Christmas

2 min Magic Box hook

Today the box weighs almost nothing. Hold it up. Whole class chants:

Shake it — silence. Now lift the lid a crack and sniff, loudly, with your eyes shut. Sniff again. Let your face go amazed.

The sprig goes right round the circle and every child sniffs it. Arms out like branches: “Tree!”

4 min Teach · Tree

Everybody stands up. We are the tree, twice — small and slow, then big:

Littles do the branch arms and say “Tree!” Bigs take the frame: “This is my Christmas tree.” “The tree is green and tall.”

Then the bare tree itself. Walk round it once, touching nothing, and name what is not there yet: no lights, no star, nothing hanging. It is the emptiest tree in the world. Tomorrow the star, today everything else.

Teacher fails: try to hang a picture card on your own head, standing very still with your arms out. “Look. I am the tree.” Hold the pose. Wait.

Chinese moment: lay the 树 card at the foot of the tree and say 圣诞树 once. Leave the card there all week; the row grows by one card a day.

3 min Song · Ring the Bells, It's Christmas! — chorus + Monday verse

The one song of the week — same chorus at every circle, one new verse each morning, the whole thing on Friday. Chords and the full sheet are on the Song tab. Sing it standing at the tree, always.

3 min Game · Decorate the tree

“One, two, three — eyes on me!” The picture cards are face down in a basket at the foot of the bare tree.

One child at a time: pick, name, hang. Littles name it with one word — “Bell!” “Star!” Bigs give the sentence as they hang it: “I can see a star on the tree.”

Go all the way round; everybody hangs one thing. By the end the tree is covered and it was covered by them.

Leave it up all week. Everything that comes out of the Magic Box from today on has somewhere to live, and on Friday the presents go at its feet.

1 min Close

Standing round the tree, branch arms out. Whisper → normal → shout:

Got 3 spare minutes? Mr Willowby's Christmas Tree (Robert Barry) — a tree gets cut shorter and shorter and every animal in the wood ends up with one. It is a giving book, which is this week's whole point.

2 min Magic Box hook

Today there is exactly one thing in the box and it does not rattle. Chant, then tip the box slowly from side to side — something slides.

Peek in for a long time. Lift it out with both hands, very slowly, and turn it so the light catches the gold and flashes round the circle.

Hands to a point above their heads: “Star!”

4 min Teach · Star

The star sits in your two open hands while you say it — twice, and the second time they say it with you:

Then the real thing: one child is lifted up (or stands on a safe chair, held) to put the star on the tree while the whole class counts down — three, two, one — and cheers.

Littles point up high and say “Star!” Bigs owe you the sentence: “I can see a star on the tree.” “The star is on the top.”

Teacher fails: put the star carefully on the floor beside the tree, step back, fold your arms and admire it. “Beautiful.” Wait. Let them march you back.

Chinese moment: the 星 card joins 树 at the foot of the tree — 星星. Sing one line of 《一闪一闪亮晶晶》 with the torch on the ceiling. One line only, then stop.

3 min Song · Ring the Bells, It's Christmas! — chorus + Tuesday verse

Sing this verse getting quieter and the twinkling getting faster, until the last word is a whisper and only the hands are moving. Then straight back into the big chorus. They love the drop.

3 min Game · Star hunt

“One, two, three — eyes on me!” Twenty gold paper stars are hidden round the room, some in plain sight at knee height for the littlest ones.

When the hunt is over, lay every star out in one long line on the carpet and count them all together, out loud, pointing at each one. Littles count with their fingers up; Bigs count the line themselves and tell you: “I found three stars.”

Hide exactly as many as the class can count to together, and count them into your hand before you hide them — the counting at the end is the real work, and it only works if the number comes out right.

1 min Close

Standing at the tree, everybody's star held up. Whisper → normal → shout:

Got 3 spare minutes? Lights off, torch on the ceiling, and sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star lying on your backs. It costs nothing and they will ask for it every day this week.

