Christmas Arts & Crafts #2

Apologies for the radio silence.  I have been fighting a cough and it has been winning.  I will try and get more Christmas items posted asap because, well, it is nearly here already!

Christmas Trees 

This isn't a hard one but it is a fun one to make.  Nothing special but it gives the kids something to make for Christmas and to take home.

Either collect Ice Lolly sticks or buy them from a craft shop.  If you are lucky they will have coloured ones.  If not then you will just have to get the kids to paint them before hand.

One stick is needed for the 'trunk' of the tree and at least two more to cut/snap as the branches.  Use glitter, stickers, paints, pens....whatever you want to decorate your tree.  Be creative or just let the kids decide from a bunch of different items.

St Nick Sacks

Here in Austria we celebrate St Nikolaus on the 6th of December.  So this is really for this particular fest.  However you could use the same idea for Santa Claus as well.

If you are having a Christmas event where the kids will get to collect sweets & fruit like a stocking then this is a nice craft idea.

The sacks were ordered from a craft catalogue and the rest is just pieces of paper and felt we had left lying around.  Oh and come cotton wool.

This may also be a nice way to pack up presents for the parents or maybe you can think of something else you can use it for.  They definitely look good hanging up around the room before Christmas.

Paper Stars

This is a very easy one but a nice item to make on one of those rainy/snowy Winter days.  They look nice hanging around the room and you can use up your left overs or splash out for some cool shiny paper if you want.

Draw the star on some coloured paper and let the children cut them out themselves.  Wind some glittery thread or ribbon around the star and add some shiny stones or whatever you have lying around.

These are easy and quick to make.  You can make them as simple or as extravagant as you want.  Use your imagination or better yet, make a sample, show the kids and then let them create their own!  You may be surprised at the ideas they have!

St Nikolaus Songs #2 - Nicholas is Coming Soon!

Nikolaus is really Father Christmas...or Santa if you wish.  However here in Austria he arrives on the 6th of December and on Christmas Eve the Christkind (Christmas Child) brings the presents.
If you have been teaching English to young children in a German speaking country then you have to know the typical Nikolaus songs.  The old favourite is 'Lass Uns Froh und Munter Sein' and it can get quite annoying over the years ;)

I have seen many a translation for this traditional song but never found one that was actually nice enough to sing with the children in English.  Most of the translations were direct word for word copies of the song that made no sense or they were poor attempts to make the song make sense but imho failed.  So last year I set myself the challenge of making a better English version and I think the end product is something I can be proud.

My version is called Nicholas is Coming Soon and is sung to the melody of 'Lass Uns Froh and Munter Sein'.  It misses out a couple of the many verses of the German version but incorporates the general gist of the song.   

Nicholas is Coming Soon is easy to sing and you will find a lot of different guitar chords out there if you need them.  Just pick the ones you like the best.  If you haven't heard the song before then a simple google search of the German version will definitely find a video you can listen to ;)

The lyrics can be found here.  I hope you find a place in your St Nicholas Fest for this one!

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St Nikolaus Songs #1 - Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

Sorry for the radio silence!  I got hit with a cold/cough and with Lantern Fest and everything there wasn't much energy and time left to come and post anything here!

Anyway, the next fest is nearly upon us and here in Austria it is Nikolaus.  Celebrated on the 6th of December it is when the children get their 'stocking' or in this case 'boot' filled with goodies.  I see it as a Christmas warm up ;)

Seeing as Nikolaus isn't an English celebration it is really hard to contribute anything in English.  Over the years I have come to accept this and just offered up some Christmas or Winter songs. 

However I came across the song Jolly Old Saint Nicholas last year.  I am sure it must be a well known song but I had never heard of it before (not that I can remember anyway).  So I decided this song could be useful in Kindergarten but didn't like all of the text.  So I used some of the original lyrics and revised it a bit to suit my needs.

My version of Jolly Old St Nicholas can be sung to the same melody as the original so I haven't added a sound file because I hope it will be easy enough to sing.  I am also sure a google search will help you find the guitar chords or various renditions of the song if you don't know it already.

The lyrics can be found here.  I hope you enjoy singing this one!

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