Last year we added these beautiful nutcracker multiplication and division activities to our holiday shelves.  

They were such a hit!  I wanted to be sure that I shared the free printable I created for them.

It's no secret that we're crazy about the story of the nutcracker around here.  

It seems every Christmas we have a few more fun nutcracker activities on our shelves.  

Nutcracker Multiplication and Division Activities with Free Printables

Anyone who has read the story of the nutcracker or seen the ballet knows the character Mother Ginger with all of her many children.  The activity below was designed with this character in mind.

Mother Ginger and Her Multiplying Children

When doing this activity, a child selects a clip card and uses the wooden cutouts of children as counters if needed.  Once the problem is solved the child will put a red bead on the correct answer.

Source: I created the printable for this activity as part of my Nutcracker Multiplication and Division Printable Pack.  This is a free printable. For your copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Nutcracker Division

I found these beautiful nutcracker clothes pins at a local store and fell head over heels in love with them. 

For this activity the child will select a division clip card.  He will then roll out the red ribbon, adding clothespins to it in groups to solve the problem.  Once finished, he will use a red glass bead to mark the answer.

Source: I created the printable for this activity as part of my Nutcracker Multiplication and Division Printable Pack.  It is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

We hope you enjoy the printables as much as we have!

If you're looking for more nutcracker themed activities and printables for kids, be sure to check out the resources below!

Nutcracker Unit 2 with Free Printables

These nutcracker activities for kids are designed for tots and preschoolers. Kids love the hands on components to each activity and are so attracted by the colors and sensory experiences provided.

Christmas Unit: The Nutcracker with Free Printables

These nutcracker activities for kids is designed for children in Montessori preschool and early elementary classrooms.

This unit study was the kids' very first introduction to the story of the nutcracker. They had SO MUCH FUN with these activities and still remember them today.

Though the images are old, the printables and activities are still sure to be a hit!

Montessori-inspired Nutcracker Printable Pack

If you're looking to find our most updated and amazing Nutcracker printables for kids, you will definitely want to purchase our nutcracker themed printable pack!

My favorite part about it, that makes it totally worth the purchase, are nomenclature cards of all of the characters from the ballet!

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4. Click the confirmation link in the thank you message.

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7. Select the Minimalism, Montessori, or Mental Health Printables Library.

8. Find the printable pack you are looking for listed in alphabetical order, click on it, and voila!

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As you know our family is big on Christmas movies.  

We love to count down the days until Christmas, watching one movie each night until the big day arrives.  

Dinner always goes fantastically well with a movie, especially during the holiday season.

On Fridays, we combine dinner and a movie to make things extra special! 

Christmas traditions are loved by all in our home.

At first this was a couple's affair.  My husband and I would wait until the kids went to sleep, and cuddle on the couch sharing a candy cane while watching our movie by Christmas lights.

That was until our kids started getting older and wanted to join us.  Then it became a family affair.  

The problem was they wanted a special treat for each and every movie night and well...  

As much as I love Christmas cookies and other desserts, I don't enjoy putting on an extra ten pounds during the holiday season.  So we struck a compromise.

 Leading up to Christmas, we have our Christmas Dinner and a Movie Nights.  

We select Christmas movies that are appropriate for everyone in the family and prepare a special dinner to go along with each movie.  

Our kids absolutely love this new tradition.  The adults love it too!

Each dinner and a movie are meant to compliment each other.  

Our kids love how each one corresponds to the movie that we're watching.  

Sometimes take-out is part of the plan.  Other times we make everything homemade. It depends on our schedules and ambitions on each particular night.

5+ Christmas Dinner and a Movie Ideas for Families

1. The Santa Clause with Left Overs from Thanksgiving Dinner or food from Denny's

Whether you're eating a turkey dinner or settling for Denny's, the movie sets the scene perfectly.  

Turkey dinners are definitely the main meal here.  

And if you're in a generous mood you can always add the perfect cup of hot cocoa for dessert.

2. Home Alone with Pizza

Everyone enjoys a cheese pizza just for them.  

It won't matter if you make homemade pizzas at home or order take out, so long as there's enough for everyone.  

If you'd like to add a dessert an ice cream sundae bar is the perfect choice.

3. Elf with Spaghetti

You may want to pass on the maple syrup but spaghetti is a perfect dinner to serve while watching this holiday comedy.  

For those who want dessert too, anything with sugar will do, but of course Elf themed cookies are always fun.

4. The Christmas Story with Chinese Food

Chinese may seem like the last meal one would eat during the Christmas season, but when watching this movie, it's the only option. 

That is, unless you like boiled cabbage or meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  Add a glass of Ovaltine and you're all set!

5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas with "Roast Beast"

I'll always remember how this movie inspired Bulldozer to want a real Christmas feast when he was old enough to know what one was.  

In our house "roast beast" is a ham dinner, but in your home it may be a pot roast, turkey, or chicken.  

Whichever it is, the meal goes along perfectly with this movie night and definitely brings in the spirit of the holiday.

6. While You Were Sleeping with Hotdog Bar

Now that my kids are a little older, one of their favorite Christmas movies on our countdown is this one. 

It pairs so well with hotdogs and lots of fun toppings.

