25 Days before Christmas by Tellus Mind

25 days (Mindful Activities)

before

Christmas

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Tuesday

December Day:

Be thankful! 1 Copyright Tellus Mind - Tellusmind.com

Activity

Christmas Tree

There is no symbol more representative of Christmas than

the twinkling lights, green branches and lovingly-decorated

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Christmas tree.

If you haven't

decorated your

Christmas tree yet,

then put christmas'

2 Copyright Tellus Mind - Tellusmind.com

songs and enjoy the process

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Write thank notes for all the members of your family. On each note you will express your gratitude for something specific that every member of your family has done and/or does everyday for you. After you have written a thank note for each member of your family, you put it in a small envelope, you write on the envelope the name of the recipient and you hang it on the Christmas tree. On Christmas day you ask them to open the envelope and read it.

Christmas Tree - Activity

Now you will find some colour notes here below. Use them to complete your thank notes.

Example:

THANK YOU FOR THE LOVELY DISHES YOU PREPARED FOR ALL THE FAMILY!

December Day:

Wednesday

Be Considerate! 4

The Letter to Santa

Before you write the letter to Santa, do this:

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Walk Mindfully for 5 minutes. That means synchronize/coordinate your breathing with your steps.

Activity

When you breath in make two steps and say "yes" "yes" and when you breathe out say "thank you" "thank you".

s life ye es to y k n y a a h y "t you s ou sa rth to yes, y g n in e y h a By sa and w s" to the e k earth n e a h h t t " to ay you s life. you"

Keep in mind that as human beings we have done a lot of damage to the earth and with this activity we can at least apologise to the earth for what we have done to her. And at the same time be grateful for what the earth offers us.

Include in your letter to Santa a prayer for making all people more aware of their responsibility towards the earth so that they will stop destroying life on our planet.

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Dear Santa

Kind regards

December day:

Thursday

Be thoughtful! 7

hristmas cards

Activity

People have been sending Christmas greetings to each other for hundreds of years. The first recorded use of 'Merry Christmas' was in a Christmas letter sent in 1534.

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? w o n k u o y Did

The first known item that looked like a Christmas card was given to King James I of England (who was also King James VI of Scotland) in 1611. This was more like a large ornamental manuscript rather than a card as we think of them today. It was 84cm x 60cm and was folded into panels (it might have been folded so it could be carried around). It had a picture of a rose in the centre and a Christmas and New Year message to the King and his son was written into and around the rose.

On the next 2 pages you will find small Christmas Cards,. Cut them out fold them in the middle and write beautiful wishes to your loved ones

Merry Christmas with lots of love. The best present one can hope for this year is to spend time together. I can’t wait to celebrate the holidays with you. Have yourself a Merry little Christmas, Let your heart be light. It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Let us celebrate by spreading goodwill and Christmas cheer! May the spirit of Christmas be with you throughout the New Year. May the sights and sounds of Christmas work their merry magic in your heart. 8

.sdraC samtsirhC ruoY ngiS oT tegroF t’noD

Ideas for your Christmas Cards Messages

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A CARD

just for you

I wish you

friday December day:

Be an artist! 11

Activity

Finger-painted Christmas cards Fold a white sheet of paper in the middle (or a card) in half. Use a pencil to draw a picture. When you are ready put a few different colours of paint on a paper plate or paint palette. Feel free to switch around the colours and the drawings however you like. Dip your finger into the paint and dab off the excess paint on a spare sheet of paper before printing on the white paper with your fingers.

You only need a few simple materials that you are likely to have at home. .

Create your drawing with your fingers.

You will need: • White paper or Coloured card • Paints • Pencil (to create the draft of your drawing)

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Set aside to dry.

water soluble paints in a mixture of colours

Choose your coloured card or paper

Don't just play around with the paint

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Try to make actual drawing like the examples on this page:

Merry Christmas!

Saturday December Day:

Be compassionate! 14

Ingredients:

Make Cookies An easy chocolate chip cookie recipe for soft biscuits with a squidgy middle that will impress family and friends. Make plenty as they're sure to be a hit.

150g salted butter, softened 80g light brown muscovado sugar 80g granulated sugar 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 large egg 225g plain flour ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda ¼ tsp salt 200g plain chocolate chips or chunks

STEP 2 STEP 1

Put 150g softened salted butter, 80g light brown muscovado sugar and 80g granulated sugar into a bowl and beat until creamy.

