We are ringing in the Christmas holiday with the help of our friends at S.A.L.T. by decorating our office tree.

This is a fun activity to do at home and can bring Christmas into a space where there might not be much room, like a child's bedroom or play room. As the weather is quickly getting colder, this activity is also a great way to make good use of all of the time spent inside!

Supplies: (printables are on the right side of the page)

Green paper to make a tree or print ours and color it

Paper ornaments and lights you can make your own or print ours

Crayons/markers/colored pencils

Glitter

Glue

Beads

Beans

Noodles

Etc.

This activity offers the opportunity to incorporate some location vocabulary words into the activity. We find that these words (top, bottom, middle, front, etc.) are difficult concepts for many children and the more exposure they get to them, the faster they learn them. It is beneficial for children to hear these words, even without labeling them themselves. For example, when decorating your ornament, try saying things like, "I like how you put that bead right in the middle." or "That green paint looks great at the top of the ornament." You can also incorporate these vocabulary words when you go to put the decorated ornaments in the tree. You can say where each ornament is being placed ("I'll put the blue ornament at the bottom of the tree." or you can try and have your child follow your direction and place the ornaments in various places of the tree ("Put the yellow ornament on the top." or "Put this one with the sparkles next to the blue ornament.")

Share your tree on our Facebook page!