FREE Christmas Countdown Chain in Spanish

Do you have students that start to go crazy when the first of December hits?  You know, that child that makes you dread calendar time because they’re going to ask you a hundred times “How many days until Christmas?”  hehe

Don’t worry, we are going to fix that today with our super simple Christmas countdown chain!

Christmas Countdown Chain Supplies:

• Star printable (download at the bottom of this post)
• 12 strips of red paper (1 inch wide)
• 12 strips of green paper (1 inch wide)
• Glue
• Scissors
• Stapler (optional way to attach the chain)

How to Make a Simple Christmas Countdown Chain:

1.  Get all the supplies ready.

Print off the star page for each student.  A color version is provided, but if you’re on a budget, just print off the black and white version on yellow construction paper.

Cut all the paper strips.  I think 1 inch is the perfect width, but it doesn’t have to be exact.  I just put a piece of paper on our paper cutter and start chopping. hehe  A letter size will give you 11 strips, construction paper will give you 12 strips.

2.  Call in the children!

Before beginning, we review patterns.  For this project, I like to stick to the simple AB pattern (Red-green-red-green…)  This makes it easy for them to look ahead and estimate how many days until their chain is complete.

Lay a red strip on the table for everyone to see.  Say “If our pattern is red-green, what comes next?” They will hopefully say “GREEN!”  Continue this way until you know everyone has the hang of it.

3. Show them how to make the chain.

Put the glue ONLY ON THE TIP of the paper strip.  Wrap it into a circle, squeeze the ends together, and count to 10.  (Sneaking in lots of counting practice with this activity. hehe)

Thread the green strip through the red circle, repeating the steps above. (Glue on the tip, make a circle, squeeze and count to 10.)

4. Pass out the materials and let them make their chain.

If you are starting on December 1, you’ll need 12 of each color, or a chain of 24 to make it until Christmas.  This would mean on the night of December 24th, they take off their last loop, leaving just the star.

5. Attach the star.

Once they have their paper chain with 24 loops, it is time to finish it off with the star.  Have the children cut out the star page.  Then you can either staple or glue the end of a link to the chain.

The best thing about this project is…you don’t have to start December 1!  If you found this with only 7 days left until Christmas, just make it with seven loops.  Easy peasy.  😉

If you are only interested in using the English version, you can download the English only version here.  Looking for Spanish?  Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.  Enter your info below and I’ll email them to you right away. 

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