I love that this meal is so easy during the busy Christmas season.

Now I've mentioned in our home we use these for Friday night movie nights, but they can be done any time during the holiday season.  

If you're looking for a low key family night during the holiday season, nothing is as simple as the ideas listed above.  

Everyone needs to eat dinner.

For those who are looking for more family fun ideas be sure to subscribe to our free newsletter by clicking the link below.

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Christmas Tree Activities for Tots & Preschoolers with Free Printables

In my opinion, Christmas trees are one of the most magical aspects of the holiday season. 

These Christmas Tree Activities for Tots and Preschoolers with Free Printables are sure to be a hit with the little ones.

I love how they focus on the tree itself as well as ornaments to help develop math, botany, and practical life skills.

Christmas themed activities are so much fun!

Christmas Tree Activities for Tots and Preschoolers with Free Printables

Here's what Sunshine's been working on!

Christmas Tree Number Match Up

Sunshine thoroughly enjoys counting down the days until Christmas using her Melissa and Doug Countdown to Christmas Wooden Advent Calendar, but she's constantly wanting to play with it.  This activity was created to encourage just that.

Sunshine is working on her numbers, learning their names and how to identify them.  

In this activity she pulls a card from the pile and identifies the number. Once she has done this she grabs an ornament and places it on the matching number on the tree.  She continues this until all of the numbers are covered by ornaments.

Source: I created this free printable for this activity as part of my Christmas Tree Unit Printable Pack 1. This is a Subscriber Only Freebie. For your copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Christmas Tree Addition

Sunshine enjoys addition.  She finds it challenging and very entertaining. In this activity she is adding felt Christmas tree table scatter that I found at our local dollar store.  

Once she has solved the equation she uses the red glass beads to mark the answer on the clip cards.

Source: I created this free printable for this activity as part of my Christmas Tree Unit Printable Pack 1. This is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Christmas Tree Tong Activity

Sunshine is working hard to improve her hand-eye coordination.  This tonging activity has been very beneficial.  She picks up one of the foam balls with the tongs and transfers it into one of the Christmas tree ice cube slots.

Christmas Botany Match Up

I saved my favorite activity for last.  It's not secret that Sunshine loves botany.  Why not create a Christmas themed botany activity just for her?  

This match up activity includes pictures of the Christmas plants from far away, and then pictures of the plants up close.  Sunshine loves to match them and comment on all of their names.

Source: I created this free printable for this activity as part of my Christmas Tree Unit Printable Pack 1. This is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

There are so many fabulous ways to use Christmas trees in learning activities during the holiday season. 

They are versatile and are common to both spiritual and secular celebrations.  Best of all they are living things and encourage so many sensory experiences.

Directions on How to Obtain Subscriber Only Freebies

1. Click on the Subscriber's link at the bottom of this post.

2. Subscribe to our free newsletter.

3. Open the thank you message you receive in your e-mail, after subscribing. (Be sure to check your spam folder, as sometimes it ends up there.)

4. Click the confirmation link in the thank you message.

5. Once the confirmation is complete, you will receive another e-mail message with the Subscriber Only Freebies.

6. Click on the link.

7. Select the Minimalism, Montessori, or Mental Health Printables Library.

8. Find the printable pack you are looking for listed in alphabetical order, click on it, and voila!

We hope you enjoy your free printable.

Note: If you are already a newsletter subscriber, open your most recent newsletter. At the bottom you will find a link to the Free Printables Library.

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If you have 3rd graders, these chapter book recommendations may be for you.

At the beginning of each new school year we give our kiddos reading lists that have been hand-picked by my husband and I to encourage a love of reading and aid in the learning process.  

We take into consideration each kiddos' interests and abilities to ensure success.

Bulldozer's reading list this year is one of my favorites.  

We included books from series we have read aloud that he can continue on his own.  

Bulldozer loves comedy and so you'll find a few funny choices here.  He also loves adventure, especially if it includes a natural disaster.

The books are in no particular order.  

Bulldozer will be required to read twelve out of twenty books by the end of the school year. 

If he finishes twelve and would like to read more he is always welcome.  

He will also complete a book report about each book.

To ensure the kiddos are provided time to read we have "rest and reading time" every afternoon after lunch. 

The kiddos all go to their rooms for an hour.  

They can choose to take a nap or read silently.  

Sunshine almost always takes a nap but the other kids love to read.

Here is Bulldozer's reading list for this year!

Chapter Book Recommendations for 3rd Graders

1. The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

2. Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House Series) by Mary Pope Osborn

3. Fudge-a-Mania by Judy Blume

4. Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary

5. Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater

6. The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois

7. Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

8. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia) by C. S. Lewis

9. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

10. The Secret Zoo by Bryan Chick

11. Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

12. George Washington’s Socks by Elvira Woodruff

13. I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens by Lauren Tarshish

14. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

15. The Chicken Squad: The First Misadventure by Doreen Cronin

16. A Storm Too Soon by Michael J. Tougais

17. In the Heart of the Sea: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick

18. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

19. The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop

20. The Secret of the Indian by Lynne Reid Banks

I absolutely love watching the kiddos become completely absorbed in their reading lists.  

They are constantly begging for more and reading every chance they get!

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