This activity is one of my very favorite Christmas activities that we do every year. I don’t know why it has taken me so long to share it here on the site, but for one reason or another, I have missed putting this online until now.
This activity is a guessing game where children feel items they cannot see, and guess what it is. They love it!
To prepare, you will need to collect these items from your classroom or home:
- fork
- plastic bear counter
- jingle bell
- scissors
- block
- paintbrush
- glue bottle
- crayon
Wrap each item in tissue paper (I use about 2 layers of tissue paper), each item in a different color paper. Tissue paper is the best choice because it’s thin enough for children to feel the items through the paper. A thick paper (such as construction paper) will make it difficult for the children to guess what is inside.
I used tissue paper in the 8 basic crayon colors so the children could color each present as they guess. I’m not a fan of coloring sheets or worksheets in Pre-K, this is just a way to mark what they found and narrow down the choices. It doesn’t bother me at all if they scribble on it.
Make copies of the “recording sheet” for each child. Children will need the sheet as a reference so they have an idea of what is inside the “presents”. Without a reference sheet with some choices, they won’t know where to begin to guess. For younger students, you might also want to have an identical collection of these items out on the table for them to see. I haven’t needed to do that with the 4-5 year olds, so far.
At the end of the game (after everyone is done feeling and guessing), I have each child open a “present” so we can all see what really was inside. Were our guesses right? (We do this as a small group activity, so I have no more than 8 children do it at a time.)
Last year when we played this game, I accidentally forgot to bring a fork to school. It actually made an interesting twist to the game because as I kept reminding them that I forgot to bring the fork, they had to use deductive reasoning to realize that a fork would not be in one of the packages. I remember one little fellow who so sweetly insisted one particular present was a fork even though I kept saying, “Remember, I left the fork at home.” 🙂
As you can see in the photos, my students are using a slightly different recording sheet. This is one that I hand-drew years ago, so I tried to make one a little prettier to share here! 🙂 To download the sheet, click the button below. I hope your kids enjoy it as much as mine!
Download: Christmas Guessing Game
Graphics Credits:
Clipart.com
KPM Doodles
ScrappinDoodles
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I love this idea!! There is nothing kids like more than opening presents!
Thanks Vanessa!
Love this! Can’t wait to do it with my girls!!
Thanks, Andrea!
I can’t wait to get this printed off and do it with my class!
Thank’s for sharing!
This is too cute!
Wow, I like it a lot! I have been doing sensory games before; I put some items in the bag, and before kids would pull out a hand, they had to say what they are holding. But, with presents it will be defenitely more interesting!
Thank you very much for sharing!
This is perfect for our holiday party. The kids will love it. Thank you for sharing.
I think it is fantastic that you share all these creative ideas for your fellow teachers out there and…. it’s free. So appreciated.
Thanks so much, Lisa!
Going to do this TODAY! I love it! I have special needs preschool and they can do this! Great job, Ms. Karen! 🙂
Tasha
Thanks Tasha!
I love the idea. Will do it as small group next week. Great for JK to use all senses even fine motor.Thanks and keep the ideas coming.
Janice
Thanks Janice!
I love this! Our Pre-K thru grade 2 school is all about the common core. I was looking at the pre-K common core standards and wondering which ones I could use. Most things in our plan books need to be accompanied with a standard. It is sad but my reality. Thanks for your great ideas.
Hi Debbie, There’s not really a common core for Pre-K, but some states are adapting the Kindergarten common core for Pre-K. Is there anything in there about sensory things or the five senses? Or, perhaps a language standard? You could ask them questions while they do the activity or have the children describe what they feel… use descriptive words like soft and hard. You could even write their responses on chart paper and it would be a language & literacy activity. I’m sure there’s some way to adapt just about any activity to fit the standards.
I can’t wait to try this out!
Can’t wait to do this as one of our activities next Tuesday….our last day of school! Thanks for sharing! Merry Christmas! 🙂
I agree with Karen, this activity could easily be used to support the CCSS. Here are just a few standards that this activity could support.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.3 Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.6 Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.4 Describe familiar people, places, things (things is the key here), and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.
I love the way that this activity is presented- thanks for sharing!
Looking forward to tryin this idea. Shared with my daughter-in-law. Goo quiet game to use with younger ones at home too. No end to ideas. Thank you.
Can’t wait to do this with my class this week.
Melody
Hi Karen, just got to reading this post. I’m not sure how I missed it! I do something similar, but have not wrapped the items. I put them in thin knee high socks and tie the top closed. We never see what’s inside as we guess and match it to pictures just by sense of touch. I tell them they are correct. I’m not sure I would have time to rewrap between each group. I like the idea of the recording sheet so I’m wondering about the gift pouches with the draw strings that you can find at craft stores. They come in different colors, and would allow the kids to in unwrap but are still reuseable. Thanks for all your postings!
I’m a high school student doing a project for my child development class. We have to teach pre-k students some math, science, and art. Do you have any ideas?
There are lots of ideas on this site. I would recommend using the “Learning Areas” tab on the navigation bar and browse the math, science, and art topics. Choose something that fits your interests. Thanks for visiting!