Learning about the senses and how to use your sense of smell is a key part of early science skill development. Luckily, we can turn learning about our sense of smell into a fun game for kids! This Christmas Scents Guessing Game is the perfect classroom activity to review the sense of smell, and it’s a great way to kick off the holiday season, along with these other Christmas Theme Activities. Be sure to grab the free printable from this post and try it in your own classroom or at home this holiday season!
FIND EVEN MORE CHRISTMAS THEME ACTIVITIES IN OUR PRINTABLE CHRISTMAS LESSON PLANS.
CHRISTMAS SCENTS GUESSING GAME FOR KIDS
See this printable in action…
Watch this quick video to see the Christmas Scents Guessing Game.
To set up this activity, you’ll need 5 different scented items that represent Christmas and 5 paper bags.
There are so many great options for this, from peppermint or cinnamon to sugar cookie scented candles!
Feel free to experiment and choose your own scents, as long as they fit the season.
Take your paper bags, and number them 1 through 5. Then place an item in each and set them out along with the printable guessing sheets.
When you’re ready to start, have your kids close their eyes and smell inside the bags. Remind them to use the vocabulary “I predict…” as they come up with their own predictions for each bag.
Then, they can record their guesses on the guessing sheets!
As they guess, you can have kids draw their predictions, or if you want to practice their writing skills, they can write them out in the “My Guess” column.
Once they’ve had time to guess each item, take the items out of the bags one by one and smell each one again. Be sure to label the items, or make sure you tell them what the actual scent is!
Finish up this fun Christmas activity by having your kids fill in the “Actual” column on their guessing sheets.
This activity is so easy to set up, and so much fun for the kids! They’ll love smelling the bags over and over to figure out what each familiar scent is. If you chose any unusual or obscure scents, you can lay out one of each of the scented items, and turn this into a matching game!
GET THE FREE PRINTABLE CHRISTMAS SCENTS GAME
As you can see this is a fun and engaging game to help kids test their sense of smell as they enjoy the scents of the holiday season. Complete the form below to get your set.
GET A FULL SET OF CHRISTMAS THEME PRESCHOOL ACTIVITIES
Explore the symbols and traditions of Christmas and incorporate reading, math, science and more in this 169-page preschool secular Christmas lesson plan set full of fun and playful Christmas learning activities for preschool. Watch this short video to see just a few examples of the types of activities and printables included in this set:
The 169-page Christmas Lesson Plan Set includes hands-on activities and these additional printables:
1) Beginning Letters Gift Sorting Game (in color and b/w)
2) Reindeer Math Mats (2 versions in color and b/w)
3) My Christmas Senses Activity Book Making Pieces
4) 0-35 Christmas Number Cards (2 versions in color and b/w)
5) Christmas Counting Syllables Sorting Game (in color and b/w)
6) Christmas Picture-Word Cards (in color and b/w)
7) Ornament Play Dough Mats
8) Candy Cane Play Dough Writing Task Cards (shapes, uppercase letters, lowercase letters, number 0-20)
9) Christmas Light Patterns Activity Pieces (in color and b/w)
Also available on Teachers Pay Teachers.
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S. Fernandes
A lot of my Christmas memories are linked with particular smells. I can’t wait to try this activity with my kiddos. Such a fun, creative and do-able idea. Thanks for sharing!