I simply love to break out the Christmas music. This year I didn’t even wait until after Thanksgiving. Who am I kidding? I rarely wait until after Thanksgiving. 😉 I thought I’d add a little twist this year. We had fun writing stories to Christmas music, like we did a few months ago with classical music.
*Note: This freebie was updated in 2023. The original images for the printable were created in 2013. Find the free printable by clicking on the teal download button towards the BOTTOM of this post.
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Picking Christmas Music
To do this activity, we used only instrumental Christmas music.
My personal favorite resource is The Nutcracker Suite. At the time of this post, my kids have never seen The Nutcracker performed, so they did not already have a preconceived idea of any piece. First, we listened to a few excerpts. I let the kids pick the ones that “moved” them the most.
Storytelling with Music
We brainstormed for each piece what we visualized happening in our heads. While the little ones had fun creating stories and telling them to me, they did not have any interest in drawing or writing them this time. But because my eldest is officially “in school”, this was required writing. 😉
Writing Stories to Christmas Music
The piece that spoke the most to him was Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy. We had fun listening to the piece over and over again, acting out the plot he had created as the music played.
He requested that I create a page with a spot for three pictures, as he wanted to draw what happened first, next and last in his story. As he drew his pictures, he listened to the piece {in repeat mode, mind you}. I’m so thankful it wasn’t the Russian Dance from The Nutcracker!
I requested that he write a good “2nd grade sentence” to go with each picture to create a storyline. Once finished, he listened to the music one more time and read his story along with the music.
I have created a free pack of writing templates, from preschool templates to upper elementary templates that you can download and try with your own kids. Have fun writing stories to Christmas music! {If I was still in the classroom, I would totally use this as a listening center.}
Download the freebie by clicking below:
Merry Christmas!
~Becky
 To see ALL our Christmas Activities & Printables, click HERE or on the image above.
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marykprather says
Becky, this is really a great idea! Yesterday while my son building with his Christmas LEGOS I had on the Classical Christmas Pandora station and I KNOW it helped his writing. This is a wonderful download! Thank you!
thisreadingmama says
Thank you, Mary. We use classical music quite a bit here, too.
Terri Thompson says
This is fabulous! It’s perfect for my daughter who needs some more writing practice. I’ve pinned it & linked to it in my 10 Ways to Play This Weekend post!
thisreadingmama says
Thank you!
Sara Mullett (Let's Play Music) says
This is such a wonderful idea! I love it!
thisreadingmama says
Thank you, Sara! 🙂
Marci says
My daughter loved this! Thank you!!!
thisreadingmama says
I’m so glad to hear.