December Math and Literacy Fun {Plus Ideas for All Winter Long!}

I can’t believe December is almost over. My daughter said the other day, “it’s practically already 2016”. She’s right. Where did the time go?! I swear, the older you get, the faster time flies!

But before time completely gets away from us, I want to share some December math and literacy fun with all of you!

December is one of my favorite times of the year. It’s such a festive time both at home and at school. The crafts, the parent gifts, the parties…and the gingerbread houses. Oh, the gingerbread houses. What starts out looking like this:

 

Somehow quickly turns into this.

 

 

Or worse. This.

 

 

I’ve never seen a gingerbread house quite that…decorated before. Boy was he proud of himself!

 

When we are not up to our elbows in frosting, we’re busy practicing and reinforcing what we’ve learned over the last few months so that we don’t forget our new skills over the winter break.

 

So I am super excited to share my December math and literacy fun ideas with you! But I’ll also share some great general winter ideas, and you’ll get a few FREE downloads as well!

 

If you’ve been a Kindergarten teacher for any amount of time, you know that when something big is about to happen (say a couple of weeks off from school or a the big guy in the red suit is coming to visit) it can be a huge challenge to keep your little guys on task, working hard, and still learning.

 

We do a lot of games and partner activities around this time of year because they are a great way to make learning fun and keep kids engaged.

 

The It’s All Fun and Games series has been great for keep students focused while also getting in some December math and literacy fun!

 

Over the summer I bought several cut outs from Dollar Tree. I used some to make back to school centers. You can read that post here.

 

One of the cut-outs I bought were these cookie and milk pieces. I thought they would be perfect for December. But you could use this activity any time of the year.

I made a short-a word family sort with them. We generally start with the -at family, followed by the -am and -ag family so that’s what we’re practicing with this activity.

 

I wrote the word family on the milk glass and the CVC word on the cookies. The students match the cookie to the word family milk glass.

 

Of course I had to make a recording sheet! The students will record the words from the cookies on the lines under the corresponding milk glass. Click on the images below to download the freebie recording sheet.

 

Here’s another activity I make using colored cardstock (or construction paper). You can practice so many skills: addition, sight words, numbers and subitizing, word families, etc. It’s easy to prep. Just use green paper to cut small triangles (3-4″ in size) and brown paper to cut small rectangles.

 

 

Reindeer Games is always a class favorite. Again, it can be used for so many skills but we are using it for comparing numbers.

 

For this December math and literacy fun activity, students play with a partner. They roll the dice and count the dots to determine the number that they rolled. The student that rolled the bigger number wins that round and gets to dab a circle on their paper.

They continue to play until one student has filled all of the circles on their paper. You can easily differentiate this activity by adding more or less dice. Or have students win by rolling the smaller number.

Each player gets a copy of the snowman game board. They need a die and game pieces. I use themed erasers to keep things festive. Before I give the die to students I cover the number 6 side with stickers like these. I tell them that this side is zero.

To play the game, students roll the die and count the dots. They determine how many more are needed to make 5, then they cover the number that is needed to make 5 on their game board. For example, if a student rolls a 1, they would cover the 4 on their game board. If a student rolls the same number again they lose their turn.

The first player to cover all of the snowmen on their board is the winner.

Click on the image below to download the freebie game board.

The activities from It’s All Fun and Games {December Edition} are perfect for these few weeks before school is out. I love this series because each packet is packed full of games and activities that really keep the kids engaged and focused. The partner games give students to opportunity to work together and practice taking turns.

This might be one of my favorite December math and literacy fun packs in the series…maybe because I love this time of year so much! There’s no Santa or Christmas clip art included. It’s all gingerbread with some winter mixed in so the activities can also be used when we return in January!

For this activity, students spin the spinner and count the dots. They use the color of the dots to write the number on their paper. Once all of the numbers on top have been filled in, they use a pencil to practice writing the numbers in the section below.

 

Students are practicing “one less” with this activity. (There’s also a similar activity for “one more” included in the packet) Students spin the spinner and read the number. They find the number that is one less on their paper and color it to match the color code on the spinner.

 

We’re practicing tally marks with this activity. Students spin the spinner and count the tally marks. They use the color code on the spinner to color the gum drop with the matching number.

 

Here we are working on numbers to 15. This is a winter/penguin theme so it would be perfect for after winter break as well. Students select a card and determine the number represented by either the base ten blocks or the ten frame. They find the matching number on their paper and trace the number to match the background on the card.

 

Students sit across from one another. They will take turns spinning the spinner. They read the number that they land on and count by ten to cover that number on their game board. If a student spins a number that they have already covered, they skip their turn.

 

The first player to cover all of the numbers on their mat is the winner.

Students spin the spinner and record the number in the milk glass. They count back and write the numbers in the cookies.

 

This activity is the same concept as the one above, only students are counting on for numbers 11-20. It’s a hot chocolate theme, so it can definitely be used in January!

 

We use this bump game to practice making 5. Students spin the spinner and read the number. They determine how many more are needed to make 5. Full directions are included in the packet. But the kids really love this activity!

 

There’s always a few students who are still working on matching uppercase and lowercase letters. This activity is for them.

 

Students spin the spinner and name the uppercase letter. They find the lowercase letter on their paper and trace it to match the color code. Each letter is represented on the page twice so they get double the practice!

 

Students roll the cube and identify the short vowel sound. They find a picture on their paper with the same beginning short vowel sound. They color the picture to match the color of small circle in the lower left corner.

 

Ending sound practice, similar to the beginning sound activity above. Students spin and read the letter. They find a picture with the same ending sound and color it to match the color code.

 

Continuing with our short a work, students will select a card and say the name of the picture (-at family and -ap family words are included). They will find the word on their paper and color it to match the background of the card. Again, it’s winter themed, so we can use it in January too!

 

Students select a sight word card. (Sight word cards are blank, so you can write your own sight words on the them) They spin the spinner to determine what color they will write the word first. After they’ve written the word once, they will spin the spinner again to determine the new color they will write the word.

Here’s another sight word activity. Students use the “envelopes” to build the sight word on the card. There’s also blank activity cards and envelopes for you to program with your own sight words.There are 27 activities included in this packet. Click on the pictures below to check them out!

 

 

Thanks for reading along! I hope you loved these December Math and Literacy fun ideas, as well as the many ideas you can use all winter long!