The December struggle is real for teachers. What do we do with our kiddos in December when all they can think of is Christmas, parades, presents, and holiday break? Not to mention all the things that you are trying to juggle – your own holiday plans, children, and a classroom party too! #yikes Keeping them engaged and learning during this season is hard, but these 16 quick Christmas math activities will help them and you!
At this point, most 3rd graders have begun learning about and practicing 2- & 3-digit addition and subtraction with regrouping, place value, rounding to the nearest 10 and 100, multiplication, division and possibly fractions. Foundational skills like addition and subtraction with re-grouping and place value, build upon prior math instruction in 2nd grade. Some like multiplication and division are very new.
Addition and Subtraction Christmas Activities
I have noticed that my students continue to struggle with addition and subtraction with re-grouping well into 3rd grade. That’s why I like to spiral this practice throughout the school year. The four worksheets included in this resource will help them first with procedural practice, then application through word problems.
Place Value and Rounding
Place value is an ongoing math skill that can and should be reinforced with students often. Rounding to the nearest 10 and 100 is a new skill based on place value knowledge. I like to use number lines to give a visual “picture” of where the number falls between the benchmarks. These four worksheets give students valuable practice and also include word problems. If your students need more practice with place value, this blog post has several great ideas and tips!
Multiplication and Division
These two new skills need time and practice in all aspects of rigor (procedural, conceptual, and application) in order for 3rd graders to full understand these important concepts. From basic multiplication facts to fact families to word problems, there are lots of ways your kiddos can practice. The division worksheet focuses on how many groups and how many in each group which is the starting point for division mastery. 
Fractions
Kids love the fraction tree in this resource! They will determine how many ornaments make up 1/4 of the total and color those red. Next, your students will determine how many presents represent 1/3 of the total. The best part is that they get to color all of it! Definitely need to include some holiday coloring to keep them engaged and happy this time of year!
Christmas Math Activities has so many ways for your students to practice all of these important math concepts plus each one has word problems. I love having math activity worksheets printed and ready throughout the month of December. That way I can enjoy all the crazy and not worry if my students are still learning.
What to do if you don’t have the paper or ink to print class sets of 16 Quick Christmas Math Activities?
This resource is chock full of engaging and rigorous math practice for your students, but sometimes teachers have to conserve paper and/or ink. So, here are a few ideas to help you with that:
1. Cut the word problems apart, glue on chart paper, hang in different spots around your classroom and have your students complete each problem with a partner or groups. Kids love this activity!
2. Pair your students up and let them work together on a worksheet. Verbalizing their math thinking helps both students learn the concepts.
3. Make 5-6 copies of a worksheet, slip it inside a plastic sleeve and put in a center. Students can clean the plastic sleeve after they do the activity.
This 16 worksheet set of Christmas math activities can save you so much time planning your math practice in December! If you would like a closer look at all the worksheets, this preview is really helpful!
What are some ways you save time planning for math instruction in December? I would love to hear your ideas!
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