ABC and 123: A Learning Collaborative: Advent Ideas & Countdown to Christmas Linky Blog Hops

Monday, November 23, 2009

Advent Ideas & Countdown to Christmas Linky Blog Hops

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With Thanksgiving this week, we know that many of you are also getting ready for the start of December and the beginning of advent or Christmas Countdown projects. In today's post we've got some ideas to get your started from our readers if you're stumped for ways to incorporate it this year.

We also wanted to let you know how we'll be getting ready for Christmas...by spending more time with our family and friends and less time blogging. That doesn't mean that ABC & 123 won't still have plenty of ideas to share with you during this busy time!

We've decided to incorporate linky blog hops to many of our posts in December. That way you can jump on and add your links and ideas as you get to them done and post them on your blogs.

This also gives you an idea of our post schedule. If you post something on one of these topics ahead of time please continue to send us your links. We'd like to start off each post by highlighting 2-3 submissions sent to us ahead of time.

Here is our schedule:

December 3: Favorite Holiday Books and Activities

December 4: Cooking and Baking Holiday Treats with Kids

December 9: Kid Made Holiday Decorations

December 11: Favorite Christmas Crafts

December 14: Holiday Themed Math Activities

December 15: Homemade Cards and Gift by both You and the Kids

December 16: December Author Challenge: Tomie De Paola

After December 16th we will start our holiday break from posting. All linkies will remain active for the entire month of December so you can hop on and add your great ideas, lessons, and crafts at any time. Please add as many as you like to each linky, the more ideas we share the better for everyone in our community of teachers and learners!

Now onto the Advent and Countdown Ideas Shared by our Readers and Contributors!

We love the advent calendar shared at Roots and Wings Co that doubles as a lovely holiday decoration and can be used year after year. We also like their Fabric Advent Calendar that can incorporate candy or their great family activity cards.

We also love the paper chain advent calendar Maureen at Spell Outloud created. She's even encluded a downloable version for you to make your own too!

Annette at Live, Learn, Love was inspired by the Ace Collin's book above to rethink advent.

Nicole at Tired, Need Sleep shared her Jesse Tree advent ornaments and cards. She provides versions for you to use in the form of a Google document. Inspired by her, our next contributor incorporated them into her advent actvities as well.

Julie at The Adventures of Bear made these watercolor ornaments. Each day of Advent, Bear will open up a little felt envelope in which she will find her Jesse tree ornament and verse/prayer card.

She will also find a card with an activity that we will do as a family and a piece of yarn to make the soft bed for Baby Jesus who will be placed in the manger December 25th.

We will also light our Advent wreath after dinner each night and revisit the verse/prayer card from the morning. What lovely ways to bring the focus of the holiday back on the real meaning and away from it's commercialization.


Heather at Raising Memories made this very cute Advent Calendar, filled with a sweet treat for her daughters to punch open and eat each day.

How do you countdown the days to Christmas? Please share with us in a comment!

8 comments:

  1. I do and post a book and activity a day starting with advent:)
    http://bookwormsbooknook.blogspot.com/2009/11/coming-soon-christmas-book-and-activity.html

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  2. Wow, lots of coming activities.

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  3. Good !dea. Thanks for share good book information. I follow your blog.

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  4. We celebrate the holidays in a secular manner - http://learningwithmouse.blogspot.com/2009/11/secular-holidays.html

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  5. We are doing something new this year! Check it out here http://monkeyinaroundtimestwo.blogspot.com/2009/11/advent-calendar.html

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  6. Here arehttp://mybilingualboys.blogspot.com/2009/11/let-countdown-begin-almost.html our countdown activities.

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  7. Here are our countdown activities:

    http://mybilingualboys.blogspot.com/2009/11/let-countdown-begin-almost.html

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  8. Whew! Barely under the wire, but here's our new Advent Activity Calendar:
    http://teachmama.blogspot.com/2009/11/advent-activity-calendar.html

    Happy Holidays, friends!

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