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Advent Window Decorations and Freebies!

Today is the First Sunday of Advent and the countdown to Christmas has officially begun! This week my kinders created “stained glass” window decorations with tissue paper and contact paper in preparation for Christmas.

This is a simple and quick project that adds instant “pop” to my classroom decor and is a great visual reminder of our Catholic heritage.
Stained-Glass-Advent-Decoration

The only supplies required are black construction paper, pink and purple tissue paper, clear contact paper, scissors, and a white crayon.

Project Preparation

In preparation for the project, I had volunteers pre-cut the following materials:

  • tissue paper into squares that were (roughly) 1″ in size. We used seasonal Advent colors of pink and light purple, and dark purple
  • strips of construction paper that were .5×12″ (one per student)
  • black frames that resemble a window from sheets of 4.5×6″ construction paper (1 per student)
  • 9×12″ sheets of clear contact paper (2 per student)

Creating the “Stained Glass Windows”

When we were ready to begin, 1 sheet of construction paper was placed on each child’s desk, sticky side up. I then placed a black frame in the center of each sheet of sticky paper (while children can do the rest of the assembling themselves, you will want an adult to do these 2 things, trust me).

Each student was then given a strip of .5×12″ black construction paper to construct a star. The children had to create their star by cutting the strip into 4 pieces: 1 long piece and 3 short pieces. To create a star, children first created a “t” shape in the center of the frame, then placed an “x” on top with construction paper.

Stained-Glass-step-1
Once the star was complete, students filled the frame with pieces of tissue paper.

stained-glass-tissue-papers
We used white crayon to record student names on each child’s frame.
(Note: the side children have been working is actually the “back” of the window).

name-with-crayon-stained-glass
Once the frame was completely filled and names were recorded, a second piece of contact paper was added to the top of the project to hold all paper pieces in place. Each child then trimmed the excess contact paper from the edges of their projects.

cuttin-out-stained-glass

The Finished Product

The Advent-themed “windows” look stunning in our classroom!

Finished-Advent-Stained-Glass-window-decorations

Managing it all

Wondering how I manage this project in my classroom? We did this activity whole-group. Clear contact paper and black frames were laid out while children had inside play time. Each table group shared baskets filled with tissue paper. A parent volunteer was also in the classroom to provide help and support! You can see my little angels hard at work.

class-at-work-on-stained-glass

Christmas Freebies

You can integrate the story of the first Christmas into your Language Arts lessons with this Nativity-Themed Interactive Sight Word Reader. It’s free to download on Teachers Pay Teachers. I always appreciate any feedback you leave after downloading.

who is with baby Jesus sight word reader

After reading about the first Christmas, practice color words with my Color by Number Nativity page. This 8.5×11″ paper cuts in half to create 2 smaller coloring pages and allows you to conserve paper in your classroom. Visit my store on Teachers Pay Teachers to download this cute coloring page.

nativity color by number

Have a blessed Advent season!

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Maria Gavin

Maria is a former kindergarten and first grade teacher, with 13 years of teaching experience. Her love and passion for all things early childhood is now fulfilled as a mom to two amazing kids. She loves sharing practical and creative tips and ideas that are perfect for young learners – in the classroom or at home!

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13 Responses

  1. Thank you for the freebie! I work at a Christian school and we are not allowed to do Santa activities, but focus on Jesus. This freebie is perfect!

  2. As a teacher in a private Christian school that focuses on the real meaning of Christmas and can not use Santa (wow, run on sentence here or what?!?) I REALLY appreciate the Christain crafts, sheets, etc. that you post! Thank you so much!

  3. Wow! Love the stained glass window project. My Catholic Kindergarten class is really into pink & purple for Advent right now! This will look beautiful on our windows. Keep up the great work. There is such a need for fresh Christian early childhood ideas such as these. God is certainly blessing us with you! You are definitely my new “go to” lady! I”m trying to catch up with you on pinterest, fb, tpt, etc! I don’t want to miss a thing!! So glad you have a follow by email link! hugs, dear Maria!

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Hi, I'm Maria.

I’m a former kindergarten teacher turned work-from-home mom. I still love sharing ideas and resources to make teaching easier, so you can focus on what really matters in the classroom. When I’m not working on the blog, you’ll find me chasing kids around the house with a cold cup of coffee in my hand (some things never change even once you’re out of the classroom!)

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