Christmas is full of amazing sights, sounds and scents.
One of the best ways that we remember things is through the sense of smell.
A brilliant friend of mine created an interactive Scents of Christmas centre in her classroom last year and shared her trade secrets with me this year.
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Fillable Christmas tree ornaments are the perfect containers for holding some of the Scents of Christmas. I bought a set of 30 at Michaels, and I have seen them in dollar stores.
We put in whole nutmeg, chunks of ginger, Christmas orange peels, broken up cinnamon sticks, fresh rosemary, pine needles , candy cane pieces and a cotton ball with almond essence.
The kids looked, sniffed, and generally pronounced what they liked to smell and what they did not think smelled very good. Ginger was not a favourite!
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Science is all about investigating and learning with the senses. I put out some of the Scents of Christmas for the kids to look at, up close, to touch and feel, and grind with a mortar and pestle.
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The kids liked creating their own personal Christmas Scent combinations.
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The mortar and pestle were a hit. I was lucky and found mine in a thrift shop. I have also seen them in Fair Trade and kitchen shops.
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The kids love pounding and grinding. And it did smell nice and Christmas-y.
That's a super idea. Your classroom must have smelled amazing!
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