This year I have really made an effort to take time to get to know my students and their families. This year for Christmas I want to have my students create a memory lapbook where they reflect on their family traditions around the holidays. This year, I have been really surprised at the difficulties my students have with cutting on a line and other fine motor skill challenges. So, I knew a Family Christmas Traditions Lapbook would be the perfect project to share about their Christmas traditions.
On the cover, students have a fun opportunity to cut and color before diving into the writing piece of this craftivity. This lapbook includes “Christmas” wording, but I also have an alternate “holiday” version for students who do not celebrate Christmas.
The inside of the lapbook is filled with so many fun writing activities! My students will write about the traditions that their family practices every year by lifting the flaps and writing. They will create a mini book made out of an ornament to share the special foods they eat during the holidays. Students will also think about the special events their family participates in before, during, and after the holidays. I also give examples for traditions before the holidays such as picking out and decorating a Christmas tree and hanging Christmas lights.
I love including a pocket inside the lapbook because I can assess how well my students can follow directions. It is so easy to make a silly mistake and glue the top of the pocket down. In this pocket, my students write the holiday symbols on strips that their family incorporates into their Christmas holiday. They may include symbols such as angels, poinsettia, holly, mistletoe, baby Jesus, stars, a Christmas tree, a wreath, special candles, lights, or the nativity.
On the back cover of their lapbook, my students write about their favorite Christmas memory. I love this activity because they have to reflect on past events that have happened in their lives. They always come up with some really silly stories about Santa too! It is so fun to read!
Click here to grab my Christmas Family Traditions Lapbook. I hope you enjoy learning more about your students and the way they celebrate Christmas with their family this year!
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Written on November 17th, 2017 by Laurin Brainard