Shining Sentiments

‘Tis the season to shine! What word captures how you feel about the holidays?

• 1.

  The holidays are a time of tradition, family and friends. What types of holidays do students in your class celebrate?

• 2.

  Compare and contrast the class’s holiday traditions. How are the celebrations the same? How do they differ? Think about what words remind you of the holidays. Peace? Joy? Love? Choose a word that captures the feelings of the holidays for you.

• 3.

  Glue a piece of aluminum foil onto a piece of recycled cardboard. Allow the glue to air dry. Draw the holiday word in block lettering on a piece of cardboard. Use scissors to cut out the word to create an ornament.

• 4.

  Decorate the foil on the ornament using Crystal Effects Window Markers. The sparkle of the foil combined with the crystal-like marker effect makes a unique holiday shine. Tie on a ribbon to hang your ornament.

Benefits

• Children learn about a variety of holiday celebrations.
• Students brainstorm a variety of words that capture what the holidays mean to them.
• Children create an original ornament of a holiday-inspired word to take home.

Adaptations

• Create a holiday haiku. Use some holiday-inspired words and this Japanese poetry style to create a unique expression of the season.
• Use Crystal Effects Window Markers to decorate the windows in the classroom for the holidays. Window markers work great on surfaces like mirrors, clocks and aquariums too!
• Learn more about one of the holidays you discussed today but do not celebrate. Join one of your classmates in one of their holiday celebrations. Make a drawing of the experience.