December Book Companion Bundle

About this resource

Three book companions for preschool special education circle time, one bundle. December's whole month: a Christmas Train week, Snowmen at Christmas, and a Santa and Presents week. Each is a complete 57-page book companion built around one read-aloud you already have or can borrow. Read the same book every day, and pull one simple activity after it each day: sort, count, find the letter, put a life skill in order, then build a craft from the story.

WHAT IS INCLUDED - 3 print-and-go book companion PDFs, 171 pages (57 pages in each file), each used on its own

The Three Book Companions

• Christmas Train Book Companion: pairs with any winter-train story of your choice; sort train thing or not, count the tickets, letter B, get ready for the train ride, build a Christmas train with an engine and cars. Core word: "no."
• Snowmen at Christmas Book Companion (Caralyn Buehner): sort party thing or not, count the snowflakes, letter S, get ready for the snowman party, build a snowman for the party. Core word: "turn."
• Santa and Presents Book Companion: pairs with any Santa-and-presents story of your choice; sort gift or not a gift, count the presents, letter G, get the sleigh ready, build a Santa face with his hat, beard and presents. Core word: "yes."

WHAT EACH BOOK COMPANION CONTAINS (the same 57-page shape in every file)

• A Start Here week plan: what to do after the read-aloud each day, plus what each day also practices
• A book-and-words page with an original circle-time chant written for the unit (no song or story text is reprinted) and 9 circle-time vocabulary words
• 9 smartboard slides for whole-group circle time on a projector or interactive board, plus 9 vocabulary cards to cut out for the carpet
• Day 1 sort, Day 2 count and glue the number, Day 3 letter find-and-glue, and tracing or writing, each at 3 levels (a circle, a square and a triangle instead of a number, so children do not compare)
• Day 4 life-skill sequence: put 4 steps in order, first, next, then, last, with 1 picture that does not belong
• Day 5 craft: color and cut the pieces, then glue them onto the scene
• 2 fine motor pages: a tracing path and cutting strips
• 4 core-word pages: a big word card for the talker or core board, a find-and-circle grid, and a color-and-glue activity
• A "Who Did What This Week" data page (one row per student, a help-level code for each day) and a family letter to send home
• 19 ink-saver pages at the back, outline versions of the picture pages for a photocopier
• Credits page

Cutting Built For Small Hands

Cutting pages carry 5 or more pieces, lined up edge to edge so each cut is one straight line. Pre-cut them yourself for students who are not cutting independently yet.

Who This Is For

Any teacher starting or running a self-contained preschool or early childhood special education classroom, PreK through 2nd grade, who wants December circle time ready to pull and go: one book, one theme, a different simple activity every day.

How The Bundle Works

Each file is downloaded and used on its own, one week at a time, in any order you like. The Start Here page of each file says which December week it suits best: Snowman week 1, Santa and Presents week 2, Christmas Train week 3. Bought as a bundle, the three book companions are 35% off the three separate listings.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

Print-and-go PDFs (not fillable, and not Google Slides or PowerPoint; the smartboard slides are PDF pages you show full screen). Each book companion pairs with a read-aloud you provide; you need your own copy of the book, and nothing from any story is reproduced here. The Christmas Train and Santa and Presents files work with any story of your choice; the Snowmen at Christmas file names its read-aloud. Not affiliated with any author or publisher. This is not a claim about any student's age, diagnosis, or rate of progress.