head to "sleep")

Poem: Mary had a Little Lamb (Traditional)
Mary had a little lamb
Little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow.

Number: 8
Make an "S" but do not wait, go back up and close the gate

Letters: Mm
M - line, valley, line
m - down, hump 1, hump 2

Name: Write your child’s name on dry erase board or chalkboard and have he/she trace over the letters with his/her index finger.

Comprehension Questions:
Where did Mary lay baby Jesus?
What kind of noises would you hear in a barn?
If you had to sleep in a barn, where would you sleep?

Book of the Week:
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

Ideas:
• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Book of the Week Ideas:
- Emphasize the /m/ words in this book.
- Talk about your favorite kind of cookie.  Make them and give them to others.
- Discuss cause and effect - The "if...then..." sequence.  Take turns filling in the blank "If you_____, then I will _____."
-   Mouse with a Cookie Coloring Sheet 

• Jesus' Birth Preschool Bible Story Activities & Color Sheets:
- Collection of Christmas Ideas from ABCJLM

- Make Cinnamon Ornaments to give away - fun and easy to make. 
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon ground cloves
3 tablespoons white glue
2/3 cup applesauce (cinnamon applesauce works too)
1 cup of cinnamon

Stir ingredients until they form a soft ball.  If the dough is too dry, add more applesauce.  If the dough is too wet, add more cinnamon.  Dust a flat surface with cinnamon.  Roll out the dough with a rolling pin or press with your fingers to approximately 1/4" thick.  Rolling the dough too thin makes the ornaments brittle.  Thick ornaments take longer to dry.  Use a cookie cutter to create your shapes.  To make the letter shapes or imprints (as pictured above), push a straw or cookie cutter approximately half way into the dough.  Poke a straw through the dough to create a hole for a string.  Let the ornaments dry on a baking rack.  Depending on thickness, this will take at least 24 hours.  For quicker results, place the ornaments in a dehydrator or a 150 degree oven (gently flipping every hour) until done.  When dry, string a ribbon through the hole for hanging.  You can add other decorations with glitter glue, sequins, buttons, etc.

- Play the Wise Men Game on the Charlie Church Mouse Preschool Cd-Rom.  Read more...

- Discuss how there is a Biblical meaning to “Mary Had a Little Lamb” as well. 
Mary – Jesus’ Mother
Lamb – Jesus
White as snow – Jesus was without sin

- Nativity Memory Game (reprinted by permission)
Directions: Purchase or use a nativity set with individual pieces. Place the pieces on a table and have the children close her eyes. Remove one of the pieces and have the child figure out which piece is missing. After the missing piece is discovered, talk about its significance in the Nativity. For instance, if you take away a shepherd, explain to the child how an angel appeared to the shepherds in the field to tell of Jesus' birth.

• Print and play ABCJLM Bingo.  Review the letters "a-m" and number "0-8" by playing a fun game.

•   Pre-writing Worksheets
This week will focus on drawing circular lines.  Print off the Circular Lines Worksheet or create your own.

• Involve your child in filling out the New Year's calendar.  Find the child's birthday, holidays, other family birthdays, etc.  Talk about the seasons, months, weeks, and days.

• "M" can be a hard letter to remember and create.  Think of the capital "M" as looking like two Mountains.  Print the Mountain "M" coloring sheet to help your child visualize this.  When drawing an "M," say "line, valley [for v], line."

• View & Read 
Veggie Tales: The Toy That Saved Christmas
  If You Give a Moose a Muffin - focus on the many "m" words

• Fine Motor Skills:
Make crayon rubbings using sandpaper letters and numbers, place a piece of paper over the cards and have your child color.  They will have the surprise of a letter or number when they finish.  (This works best if you tactile letters and numbers are made out of sandpaper and will not work if they are made out of yarn.)

•  Gross Motor Skills:
With a stuffed animal, play a game of catch.  Throw underhand, overhand, and over your head.

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