Many classrooms in Catholic/Christian celebrate the season of Advent in anticipation of the birth of Christ. I always have an Advent wreath on display in my own room and I incorporate it into my daily prayer. Over the years I have used several different kinds of Advent wreaths, but I love my current one.
The wreath itself is a simple evergreen wreath that was already in my classroom closet when I moved in. It’s the candles that make it truly special. Since open flames are never a good idea in a kindergarten classroom, I use battery-operated votive candles. You can purchase a 12-pack on Amazon. To make the simple white candles appropriate for Advent, I adorn them with lavender and pink ribbons.
Every morning in the classroom begins with prayer. During Advent, a student comes up to “light” the candles. We turn the lights off for this seasonal ritual and sing the song Candle, Candle after the lighting. It’s always a tender moment in the classroom.
Of course, the goal of any Catholic or Christian teacher is to help students be mindful of their faith in all parts of the day. Integrating religion across all subject areas is something I am always mindful of and strive to achieve. My newest Interactive Sight Word Reader Advent is for Waiting helps carry the lessons of Advent into reading and language arts.
In this simple emergent reader, students cut out, unscramble, and glue letters to spell “for” and complete the sentence on each page. The best part? Like all of my Religion resources, you can download Advent is for Waiting for FREE from Teachers Pay Teachers.
Blessings to you this Advent season!
Find More Christmas Fun
If you are looking for more great Christmas-themed posts, click on any of the posts below. They are filled with fun decoration projects and great Christmas gift ideas for those who matter most in your life.
Once again, thank you Maria. My class (and I) have really enjoyed your interactive readers. We used the St. Nicholas one today and it tied in nicely with the St. Nick that we shared this morning. Your advent wreath made me think of our classroom tradition of daily crowning Mary in May. Those moments are truly special. Thank you!
You are always very welcome. I LOVE the idea of a daily Mary crowning in May! Just might have to try that one myself…
God bless you for your Catholic resources!! I teach K at a Catholic school and love to read about all of you amazingly creative K teachers. That you have Catholic resources is just the icing on the cake.
Thank you! Michelle
Michelle, you are too sweet! I’m so happy to be a resource to other Catholic educators. Have a wonderful day!
THANK YOU!!! Smiles and blessings!
You are very welcome!
Where can I find the song “Candle, Candle”? I love that idea! We are doing an ABC’s of advent book right now. I love all of your ideas and freebies!! Thank you!
Our religion textbook has a music CD that accompanies it. Candle, Candle can be found on the CD.https://www.comcenter.com/product/SADL-54302/We-Believe-Kindergarten-Music-CD/
I use the CD all the time in my classroom.
I love the ribbons on your advent wreath…so cute. Thank you for the free book. I purchased several of you books and I love them.
Sue
theverybusykindergarten
Thanks Sue- I love the ribbons too! You are very welcome for the book. I know how tight money can be for Catholic educators and I’m glad to be a resource for you.
Your sight word books are awesome. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you Niki! I love making them too!
These resources are wonderful, thank you so much ! I just found your blog and it is lovely, seeing the Catholic element makes it very unique and special. Love your Advent wreath !
You are very welcome. I’m happy that you found the blog and are finding resources and ideas that meet your needs!
Love the advent wreath! What a great idea….the ribbons make it! I can stop looking for pink & purple battery candles. You are soooo clever & smart! Thanks for sharing!
You’ll have to let me know when you finally find pink or purple candles! I’d be interested as well (although I do have a weakness for anything involving ribbons…)
It is so wonderful to find a teacher who teaches in a Catholic School and provides others with such quality work! Thank you for all you do for your fellow teachers! What a gift from God you are!
What a sweet thing to say! Thank you Debbie – you melted my heart.
My kinder class made the Advent books on Friday. They did a great job cutting the letters and making the word “for” on each page. I also love the integration of the color words for Advent! Thanks so much!