Heat the oven to 190C and line two baking sheets with non-stick baking paper.

190C

STEP 3

Beat in 2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 large egg.

STEP 4

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Sift 225g plain flour, ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda and ¼ tsp salt into the bowl and mix it in with a wooden spoon.

STEP 5 Add 200g plain chocolate chips or chunks and stir well.

STEP 6 Use a teaspoon to make small scoops of the mixture, spacing them well apart on the baking trays. This mixture should make about 30 cookies.

STEP 8

Leave on the tray for a couple of mins to set and then lift onto a cooling rack.

STEP 7 Bake for 8–10 mins until they are light brown on the edges and still slightly soft in the centre if you press them.

8-10 mins

Cookies to the Doctors and Nurses This is a task that you will need your parents' help, so ask them first when it will be convenient for them to help you

Can you do something similar to people who are there to serve the common good?

Tick the box next to the step you have completed

Pack them nicely in a nice paper bag.

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Once you get your cookies out of the oven, let them cool down.

Go to the Hospital of your area.

If you cannot go in the hospital due to Covid 19, you can give the cookies to the guard outside the hospital. Notice how the guard reacts on this act of kindness you do.

Try to focus on his face and his smile and his words.

Write down his words and remember that these words are words of gratitude.

Discuss with your parents or your friends about the reactions of the guard at the Hospital.

Sunday

December Day:

Be a Writer! 17

Write a story about Christmas Choose 5 squares at

Use the words written on the five squares you have chosenÂ in order to write a story.

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t irs nf o a uc ag e Yo ave g th d. h atin rien f rr na to a y r sto

random from the 25 squares below:

snowman

reindeer

firewood

party

spirit

ornaments star

North Pole snowflake

bells

winter

gift

tree

card

candle

Angels

chocolate

Christmas Carol candy

Santa

charity

ceremony

Rudolph elf

Christmas Eve

Nothing is impossible!

Monday December Day:

Be Patient! 18

Sprouting Seed -Activity

Activity

Lay a damp paper towel on the bottom of your container and gently â&#x20AC;&#x153;plantâ&#x20AC;? your seeds. You can plant a variety of seeds in each container but write the name of each seed on a little paper so you can refer to later.

Red ls lenti

greenhouses, you can make predictions (with your family and friends) on which seed would be the first to sprout.

You have to keep the paper towel wet every day so the sprouts could grow.

everything is 3 Once planted in your

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You can create simple mini greenhouses with recycled tray tins and damp paper towels. Make sure the towels are wet.

lentils

s Bean

k Chic peas

kBlac eye s Bean

majo s bean

A few days later, the trays will explode with sprouted seeds and plants. You can record below the growth and changes you will observe on the seeds during the following five days. Keep in mind to write how quickly each seed grows and what type of roots and leaves it develops.

Day 3

Day 1

Day 5

Day 4

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Day 2

Red ls lenti

lentils

eans

k Chic peas

kBlac eye s Bean

majo s bean

Tuesday

December Day:

Be Careful! 21

Plant the sprouts

Activity

Carefully get the sprouts from your mini "greenhouses" and place them in a small hole in the soil. Cover the sprouts with soil but make sure that the shoot is outside the soil so that the plant will grow properly. Water them gently.

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If you fail to produce healthy sprouts you can either buy a packet of seeds ready to grow or you can soak new seeds in water for 12 hours and then you put them in the soil to grow. Keep in mind that they will take longer to grow.

Keep an eye on your plants, weed them regularly and water them every few days. Soon enough, you may have several beans and lentils.

Wednesday

December Day:

Be artistic! 23

Activity

Flower photoshoot

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“A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love.” – Unknown

You can spend the whole day looking for flowers to photograph. Once you find the flowers you would like to take pictures of, take your time and find the right angle to photograph them.

“If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden.” – Claudia Adrienne Grandi

“Minds are like flowers; they open only when the time is right.” – Stephen Richards

“Love is flower like; Friendship is like a sheltering tree.” – Unkonwn

“Flowers… are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty out values all the utilities in the world.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Love is like a beautiful flower which I may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same.” – Helen Keller

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change.” – Buddha

“A rose can never be a sunflower, and a sunflower can never be a rose. All flowers are beautiful in their own way, and that’s like women too.” – Miranda Kerr

“Flowers are like friends; They bring color to your world.” – Unknown

“Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow.” – John Lennon

“Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower.” – John Harrigan

“Life is the flower for which love is the honey.” – Victor Hugo

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When you finish taking pictures of the flowers you found, you can create an album or even post them to your parents' social media accounts. Don't forget to accompany each photograph with a quote about flowers you will find on these two pages.

