{Looking for a fun way to review the days of the week and months of the year? Try this hand print calendar! Students are sure to love the “hands on” artwork as well as the special poem for each month. If completed before the holidays, this makes a spectacular (and functional!) Christmas gift for mom and dad!}

December

All of us know what special holiday December brings around - Christmas! Many characters and traditions surround the festivities - Santa, reindeer, elves, trees, among many others - so we though it'd be fitting to "spruce up" your December calendar page with a decorated tree!

Supplies You'll Need

Green tempera paint
White and yellow construction paper
Craft materials and embellishments (sequins, glitter, etc.)
Markers
Washable school glue

How To Make A Hand Print Christmas Tree

hand print Christmas tree and holiday poem

Help students paint their entire hand with green kids paint. [NOTE: The picture on the left shows a hand partially covered. This is best if an adult is making the craft, but children can certainly use their full hand print.]

hand painted with green craft paint

Starting at the bottom of the paper (palm at the edge and fingers pointed upward), have students gently press their hand to the paper, creating a print. Remind them to keep their fingers spread slightly as they make the print. Invite students to reapply the paint and make a second row of prints just above the first and fanned out slightly. [NOTE: The palm of the second prints will overlap the fingers of the first print.] Continue until a second and third row have been created. Flip the paper 180-degrees and you should have a triangular "tree" shape!

unfinished hand print Christmas tree

When the paint has dried, arm your students with glue, craft embellishments, and markers, as well as a star made from yellow construction paper, and invite them to decorate their Christmas tree!

decorated hand print Christmas tree

The Poem

When Santa Claus Comes

A good time is coming,
I wish it were here,
The very best time
In the whole of the year;
I'm counting each day
On my fingers and thumbs-
The weeks that must pass
Before Santa Claus comes.
Then when the first snowflakes
Begin to come down,
And the wind whistles sharp
And the branches are blown,
I'll not mind the cold,
Though my fingers it numbs,
For it brings the time nearer
When Santa Claus comes.

Hand Print Calendar Wrap Up

To assemble your hand print calendar, you'll need a blank calendar page for each month, a cover page, glue, a hole punch, and some binder rings.

Being by gluing the blank calendar pages in their proper place. This can be a bit tricky - they're going to be adhered to the back of the next month's art work - so before doing anything permanent, make sure that all the artwork is displayed the correct way when flipping the calendar pages. December is the only month that will need a separate piece of construction paper. Have students use markers to add important dates to the calendar.

Attach a cover page and a picture of the student (if desired), as well as a fingerprint poem (also optional). There are several cute ones that can be found on the internet with a little searching!

Lastly - double checking that all the pages are in order and arranged correctly - punch three or four holes along the top edge of the calendar and slip binder rings through them. You might also consider punching one hole at the bottom of each calendar page (in the middle) so that it can be hung up at home!

Parents will LOVE getting this homemade gift for Christmas - it makes a great keepsake too!

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