Featured Activities
These featured December activities give your early learners a fun, sensory-rich experience while building foundational skills they’ll use for years to come. Each hands-on project supports fine motor development, number recognition, hand–eye coordination, counting, and early one-to-one correspondence. Click the download links at the bottom of the page to grab your free printable instruction sheets and templates.
❄ Snowman Button Counting
This activity focuses on number recognition, rote counting, and one-to-one correspondence. Children color, cut, and place the buttons on each snowman, strengthening fine motor control as they snip and glue. (Be sure to supervise closely any time little ones are practicing scissor skills.) These early math concepts are key components of both preschool development and kindergarten readiness.
❄ Snow Globe Color Matching
There are many ways to use this activity. You can invite your child to color, sort, and glue the pieces as a simple craft, or laminate the snow globes and pieces and add Velcro for a reusable sorting game. Kids love the peel-and-stick sensory experience almost as much as the sorting itself! While color sorting might seem simple to adults, it is actually a powerful early learning skill: children strengthen visual discrimination, practice categorizing, and build the early cognitive foundations needed for later reading, math, and problem-solving. Consistent exposure to sorting activities boosts working memory, attention to detail, and flexible thinking—all important milestones for ages 2–5.
❄ Build-a-Snowman, Build-My-Name
This activity combines fine motor practice with letter recognition and name awareness—two essential pre-literacy skills for preschoolers. Children cut out their snowman pieces, arrange the letters of their name, and assemble their snowy friend. It’s a great confidence-builder for children who are beginning to recognize the letters that are meaningful to them.
❄ Pine Tree Suncatcher
A creative, hands-on fine motor activity with built-in science exploration! Using colored cellophane, children can layer colors to see what new shades they can create, strengthening early understanding of color mixing and cause-and-effect. The ripping, crinkling, and placing of the cellophane offers a wonderful sensory experience as well.
Each of these December activities is thoughtfully designed to support the developmental milestones typical for ages birth–five, while gently preparing children for the skills they’ll need in kindergarten and beyond. If you’d like to learn more about the milestones these activities support, visit the Developmental Milestones (Birth–5) page. For even more guidance on helping your preschooler build the skills that matter most, explore the Kindergarten Readiness resource page
Plus, four bonus activities including DIY cornstarch ornaments, Paper plate suncatchers, Name Recognition and Fine Motor Fun, and Rainbow Rice with Colored Chickpeas.
Simple Steps for Grown-Ups & Kids
- Prep the space: Cover the table, gather supplies, and invite your child to help set up.
- Explore the materials: Offer a chance to touch, look, and talk about the colors, shapes, and textures.
- Create together: Model a step or two, then step back and let your child lead whenever possible.
- Talk about the process, not the product: Use phrases like “You’re working so carefully” or “You chose so many bright colors.”
- Display and celebrate: Hang your child’s work at eye level and invite them to talk about what they made.
Supply List for Featured Activities
Below are some of my favorite classroom-tested supplies for seasonal art, fine-motor work, and hands-on learning. When you shop through these Amazon affiliate links, you support Early Learning Made Easy at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
These are the scissors I personally use for all my classroom prep! The semi-soft, rubber-lined handles make them comfortable enough for extended cutting sessions—perfect when you’re trimming and prepping multiple sets of activities for a whole preschool class. The set includes four handy sizes so you’ll always have the right pair ready for paper, fabric, or craft projects. The stainless-steel blades stay sharp for smooth, precise cuts, and the ergonomic handles help reduce hand fatigue.
A perfect first set of scissors for little learners! These brightly colored safety scissors are designed just for small hands—with an easy-open spring action that helps children practice cutting safely and confidently. The plastic blades can cut paper and cardstock but won’t cut skin or hair, giving grown-ups peace of mind. Ergonomic handles fit both left- and right-handed users, making them ideal for classrooms and home art centers.
Sturdy cardstock is perfect for art templates, durable manipulatives, and projects that you want to last beyond a single day. Great for printable activity cards and anything you plan to laminate.
These peel-and-stick foam sheets are wonderful for building 3D collages, sticker-style projects, and sensory-rich art. No extra glue needed—and lots of fine-motor practice peeling and placing
A vivid set of markers great for grown-up prep work and older children’s projects. Ideal for writing on laminated pieces, foam, and other surfaces. (Adult supervision recommended.)
I like this model because it is cost effective—typically under $20 and available with Prime shipping. Perfect for turning printables into reusable cards and centers.
A reasonably priced option for refilling your laminator sheets. Great for protecting activity cards, visual schedules, and reusable game pieces.
Classic washable school glue for collages, tissue paper projects, glitter art, and more. A must-have in any early childhood art area.
Perfect for “stained glass” art, light-table play, and color-mixing explorations. Children love seeing the world through these bright, transparent colors.
I use this brand because they are suitable for adult use and for child use. They’re perfect for working on fine-motor skills with 3- and 4-year-olds—just add paper strips or shapes and supervise closely.
Early Learning Made Easy activities are independently created by Ms. Vanessa and informed by evidence-based early childhood research and best practices. They are not formally affiliated with or endorsed by any outside institution or author.
Always provide close, active adult supervision during art and sensory play, especially when using small parts, sharp tools, or materials that could pose a choking or safety risk.
Keep Learning with Early Learning Made Easy
Request Printable Instructions & Templates
- Snowman Button Counting
- Pine Tree Suncatcher
- Build a Snowman, Build my name
- Color Matching Snow-globes
- All 4 listed activities plus bonus activities
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