Countdown to Christmas

What You Need:

• Green construction paper  
• Black marker
• Mini stapler
• Tape
• Glue stick
• Scissors    
• Pencil

What You Do:

1. Help your child create her first tree by cutting a sheet of construction paper in half, then rolling one half until she has created a cone shape. Cut off the excess paper and staple it in place. Tape over the staples if necessary.
2. Repeat this step to create 25 cone-shaped trees. Try to vary the sizes to create a visually fun "forest illusion," which can be enjoyed on any flat surface.
3. Ask your child to fold a sheet of paper in half as many times as she can.
4. Trace the base of the glue stick, or anything that is a small circle, on the top sheet of the folded paper.
5. Cut out the circle from the paper while it's folded.
6. Ask her to count how many circles she just made. Have her repeat this process until she has 25 circles total.
7. Encourage her to number the circles from 1 to 25 using the marker.
8. Glue one circle on the front of each tree and arrange the trees in ascending numerical order.
9. Ask her to point to each tree while counting its number out loud.

Variation: To practice subtraction, ask her each day to figure out how many days are left until Santa arrives.

Note: These trees are great for honing sorting skills and mastering number order. They're also great for visually demonstrating beginning math operations.