Christmas in the math classroom can be fun and productive. BUT – we all know that the holiday season is full of joy, laughter, celebration, and….antsy kids in the classroom. The excitement is hard to contain – it IS the most magical time of year, after all. So, let’s just embrace it. Giving your students the holiday magic they need in their math classroom is easy. Bringing Christmas into the classroom in small ways can really pay off (and keep your sanity intact). Here are four of my favorite Christmas in the classroom math activities!
Let’s Go Shopping!
All of those toy catalogues are hard to resist as a kid. They contain something for everyone and kids LOVE looking through them to find the toys that they want. So – use this to your advantage. This is the perfect time to practice adding and subtracting decimals! Do your kids know how to multiply decimals, too? Have them calculate sale prices off individual items or the total (great differentiation)!
Make a Gingerbread House!
Hear me out – I know these are hard. Like…really hard. I pretty much fail every.single.time. I try to build one. But – using it as a math activity and craft has its benefits. Students can practice measurement and fractions while assembling and decorating their adorable homes. Have students take out their ruler and measure each side of the gingerbread house. They can round to the nearest half or quarter inch. Then, they can practice finding area and perimeter by calculating these measurements for their gingerbread houses. If students are working on houses of different sizes they can also compare their fractions. This is perfect for group work. The teamwork is hard to beat!
Make Those Christmas Cookies (Kind-of)
Baking around the holidays is a much loved family tradition. Make it a classroom tradition, too! We aren’t actually going to bake them, but analyzing the recipe of a favorite cookie recipe, while working on fractions, multiplication, and division skills is so much fun. And – you could totally bring in some real ingredients to help your students visualize these math skills in action. Bring in the sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt, along with some kitchen measuring tools (hello, Dollar Tree!) and you are good to go. Have students practice doubling, tripling, and even quadrupling the recipes on paper and then they can test their work with the real ingredients.
A Christmas Math Game
When all else fails and you are out of time, energy, and motivation a Christmas themed math game can be the perfect print and go solution. My TIC-TAC-MATH for Christmas are perfect for a low-prep, easy to use, and meaningful learning experience during the holidays.
Making math skills come alive in the classroom is so meaningful to students. And while not every lesson may not be as entertaining as making faux cookies or assembling a gingerbread house with your friends, doing these activities around the holidays is the perfect way to add some math magic into your school day.
