Christmas is a season of joy, wonder, and magic—the perfect time to bring that excitement into early learning! Keep the holiday spirit alive with these engaging Christmas literacy preschool activities that make letters, beginning sounds, and phonemic awareness fun. From festive letter formation to playful rhyming games, these hands-on activities will have little learners building essential literacy skills while celebrating the magic of the season!
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Christmas Lesson Plans
Ornament Rhymes
Christmas Literacy Preschool Activities
Does every ornament on your tree hold a special memory? A handprint reindeer or a snowman family?
Over the years, we’ve collected ornaments from places we’ve visited, each a keepsake from our travel adventures—a carved shell star from Jamaica, a Celtic knot from Ireland, an angel from France, and a wooden turtle from Hawaii.
Just as these ornaments remind us of our treasured travel memories, this rhyming ornament activity will create lasting learning memories for your preschoolers!
As they match rhyming word pairs and hang them on the Christmas tree, they’ll build phonemic awareness in an unforgettable way.
Don’t have a tree in your classroom? Just use the printable rhyming pair mats!
Materials:
- Ornament Rhyming Activity
- small Christmas tree
- ornament hooks (if using a real tree)
christmas Beginning sounds
Christmas A to Z
I finally caved. After ten years, our family got an Elf on the Shelf.
And you know why? My daughter asked Santa for one, and my husband said, “They’ll only be little once.” Um, cue the ugly tears!
But it is so true. My girls will only be little once, and I want to bring the magic of the season to them in every possible way – even if it means I have to Pinterest Elf on the Shelf ideas every evening.
Just like the magic of our elf, Ginger, this beginning sounds activity brings the magic of the season to preschool as they connect the sounds of letters to festive pictures.
They’ll match magnetic letters to Christmas-themed pictures, working on beginning sounds and soaking up the holiday cheer!
Materials:
- Christmas ABC Beginning Sounds Activity
- magnetic letters
- cookie sheets (Dollar Tree)
Sledding Alphabet Activity
Christmas Literacy Preschool Activities
I’ll never forget when my sister and I hit a big bump while tandem sledding, flew into the air clutching each other for dear life, and kept going—only to realize our sled had been left behind! We slid down the hill on our ski pants, laughing hysterically when we noticed the abandoned sled.
Bring the thrill of sledding to your literacy center with this Sledding Alphabet Activity!
Your preschoolers flip over a card featuring a sledding kid and a letter, find the matching letter on the printable sledding hill, attach it to a magnetic popsicle stick sled, and send it racing down the hill for an exciting way to learn their ABCs!
Materials:
- Sledding ABC Winter Alphabet Game
- cookie sheets (Dollar Tree)
- magnetic letters
- red popsicle sticks (also includes a printable sled to save prep time)
- mini popsicle sticks
- button magnet
- string
Stocking Syllables Activity
Christmas Literacy Activity
Toothbrushes were a stocking staple when I was a kid. Santa must’ve been chatting with the Tooth Fairy, and they were in on a secret plan to keep our teeth cavity-free.
However, our secret plan as preschool teachers is to make activities so exciting that our kiddos don’t even realize they’re learning.
And this stocking syllables activity is full of that festive learning fun.
Preschoolers will count syllables in Christmas-themed words, then stack cubes to show the number or sort cards into stockings labeled with syllable counts.
A hands-on way to build phonemic awareness and holiday excitement without your preschoolers even realizing it!
Materials:
- Stocking Syllables Activity
- snap cubes
- Optional: 3 stockings
- dot markers
Dear Santa Writing Letters
Christmas Letter Formation
For me, Christmas used to be about the Magic Nursery Triplet Dolls, the Doodle Bear, or the Moon Shoes.
Nowadays, my wish list consists of finding joyful moments every day, crafting memories with my girls, and getting a decent night’s sleep in which my bladder doesn’t wake me up at 3 a.m.
But I know what all preschool teachers wish for: how to make letter formation more exciting.
Something as simple as swapping a white salt tray for a red sand tray and adding a candy cane as a writing tool can instantly make writing feel magical!
Now, pair those writing tools with letters to Santa, for which every toy from A to Z is asked, and you’ve got a festive, hands-on Christmas letter formation activity that makes learning fun!
Materials:
- Dear Santa Writing Letters Activity
- salt tray with red sand (Dollar Tree)
- plastic candy canes (Dollar Tree)
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MORE Christmas Activities for Preschoolers
Make this Christmas season stress-free and filled with learning fun! With this bundle of engaging Christmas literacy preschool activities, math activities, and dramatic play, your lesson plans will be checked off your wishlist, giving you more time to enjoy the holiday magic with your little learners. From letter formation to syllable counting and rhyming games, these hands-on activities will keep preschoolers excited about learning all season long. Grab your bundle today and bring festive fun to your classroom!