2 min Magic Box hook

Today the box gives one bright ting when it moves. Chant, then shake it once — ting — and stop dead.

Lift out the bell and ring it once, high above your head. Everybody goes quiet on the ring — that is the rule for the rest of the week.

Shake it beside your ear. “Present!”

4 min Teach · Present

The present stays in your hands the whole way through. Say it twice; the second time they do the actions with you:

Here is the whole week in one sentence, said slowly: a present is a thing you give away. Then send it round: two hands, eyes up, “This is a present for you.” — and the child who takes it says “Thank you!” before passing it on.

Littles shake it beside their ear and say “Present!” Bigs owe you both halves: “This is a present for you.” and “Thank you!”

Teacher fails: start tearing the paper off greedily with your teeth. “Mine. All mine.” Wait for the roar — “It's for YOU!” — then look very ashamed and hand it on.

Chinese moment: the 礼 card joins 树 · 星 — 礼物. And the two words that go with it every time something changes hands: 谢谢 and 不客气.

3 min Song · Ring the Bells, It's Christmas! — chorus + Wednesday verse

On “it's for YOU” everybody points at somebody else, not at the teacher. Twenty children pointing at each other and laughing is exactly the feeling you want in the room on Friday.

3 min Game · Pass the present

“One, two, three — eyes on me!” Everybody in a circle, knees touching. Say the rule out loud before you start: there is one layer for every child, so everybody unwraps exactly once, and what is inside is for all of us.

Round it goes. The waiting is the lesson and it is a hard one, so narrate it kindly: “It's not your turn yet… and you are waiting so well.” The last layer comes off to a bag of star stickers — one each, handed out by the child who opened it.

Never let the middle be a prize for one child. The whole game teaches waiting, and a single winner at the end quietly teaches the opposite.

1 min Close

Everybody's hands held out flat, as if offering something. Whisper → normal → shout:

Got 3 spare minutes? The Jolly Christmas Postman (Janet & Allan Ahlberg) — every page has a real envelope to open. Let a different child open each one and hand it round.

2 min Magic Box hook

Today the box is fat and completely silent — press the lid down and it springs back up, soft.

Shake it: nothing at all. Squash it: it bounces. Peek in and laugh out loud, then pull out something red, very slowly, and put it on your own head.

Everybody pats their belly. “Ho ho ho!” Then the enormous red stocking comes out and gets held up against a child, who disappears inside it.

4 min Teach · Santa

Hat on. Say it twice, the second time with everybody joining in:

Then the mirror. Every child who wants to wears the hat for five seconds, looks at themselves and does one “Ho ho ho!” Littles need nothing else. Bigs give the sentence: “Santa has a red hat.” “Santa gives presents to everybody.”

Say the true thing once, plainly: Santa is a story. Some families tell it, some families don't, and both are completely normal — exactly like families being different. Then get straight back to the laughing.

Teacher fails: put the Santa hat carefully on your foot and stand there beaming. “How do I look?” Hold it. Wait.

Chinese moment: the 圣 card joins the row — 圣诞老人 — and the whole class says 圣诞快乐！ once, at full volume.

Nobody has to wear it. If a child is frightened of the hat or the beard, it sits on your knee, on the far side of the circle, and nothing is said about it at all.

3 min Song · Ring the Bells, It's Christmas! — chorus + Thursday verse

Do the three “ho”s lower each time, like a big slow drum. By tomorrow they will be doing the voice without you.

3 min Game · Santa says

“One, two, three — eyes on me!” Simon says, played in a red hat — and every instruction is one of the week's words.

Actions: ring the bells (shake both hands) · hang a star (reach up high) · wrap a present (wrap in the air) · be a tree (branch arms) · HO HO HO (pat your belly). Nobody is ever out; a child who moves just does it again with you.

Last round, the hat goes to a Big and they give the orders while you play in the circle like everybody else.

Five instructions, no more — the same five, over and over, faster and faster. That repetition is the English lesson; new instructions would only make it a listening puzzle.

