Weekly Update December 12 - A Magical Week at Fox Hill School: Welcome to the North Pole Sweets Shoppe!

Reminders:

• December 18 - Popsicle Pajama Party

• December 19 - Popsicle Pajama Party

• December 20-January 4 - Winter Break - NO SCHOOL

• January 5 - First day of school 2026!

Dramatic Play at the North Pole

We transformed our dramatic play areas into the "North Pole Sweet Shoppe" complete with pretend treats, holiday decorations, and lots of imaginative play! The children loved playing the roles of bakers and shoppers, complete with holiday aprons and hats. But they didn't stop there! They also arranged chairs and made an airplane, complete with boarding tickets that they made themselves by tearing paper, so they could fly to the North Pole! It was a wonderful reminder of how powerful child-led play can be.

Sensory Fun with Holiday Play Dough

To bring a little seasonal magic to our sensory activities, we made play dough that smelled just like a Christmas tree! The children used their hands and finger muscles to roll, squish, and shape the dough, and they delighted in pressing cookie cutters into it to create festive shapes. Activities like these support fine motor development in fun, engaging ways.

Painting Our Salt Dough Ornaments

Last week, the children worked hard creating salt dough ornaments for our Christmas trees at home. This week, they got to bring those creations to life with paint and glitter. They carefully painted their ornaments with so much concentration and pride, turning them into colorful keepsakes to treasure! Painting is a rich developmental experience that builds fine motor skills and encourages creativity.

Beautiful Handmade Wrapping Paper

Our week also included a creative wrapping paper workshop! Using paint, glitter, and holiday cookie cutters, the children practiced their grasping and stamping techniques to produce unique pieces of handmade wrapping paper. Each sheet was sparkling and festive - perfect for wrapping a present at home!

A Visit From the Grinch

One of the highlights of our week was meeting the Grinch on Monday evening with our families! He was silly, mischievous, and full of surprises, and the children absolutely loved it! Each child got to make a Grinch ornament using an empty ornament, green sparkly ribbon, and a red heart sticker on the outside, for the Grinch's heart that grew three sizes. It was hard work using our finger muscles to twist and push the ribbon inside of the ornament and great fine motor work peeling the heart stickers to put on the ornament. Each child also got to make reindeer food! We took a brown paper bag, put eyes and a nose on it, scooped up some oats and glitter to fill the bag, and completed it with two clothespins for the antlers! This was also great fine motor work with all of the scooping and pinching we did. Don't forget to sprinkle it on your front lawn on Christmas Eve for the reindeer to eat! The Grinch took a picture with every family and then was off to find Max!