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Turkey Day is almost here, which means it’s time to start looking at interactive Christmas sites for kids.   There aren’t as many good sites for Christmas as there are for Thanksgiving, but let’s take a look at what I have found so far:

CELEBRATE WINTER HOLIDAYS by SCHOLASTIC

Celebrate winter holidays by Scholastic features Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa all on page complete with a teacher’s guide and holiday clip art for teachers to use. There are holiday articles to download on each holiday, as well as a section on printable crafts, recipes, and thinking questions.  Clearly this is my favorite among all of the sites listed here.  Check it out! 

TRIM A TREE with JAN BRETT

Trim a tree with Jan Brett at her homepage!  Using the tree template, kids click and drag the ornaments onto the tree.  When they are finished, kids can print their creation and give it to a friend.  Jan Brett, a popular children’s book author, has written several holiday books for kids including The Christmas Trolls and The Gingerbread Baby.  Her illustrations are gorgeous, and she has newsletters available for teachers to incorporate her books into lesson plans.  Her website is also full of interactive activities to match each of her books.  In addition, there is a whole page full of Christmas related activities besides “trim the tree“.

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS AROUND THE WORLD

At Santa’s Net there is an extensive list of how Christmas is celebrated around the world.  There is also a list of multicultural Christmas recipes and a list of how to say “Merry Christmas” in different languages.  There are Christmas songs, too, but they only are comprised of the lyrics - you can’t hear the music.  Bummer. 

NORTH POLE.COM

North Pole has several different activities all in one place!  I have not had time to explore the site since it is so big. Here is just a small list of what you can do here:

• Send a letter to Santa
• Send a holiday postcard
• Stories to read and color
• Games to play
• Recipes to bake
• Puzzles and Activities
• Sing Christmas Karaoke
• Visit the toy shop (disclaimer, this takes kids to Amazon.com)

If you have a favorite holiday site, feel free to let me know about it in the comments section!

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There are several interactive Thanksgiving sites that you can use with your students to teach about life in the 1600s and how the holiday began.  All of the sites below have something different to offer, so check them all out! 

Journey on the Mayflower (from Scholastic)

Journey on the Mayflower is a wonderful site from Scholastic.  It begins with an interactive timeline.  With each stop on the timeline, there is a mini movie complete with sound effects and narration.  Also explore the tab at the top of the site about “Daily Life“.

The First Thanksgiving (from Scholastic)

The First Thanksgiving, also from Scholastic, has wonderful slide shows depicting what life could have been like during the 1600s as well as a webquest for your students to complete.

Colonial House (PBS)

Colonial House from PBS has many different pages worth exploring.  For example, there is a section on “375 Years Ago at 360 Degrees” with panoramas of the colony.  Very cool!  Also, you can play “Dress Me Up” to see if your students can match the correct clothing with the colonists for the time period.  At the bottom of the home page, there is a section for teachers called “Educational Interactivities” with lesson plans completely written out for you.  Thank you, PBS!

Welcome to Plimouth Plantation’s You are the Historian… Investigating the First Thanksgiving

This is one of my favorites!  Plimouth Plantation’s You are the Historian allows students to be the historian and investigate the first Thanksgiving from the point of view of the Native Americans and the Colonists.  As you click through your investigation, there are interactive activities with narration and sound effects to keep the youngest learner engaged.

Mayflower History

Mayflower History’s site, based on the book by Caleb Johnson, is geared for intermediate students, probably 4th grade students and older. Click on “Pilgrim History” to be taken to a page full of resources on the voyage, life in the new world, the Native Americans and more.

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What happens when you mix winter and Web 2.0?  You get the Snowflake Generator, of course!  The website folds the paper for you, and provides you with a virtual pair of scissors.  Just start cutting along the edge of the paper, work your way in, and end at an edge when cutting your shapes.  You can preview your snowflake along the way to see if you like the cuts you have made.  How fun is this?

Also, the website gives you an opportunity to view the Snowflake Gallery, where you can print snowflakes made on the site, save the snowflake as a .jpg, or share one with a friend.  If it could only produce a real SNOW DAY to get you out of school, this site would be perfect.