1 min Close

Everybody's hands on their bellies, ready. Whisper → normal → shout:

Before home time: draw the giving pairs for tomorrow — every child's name pulled out of the stocking, so that everybody gives one present and everybody receives one. Check the list twice tonight; a child holding a present with nowhere to take it is the one thing that can spoil Friday.

Got 3 spare minutes? Dear Santa (Rod Campbell) — lift-the-flap, one flap per child, and they will shout “too big!” at you every time.

2 min Magic Box hook

The box comes out bulging and will not quite shut.

Pull each thing out and hold it up in complete silence. They will supply the word before you can.

The pine sprig → “Tree!”  The gold star → “Star!”  The wrapped present → “Present!”  The red hat → “Santa!”

Last of all, one small thing left in the bottom. Lift it out and ring it, high. “BELL!”

4 min Teach · Bell, then the whole week

Everybody stands. We tell the whole week with our bodies, twice — slow, then fast:

Littles do the five gestures and shout the five words. Bigs owe you a whole sentence each: “I can see a star on the tree.” “This is a present for you.” “Merry Christmas!”

Teacher fails: on “a present to give away”, clutch the present to your chest with both arms and shake your head. Hold on tight. Let them prise it out of you.

Chinese moment: the 送 card joins the row — 树 · 星 · 礼 · 圣 · 送, the whole week on the mat, and 送 is the one that matters: to give. Then tell them: 冬至 falls on the 22nd, while we are all at home, and 北方冬至吃饺子 — families sit down together and eat dumplings. Fold an imaginary dumpling with them, all twenty pairs of hands.

3 min Song · Ring the Bells, It's Christmas! — Friday verse, then the WHOLE song

The finale: chorus → Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday → chorus, standing all the way round the tree with the presents piled at its feet and nobody touching them. They learned it one verse a morning without ever noticing, and this run-through is the review of the whole week.

3 min Game · Give the gift

“One, two, three — eyes on me!” Every child fetches the present they made and sits down holding it. Nobody opens anything until the very end — say so first, and say it twice.

One bell, one child: they walk across the circle, hand it over with two hands and look at the person: “This is for you.” The one who receives it says “Thank you!” Then the bell rings again for the next child. Littles say the one word with the two hands — “Present!” — and that is a full win.

When every present has been given, and only then: open them all together, on the count of three.

Use yesterday's pairs, and hold the list in your hand. Every child gives one and receives one — count it twice before you start. This is the moment of the whole term; it is worth the extra two minutes of preparation.

1 min Close + awards

Every child gets a “You are a STAR!” award to take home with the holiday news. Then, standing round the tree with their presents, all five gestures:

Got 3 spare minutes? Sing the whole song one more time with the lights off and the tree lit. Then wish them a happy holiday, in both languages, and tell them the date they come back: Monday 4 January.

The three chords

Tempo: bright and bouncy, like a sleigh, and a big rest before “HO HO HO” so they can hear it coming. This is the easiest song of the term — three chords, no Am anywhere, and every verse is just C and G7. Chant it without the uke first; add the chords once they know the actions.

Chorus — sing it every single day

Sing the chorus twice each time. The actions are the whole point — a two-year-old who shakes the bells, reaches up for the star and does the belly laugh has understood the week, whether or not a single word comes out.

One verse a day — every verse is just C and G7

The build: each day sing chorus → today's verse → chorus. By Friday they know five verses without ever “learning” the song — and Friday's finale, sung standing round the tree with the presents at its feet, doubles as the review of the whole week.

If you're brand new to ukulele

Practice this loop for five minutes tonight: C (4 strums) → F (4 strums) → C → G7 → C. That is the entire chorus, and the whole song is those three shapes — there is no Am this week at all, so if last week's verses defeated you, this is the one to come back on. C is one finger, F is two, G7 is three; learn them in that order. If your fingers get stuck, put the uke down, give one child the real bell and do the finger-play instead: the class will not notice, and the actions carry the meaning either way.