We’re BACK in 2023! Join the Sunday Gummy Bear Family Reading Club! Spend an hour Sunday mornings with The Learning Exchange for stories, songs, craft time and parent resources to engage you and your child with fun interactive stories.
Registration
You can register for all Sunday sessions or just one or two. You will receive a Zoom link for the session/s after you register. FREE for all families!
Be sure to register early to save a spot and to get a Gummy Bear activity package delivered to your home. Check back soon for the list of featured books and weekly activities.
Welcome to The Learning Exchange (TLE) Winter and Holiday Activities page. Here you will find fun and exciting ideas and activities for all ages and members of the family to do! Visit this page for new activities & resources and look for new additions over the holidays.
LET IT SNOW!
These snowman activities and recipes are engaging, fun, and full of literacy skills, math skills, and STEM skills! Children learn to count, follow directions, read, problem solve and experiment or to just have fun being creative!
Books introduce children to the exciting world of stories and help them learn to express their own thoughts and emotions. Find favourites on these free online story sites.
Music stimulates all the senses, helping children learn to recognize patterns and sequence. Early music exposure helps children learn by promoting language, creativity, coordination, social interaction, self-esteem and memory.
DECEMBER HOLIDAYS IN CANADA + AROUND THE WORLD | ACTIVITIES
Few months present as many multicultural celebrations as December. From Christmas to Kwanzaa, the last month of the year is a “world of holidays.” Click on the links below for lots of fun family-friendly activities related to some of December’s holidays around the world.
Please contact TLEliteracy@yahoo.ca for any comments, suggestions or if there is a December or holiday celebration you would like to see included in this section!
TLE FAMILY LITERACY SERIES
Use TLE’s Family Literacy Series videos to help instil a love of reading in your child or family member.
Try this fun Family Literacy idea to countdown the days to Christmas!
With a Christmas book countdown to Christmas calendar, instead of a piece of candy or chocolate, your child opens a Christmas picture book every day. What a great way to count the days to the holidays!!
What you need:
So how many books will you need? If you want to start your calendar December 1st you will need to decide if you countdown to Christmas Eve or Christmas day. That’s 24 or 25 books total. You can borrow storybooks from the library, gather favourite stories from around the house or from friends and family, and maybe add a few new titles.
Wrap Your Books
Wrap enough Christmas and winter-themed books for every day of your calendar and add a numbered tag to each one. Next, unwrap books daily as a family event and have fun reading! The “togetherness” is part of the joy of this engaging holiday activity. *Tip: Rewrap after the holidays for your next countdown to Christmas!
Use Your Imagination
Here’s a chance to be creative and start your family tradition!
Stack your books from largest to smallest to create the shape of a Christmas tree.
Stack your books to resemble a snowman
Put all of the books in a basket or pail
Display the books on the mantle place
Hide your books each day for a fun twist
Other Holiday Book Traditions You Can Start
Start a “12 Days of Christmas” tradition with a different theme for each day. Have books to read, crafts to create, and movies or special foods to enjoy.
Keep a basket of Christmas and winter-themed books under the tree to read aloud during the holiday season.
Use a mixture of books and movies to create your countdown calendar!
Go outdoors to read your books about snow.
Wrap a new book for each child to put on their beds after they fall asleep on Christmas Eve.
Keep a collection of Christmas books that stay in a special basket during Advent.
If you celebrate Kwanzaa or just want to learn about the traditions, use these resource links to have fun!
Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration that honors African heritage in African-American culture. Kwanzaa is a holiday that was first started by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966, who was looking for a way to bring together African Americans as a community. He took traditions from the African harvest or ‘first fruit’ celebrations and highlighted seven symbols that represent values and concepts reflective of African culture. Kwanzaa is observed from December 26th to January 1st, and culminates in gift giving and a big feast.
THE SEVEN VALUES OF KWANZAA
Kwanzaa is a celebration of family, community and culture.
Unity (Umoja),
Collective Work & Responsibility (Ujima),
Self-determination (Kujichagulia),
Purpose (Nia),
CooperativeEconomics (Ujamaa),
Faith (Imani), and
Creativity (Kuumba).
The seven symbols of those values are Fruits, Nuts, & Vegetables for the crops (Mazao), the Place Mat (Mkeka), an Ear of Corn (Vibunzi). The Seven Candles (Mishumaa Saba), The Unity Cup (Kikombe Cha Umoja), Gifts (Zawadi), and The Candleholder (Kinara).
Create randomized bingo cards for free in seconds with our Bingo Card Generator. Print your bingo cards at home to play in‑person, or send out links to play a Virtual Bingo Game – we even provide a bingo caller!
Make printable and virtual bingo cards. Try the Christmas Around the World Quiz Bingo Cards! The card generator randomizes your words to make unique, great looking bingo cards. Watch a demo.
All bingo cards made on myfreebingocards.com can be printed or played as virtual bingo games. You can send out individual bingo cards that can be played online on any device or printed out.
Make free Kids bingo cards. You can print at home or send out individual bingo cards to play virtual bingo on any device. All bingo cards can be edited and customized to get them just the way you want.
Vocabulary helps children to think and learn about the world. Expanding a child’s knowledge of words provides unlimited access to new information. Here is vocabulary related to theme of the story Don’t Push the Button.
Early music exposure helps children learn by promoting language, creativity, coordination, social interaction, self-esteem. Here are some songs and music related to the theme of the story Don’t Push the Button.
Play promotes healthy development and critical thinking skills. It reinforces memory, helps children understand cause and effect. Here are some activities and craft ideas related to the theme of the story Don’t Push the Button.
