Christmas Week 3: Little Drummer Boy w/ Free Printables

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We have thoroughly enjoyed listening to Christmas music throughout the season this year.  I'm super proud of Dinomite, as he's starting to show interest in Christmas songs outside of "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer," Santa Claus is Comin' to Town", and "Jingle Bells."  When Dinomite starts a trend, others follow.  As a lover of music and professional musician, I jumped on the chance to introduce him to as many different styles and sounds of Christmas as I could.  He's fallen in love with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  We've listened to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, The Piano Guys, and orchestras.  Not only have we listened to all of these different types of music, but we've watched them on videos as well.  All three kiddos have thoroughly enjoyed all of the different types of music and sounds they make.

The last type of vocal performance I introduced them to was a capella, using the group Pentatonix.  Their first introduction to Pentatonix was their music video:  Little Drummer Boy.

I had no idea how much my kiddos would LOVE this video and type of music.  Bulldozer has asked to watch this music video at least three times a day, everyday.  The kiddos have chosen parts, and acted out the song together in the living room.  Dinomite is trying to make different percussion sounds with his mouth.  Princess idolizes the female vocalist.  Bulldozer is singing along, which is rare, because he struggles so much following voices.

Needless to say, this piece of music has been in my home and head nonstop and so The Little Drummer Boy Unit was born.  Enjoy!

Language:

Little Drummer Boy Nomenclature Cards

 The kiddos will match up word and picture cards with individual word and picture cards.

Source: I created this printable. The Little Drummer Boy Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your free copy, be sure to follow direections at the bottom of this post.

Little Drummer Boy Mix Up

 The kiddos will match up scrambled words to their spelling words of the week.

I was super impressed with the kiddos when I introduced this activity. I honestly had no idea how it would go.   Bulldozer did AMAZING and surprised me by completing the activity faster than anyone else.

Source: I created this printable. The Little Drummer Boy Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your free copy, be sure to follow direections at the bottom of this post.

Little Drummer Boy Consonant Blends

 The kiddos will match up words with their consonant blend beginnings and/or endings.  This is a nice review for Dinomite and a great introduction for Princess. Bulldozer didn't really understand it.

Source: I created this printable. The Little Drummer Boy Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your free copy, be sure to follow direections at the bottom of this post.

Little Drummer Boy Rhyming Words

 The kiddos will group words that rhyme, using words from the song, "Little Drummer Boy."  I've included a control card so they can check their work.  Princess is all about rhyming right now.

Source: I created this printable. The Little Drummer Boy Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your free copy, be sure to follow direections at the bottom of this post.

Math:

"Hay" Number Creations

The kiddos will create numbers 0-9, shown on the cards, using gold pipe cleaners or pieces of "hay" as we're calling them this week.  I love the fine motor aspect of this activity.  Dinomite and Princess really liked doing this for the first time.  Bulldozer really struggled.

Source:  The number cards shown in this activity can be find at Homeschool Creations.

Little Drummer Boy Addition

 I'm super excited about this activity.  The kiddos will add up note values, using drum counters if needed, and marking the answers with glass beads.  Six of the cards are simple, using only quarter notes.  A second set of six cards is provided that include half notes and whole notes.  A control card has been added to the activity, giving note values, in case they are needed.  Bulldozer is quite a fan of the drums, so I'm hoping he'll enjoy the activity. He surprised me last week selecting the addition activity off our shelves several times.  It appears he's finally able to add using counters.  Hooray!

Source: I created this printable. The Little Drummer Boy Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your free copy, be sure to follow direections at the bottom of this post.

Camel Tanogram

A set of tanograms was given to me a while back.  The set included a camel, which I thought would work for this week's activities.  It's always fun to have something different on the shelves.

Science:

Baby Growth Sequence

The kiddos will sequence the cards to show the growth of a baby in the womb.  We've talked a lot about Mary being Jesus' Mommy, how she was pregnant with Him, and how she gave birth to Him.  I found this activity quite fitting.

Source:  My apologies.  I neglected to write down the source, when I discovered these cards, and have been unable to find them since.  If anyone does know the source of these wonderful cards, pleas feel free to share.

Camel Body Parts

The kiddos will match up body parts to explanations of their uses, while identifying parts on the picture.  I printed a second copy of the body parts and explanations as a control.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity.  The Camel Printable is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your free copy, be sure to follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

A New Star

This is an activity from our Astronomy Unit.  The kiddos will sequence the life cycle of a star, identifying each stage in the cycle.  Bulldozer really likes this activity.

Source:  I found this idea at Counting Coconuts. I was not able to download her document, so I created my own, exactly like what I saw. I admit, her's looks better.  For your free printable, go check out Counting Coconuts.

Geography/Culture:

The Travels & Events of Jesus

I wanted to somehow emphasize just how far Joseph and Mary traveled during the course of her pregnancy and also during the beginning phases of Jesus' life.  The only thing I have not included in this activity is their flight to Egypt.  The kiddos will match up the cards with the two locations on the map. Once they are comfortable with that, they will sequence the events on the cards.

Source:  The map used in this activity can be found at www.lds.org.  All information written on the cards can be found below the map.  The images used for the cards can be found at www.lds.org in the Gospel Art Media Library.

Visual Arts:

How to Draw a Star

This is an activity from our Memorial Day Unit.  The kiddos will practice drawing a star.

Source: These cards were created by using diagrams I found on wikihow.

Music:

Making Music with Percussion Instruments

 The kiddos will have fun playing different percussion instruments.

Physical Education:
We continue to exercise as a family.

Practical Life/Sensorial:

Swaddling Baby Jesus

Last week the kiddos did really well with folding napkins, so I wanted to continue our folding ventures this week, with something a little bigger.  There's nothing more fun than the practice of swaddling baby Jesus right?

A Star Design

 The kiddos will match up shapes to create the design on the card.  When they're finished they're free to come up with their own designs and patterns by removing the card.  Princess really LOVES this activity.

No Room at the Inns

 None of the kiddos have worked on buckling at home yet, so I decided to pull this out for the first time this week. It works perfect as they practice going from door to door opening and closing it as Joseph and Mary would have done in Bethlehem that special night looking for a place to stay.

Nativity Arrangement

(Picture does not show Mary.)

No Little Drummer Boy Unit would be complete without some type of Nativity activity.  This is our set.  We've had it since Dinomite was a baby.  All of the kiddo still love to play with it.

That's our week!  We'll be back with another unit after Christmas.  For those who would like a free copy of my Little Drummer Boy Printable Pack, click below. Enjoy!

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