Holiday breaks are always excellent opportunities for families to spend quality time together. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, holiday celebrations may need to be on a smaller scale this year. Providing your child with festively themed preschool activities can help fill their vacation days with fun. The guide below offers some ideas.

How to Occupy Your Preschooler During the Holiday Break

1. String Light Counting

As a quintessential part of the holiday season, colorful Christmas lights are perfect for winter learning activities. Print out or draw a row of 10 light bulbs and encourage your child to color them in. Alternatively, you can fill them with different colors yourself and have your young one count out the correct number of beads corresponding to each color.  

2. Jingling Bracelet

Encourage your child to thread four or five small jingle bells onto red, green, or white pipe cleaners, twisting the wires around the bell openings to keep them in place. Twist the ends of the pipe cleaner together to form a bracelet. Finish this jewelry piece off by tying on red and green ribbons. Have them make multiple for your family so you can match.

3. 12 Days of Christmas Books

Children love the countdown to Christmas, so sustain their anticipation with 12 days of festive books. Purchase 12 different books about the holidays or borrow them from the library. Wrap them up and put them under the tree. Every day until December 25th, let your preschooler unwrap a new book that you can read together.

4. Snowy Sensory Box

Sensory bins are a fun, hands-on way for children to explore through sight and touch. This holiday break, make a winter-themed box by filling a plastic container with fine white salt. Sprinkle in some glitter to give it the appearance of sparkling snow. Add wintery objects like pinecones, cotton balls, jingle bells, and craft foam snowflakes. Your child can write in the “snow” using their fingers and dig through the box, exploring the textures of each item.

5. Freezing Bubbles

If your family is eager to get some fresh air, try out this simple science experiment. Have every family member take turns blowing bubbles onto the sidewalk. If it is cold enough, the bubbles will freeze on the cold ground, sometimes forming beautiful crystalline patterns. This preschool activity can be a captivating visual lesson on how liquids freeze to solids.

When your child needs quality child care services, take them to Merry Manor School of Childhood. Serving families throughout Lincoln, NE, this preschool and day care center offers a diverse and creative curriculum in a nurturing environment. With engaging preschool activities and individualized attention from child care professionals, your little one will have fun, make new friends, and learn valuable skills. Visit their website for more information about services. To ask about available programs and enrollment, call (402) 466-2215.