How to Teach Kindergartners the History of the Christmas Tree
The Christmas tree has special significance in the homes of families, and has been a tradition for centuries. Teaching kindergarten-age kids the meaning and history of the Christmas tree means using language and even pictures that are easy for children to understand. After giving your students brief information on the reasons why we decorate the tree and display it in our homes during the holidays, bring some visual aids into the classroom will help to solidify the lesson's concepts. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Poster boards
- Coloring sheets
- Educational video
- Small Christmas tree
- Ornaments and garland
Instructions
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Explain to your students that people from ancient Europe called Druids, as well as Romans, used branches from evergreen trees to decorate their houses and the buildings in their town for the winter solstice, or the first sign of winter. Later, Christians began using evergreen trees specifically for the celebration of Christmas.
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Show the children pictures of how the Germans used to display the Christmas trees in their home. In the 12th century, people in central Europe hung the trees upside down from the ceiling to showcase the triangular shape of the tree. The triangle shape was a symbol for the Trinity, or Father, Son and Holy Spirit. However, it may be best to expound on this aspect of Christmas tree history only if you're teaching at a Christian school.
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Display a picture of a decorated Christmas tree for your students to see how the Germans adorned the trees in the early 16th century. Explain that the first recorded account of a decorated Christmas tree was in Latvia Germany, in the year 1510. Later, Martin Luther, another important figure in religious history, decorated the tree in his home with candles, to demonstrate the way stars looked in the night sky to his children.
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Ask your students what some of their favorite Christmas tree decorations are. Tell the children that in the early 1900s, people started using items like strings of popcorn and candy canes to make their Christmas trees more attractive. Share with the little ones that the first string of lights on a Christmas tree was showcased in 1879, three years after Thomas Edison organized the first public display of electric lights.
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Hand out Christmas tree coloring sheets with short sentences that reinforce what you've taught, like "Germans used to hang Christmas trees upside down" or "Martin Luther decorated his Christmas tree with candles." This is also a good time to reiterate colors, so instruct the children to color the trees green, or add lights to the tree in shades like yellow or orange.
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Set up a small Christmas tree in your classroom, and bring some of the decorative items you've been teaching your students about to the classroom. Let your children adorn the tree to help them remember the details in the Christmas tree history lesson.
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