Christmas Ornament Craftivities for Big Kids!

Ah Christmas... I do love teaching this time of year, it's so cosy and joyful - even if my to do list is a mile long and I rarely see the sun!? At the moment my classes are still deep in curriculum, but I have been keeping a few crafty / creative projects up my sleeve ready for "wind down time" and I want to share them with you so you too can have a restful end to 2016! 

I've always found an abundance of crafty resources for primary students, but none that would really suit my teens. So I got to crafting and designed some Paper Christmas Ornaments that come in three differentiated levels of challenge, as I always have such a wide variety of abilities in my classes.

​Here's what I came up with. All you need is some paper, scissors, glue and ribbon! 

Making paper crafts like this promote independent learning, especially if you include "how to" instructions that students can work from. This will prepare them well for any IKEA days ahead....!

They can also practice fine motor skills as they cut slowly and neatly along the outlines.

Plus, there is of course art integration where students can design their own decorations and experience some relaxing therapy while they colour these in. You could have some jolly Christmas music playing in the background or even have a cosy fireplace / snow scene video up on the whiteboard too!

To meet the needs of all your students, it's a good idea to include differentiated levels of challenge as undoubtedly you will have a range of abilities and you want to ensure all your students are being stretched. These kind of challenges will do wonders for developing your students' problem solving skills too, as they're not as simple as decorating a piece of paper and hanging it on a tree. They have to cut, stick and assemble in a particular way that does make it more fun and challenging!

That star is my favourite but is definitely the most challenging one in the pack - reserved only for the brave! I have also included a much more simple window hanging style for the lower end if you have any students that might struggle with the folding and assembly of the ornaments. Plus, these window hangings would look so very cute up in your classroom when they're done!

So if you are looking some fun craftivities that will save your sanity in the last few days before Winter break when it can be really challenging to keep our students (and ourselves!?) motivated and engaged, then why not get your students making some fun paper ornaments! They also work great for indoor recess as students will be really quiet and focused: I tested them out on some of my year 7 (6th grade) students during one rainy lunch time and I can confirm they worked a treat!

If you like these ideas but don't want to spend hours working out how to make the templates, plus photographing and typing up instructions yourself, then you can save your time and sanity (as I've already spent mine for you!!) and download them here! 
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In the full kit, there are a range of Christmas decorations included which are differentiated to suit a variety of abilities (3 of them are particularly challenging and are ideal for developing problem solving skills!) 

I have provided you with both blank and already decorated templates to suit your students’ needs and preferences. As always, all clip art is original, designed by me and can’t be found elsewhere! :)
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For each decoration, there are visual instructions that you can choose to show your students (or not for some extra problem solving challenges!) Have a look below for a closer peek into what else is included:

Finally, as a gift to you this Christmas, I am giving you the present ornament as a freebie - you can download it from the VIP area now (it's free to register!):

I hope you and your students enjoy this freebie or the full differentiated set, if you choose to download it! How do you plan on spending your last few lessons of 2016 this year? Let's chat in the comments below!

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