December is a lot. Real talk. The kids are on level 10. We have assessments, report cards, dress-up days, and many other activities happening. Plus, all the holiday things outside of school. So, first things first, deep breath. Do what you can/what you want and know that whatever you do is enough! And HAVE FUN these few weeks! Hopefully, these gingerbread week activities, lesson plans, and ideas will reduce your stress!
This year is a little different for me because I get to be a stay-at-home dad, so I can spend more time with our daughter and prepare for our second daughter, due on December 15!! If you’re keeping track, that’s 8 days from when I’m writing this…So, each week for Schedulin’ Sunday, I will post ideas and resources that I use in my classroom for that week in the school year. Each post will also contain links to previous years’ lesson plans!
Kindergarten Lesson Plans: Week 16
Click the links to download our FREE Kindergarten October lesson plans for week 16!
2023-2024
2024-2025
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Kindergarten December Lesson Plans: Phonics and CVC Words
We are continuing to work on CVC words in phonics. We are using Word Family Bootcamp for explicit phonics instruction. With Word Family Bootcamp, we are segmenting, spelling, decoding, and writing CVC words and reading them in decodable text! One of the gaps or areas of weakness that we start to see at this point is the middle vowel sound. Our students struggle with this so we now switch our focus to the middle vowel sounds. Our circle charts are now medial vowel circle charts so we are focused on that sound!
Teaching Sight Words
Here’s what I want us to remember: don’t memorize words. We segment the sounds, blend the sounds, decode the word, spell the word, write the word, and use the word in context, all to help our brains map the word so we actually learn it!
Each week, we learn four words. We learn the word on Monday, and on Tuesday and Wednesday, we use the words in sentences. On Thursday, we do a sight word grid, and on Friday, we play a game to practice the word!
Kindergarten Gingerbread Week Activities: Adding To 10
This week we are practicing addition to 10 using ornaments and gingerbread!
We also add by putting candy on a gingerbread cookie!
We are also doing some gingerbread measurement! We do these activities monthly and compile them into a book! The students are practicing measurement, estimation, counting, and number writing. After they make their estimate, we measure them and take a picture!
December Lesson Plans: Gingerbread Week Activities
It’s Gingerbread Week! Honestly, it could be gingerbread month because there are so many books and activities we could do! But here are our favorite gingerbread week activities!
We read many different books and create a story map that compares and contrasts all the stories. I love seeing the kids make connections between the stories and discuss what parts they liked the most!
We also sequence the story!
For our writing this week, we write about what we would run from! We turn our writing into a gingerbread person!
And we label a gingerbread man and gingerbread girl!
We do two STEM activities: first, we build boats out of aluminum foil to see if we can get the gingerbread cookie safely across the water.
Then we test our gingerbread cookies to see if they will float or sink!
And of course, we get to eat gingerbread cookies! We graph our first bite! The kids take 1 bite and we graph which was our first bite! Then we get to eat our cookies!
Gingerbread Week Activities: Art Projects!
This is my favorite! We make a gingerbread cookie in the oven! The oven is construction paper and wax paper1
And finally, we do a very simple and quick disguise a gingerbread activity! No complicated things to prep or send home. We can do a simple worksheet which makes a cute bulletin board or door display. Or, my personal favorite is making hats!
December Lesson Plans: Three Little Pigs
Our required text this week is the Three Little Pigs as part of our curriculum’s farm unit! We work on questions and answers, text evidence, and a story map! Later on in the unit we do character traits, problem solution and more!
WEEK 14 RESOURCES
Here are some more resources that can make your planning and prep easier!
December Lesson Plans And Activities: FREE RESOURCES
Click the images to get the freebies!
