Irresistible Ideas for play based learning

We are an Anglican kindergarten and are able to celebrate Christmas in a fairly traditional religious sense.

A very special part of the Christmas experience for the children is a family Carols’ night in the church, at which the kinder and pre-kinder children star.

To prepare the children for this, Father Tim takes us down to the church, where we paractice the carols we will be singing.

The children love visiting the church, and Father Tim tells them about the story of Christmas using his very old and beautiful nativity statues.

Not only do we visit the church but we also venture down stairs to see the chapel …

… where the children find another nativity scene.

As a result of these visits we like to have heaps of dramatic and imaginative play with the church visit as the basis.

We set up a stable in our bush box with all the dress ups for Mary and Joseph, sheep, donkeys, wise men, angels and of course there’s a baby Jesus.

We have a variety of nativity figures in different sizes, so we pop them around the room in various settings.

And of course we can’t forget the beautiful nativity stories available for the children to experience like;

The Story of Christmas by Vivian French and Jane Chapman …

Mary’s Baby by Jane Chapman, The Christmas book by Dick Bruna …

… and our all time favourite, Wombat Divine delightfully written by Mem Fox and beautifully illustrated by Kerry Argent.

At the end of the year we have a mini concert for our parents. We like it to be a reflection of our year – no big deal!!! We sit down with the children and discuss with them what songs they would like to perform for their families. When we come up with a list, we go over them a couple of times over a few weeks and do one run through in our positions. We do tend to teach them a couple of new songs - Australian Christmas songs to finish off the grand finale.

All the children know “Jingle Bells” so “Aussie Jingle Bells” is easy to teach, particularly with our faithful song cards to help us.

Dashing through the bush

In a rusty Holden ute, kicking up the dust, Esky in the boot.

Kelpie by my side, singing Christmas songs,

It’s Summer time and I am in my singlet, shorts and thongs!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.

Christmas in Australia on a scorching Summer’s day, hey!

Jingle bells, jingle bells Christmas time is beaut,

Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden ute, hey!

And of course we can’t forget another favourite Christmas song – We wish you a merry Christmas, only once again we like to put an Aussie spin on it by singing,

We wish you a ripper Christmas,

We wish you a ripper Christmas,

We wish you a ripper Christmas,

and a snappy New Year.

May the kids have a hoot.

May the pressies be beaut.

We wish you a ripper Christmas…….and a snappy New Year!