Weekly Update December 19 - Celebrating Our Final Week Before Winter Break at Fox Hill School

Reminders:

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

• January 5 - First day of school 2026!

• January 19 - MLK Jr. Day - NO SCHOOL

As we wrapped up our final week before Winter Break here at The Fox Hill School, our classrooms were full of excitement, creativity, and lots of holiday cheer. It was a fun week of learning and playing as we explored Hanukkah and Christmas together through stories, art, building, and play.

Learning About Hanukkah and Christmas Through Books

This week we read My Two Holidays by Danielle Novak. This story introduced children to different traditions, symbols, and ways families celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas. This led to some great conversations about the similarities and differences between the two holidays. This was a great way to build our early literacy skills by practicing listening and comprehension while connecting what we are learning to what is happening this time of year. 

Handprint Christmas Trees (and Strong Little Hands!)

One of our favorite projects this week was making handprint Christmas trees. Last week we painted and printed our hands to look like Christmas trees. This week we decorated the trees with glitter and beads, using our strong muscles to squeeze glue bottles to add each decoration.

Using glue bottles may look simple, but it’s actually great work for preschoolers. Squeezing the bottles helps strengthen the small muscles in their hands and fingers, which are important for skills they’ll use later on like writing, cutting, and buttoning. It also helps with hand-eye coordination and control, and allows for students to problem solve, learning how much glue is too little and how much is too much.

Hanukkah Fun: Dreidels and Counting Candles

Our Hanukkah activities included spinning dreidels and counting Hanukkah candles. These playful experiences helped reinforce early math skills like counting and number recognition. Spinning dreidels also gave children a chance to practice coordination, patience, and turn-taking, all of which are important social skills!

Building Christmas Trees with Magnatiles

We also made Christmas trees out of Magnatiles this week. We used three triangular magnatiles to build a tree. Once they were built, we added a flameless candle to the inside and we  decorated the outside with jingle bells and magnetic bingo chips. This activity encouraged problem-solving, creativity, and spatial awareness, while also supporting teamwork and imaginative play.

Ending the Week with Fun

We wrapped up our final days before Winter Break with a pajama popsicle party—a perfect way to celebrate a busy and fun-filled week! Everyone  came to school in their cozy pajamas, enjoyed popsicles with friends, and danced to holiday music. 

We wish all of our Fox Hill School families a happy, healthy, and restful Winter Break, and we look forward to seeing everyone back in the new year!