It is such festive fun to have a small to medium-sized Christmas tree in a preschool classroom, one that children are free to decorate however they would like to. Not only does this help to inspire children’s creativity, but it communicates to children that their artwork, decorations, and contributions are treasured and valued. And, it helps children to develop self-confidence as they are able to feel proud of what they have made.
Children see beauty differently than grown ups do. While us grown-ups might appreciate a Christmas tree that is aesthetically pleasing, colour-coordinated and decorations that are evenly distributed, what little children consider as a beautiful tree is very different and unique to each child.
This year my preschoolers and I used different round items to trace big, medium, and small sized colored card circles for paper bubbles. Then I presented them with a variety of mediums and options for them to choose from to decorate their paper bubbles: shiny sequins, crepe paper bits, little pictures, stickers, etc. Saving bits of cut-offs from wrapping paper or old Christmas cards are lots of fun for little ones to practice their cutting skills on and they can then use these in making their own decorations.
I love the excitement and wonder of seeing what the children will create when given the invitation to do so. I love watching which mediums they will choose and chatting with them as they work.
Some chose to draw their families on their bubble and explained about all the people who they will spend Christmas with. Others chose to make self-portraits and they simply loved pointing out the pictures of themselves on our tree. Others only chose shiny things, others chose to cut and paste and fill their circle-bubbles with as many tiny pieces of as many different colours as they possibly could. They so enjoyed pointing and talking about their bubbles on their tree in the days and weeks leading up to the Christmas break and having a Christmas tree in their classroom that was one hundred percent truly theirs.