“Politeness is the flower of humanity.” – Joseph Joubert

“Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.” – Gerard De Nerval

Thursday

December Day:

Be content with little! 26

Activity

hristmas Wishlist

Before writing out your list, write down everything that you want.

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Think of what you need. Do you need some more T-shirts? If so, put them on your list. Or are you short on headbands and hair accessories? Put them on the list.

Have a good look at your initial list and get rid of things that you don't really need. Yes, this is the hardest part. Narrowing down the list. Try to shoot for around 1020 items. For example, you have on your list a new pair of fancy headphones, but your old pair is just fine, that's something to cross off the list, because you don't really need or want it.

Before you finalise your list and give it to your parents, have a look on the following page. Read the story of Salim and then come back to write down what you really need! When you finish reading the story you can cross off the list things that you do not really need!

Salimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Story: Fighting to Survive the Winter in a Refugee Camp In the midst of a bitter winter, Salim, aged 7, tries to stay warm at a refugee camp near the Syrian border. With temperatures nearing subzero, Salim will face this brutal winter in a snow-covered tent without a blanket or a quilt to keep him warm during the night. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) provides life-saving humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees, helping the most vulnerable with cash for medicine and food, stoves and fuel for heating, insulation for tents, thermal blankets and winter clothing. They have also established temporary learning centers where children can continue their education in safe and quality learning centers.

The cold days are long, but the nights are always longer for Salim. When the sun goes down, the temperature drops, and he can feel the freezing air against his cheeks. He is one of many children, He is one of many children shivering with cold and fighting to survive the winter in a refugee camp, and as the conditions turn treacherous, he is in desperate need of warm clothes, blankets and food.

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Children are the most vulnerable in refugee camps. They have been taken away from their homes, schools, friends and families, and have been forced to start new lives in strange environments. Salim's Christmas wishing list has two things on it: hot food and a warm blanket.

If you would like to help you can ask your parents to visit this website: https://donate.unhcr.org/

Friday

December Day:

Be Generous! 29

Activity

Give Away - Challenge

We all have things that we don't need in our wardrobes. From board games to clothes and shoes you definitely have some things which are similar, some clothes you rarely wear or have not worn for years. Well, don't you think that it is time to start giving and practise sharing.

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Give Away

Let's share what we have!

How many things can you give away? Help the people who need your help and complete successfully the activity! Every item on the list below gets a certain number of points. Try to give as much as you can in order to achieve the highest possible score.

Board game: 14 points T-shirt: 10 points Shoes:Â 11 points Video game: 25 points Book: 12 points Toys: 10Â points each Trousers: 10 points Hat: 8 points

You have one week to complete the challenge! You can also invite a friend to complete the challenge with you.

Your Score:

30 Copyright Tellus Mind - Tellusmind.com

/100

Saturday

December day:

Be Friendly! 31

Activity

Flowers Activity

Mistletoe

Poinsettia

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Go outside, look for winter flowers and collect as many as you can. Create a bouquet for a loved one.

If it is difficult to find winter flowers, you can give your time and talent to colour the mistletoe on the next page and then you can give it away to your beloved person.

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Sunday

December Day:

Be attentive! 34

Activity

Feed stray dogs and cats Strays are left to scavenge for anything they can get their paws on; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a struggle for survival and they often resort to subsisting on scraps, fighting each other for a share. When we as dog lovers come together and extend a feeding hand to our furry friends, we can help improve the quality of their lives and eventually reduce the problem of strays turning aggressive in the search for food.

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ATENTION: For this activity you will need your parents help!

IMPORTANT: Just feeding stray dogs and cats once is not right. You must also ensure that the stray dog(s) whom you feed will not starve to death.

Auto-Refill Bottle Device

Make two holes on the first bottle as shown on the picture:

Get two plastic bottles

Then fill the second bottle up to three quarters with cat food and place it in one of the holes of the first bottle.

In this way the vertical bottle will pour more cat food into the horizontal bottle once the food has been eaten by the stray!

HERE are two ways that can make your mission easier

Water-Pipe eating Device

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This is a very difficult device to construct, so you have to ask someone that knows how to cut and connect plastic water-pipes in order to create a similar device.

We suggest to ask your father or a neighbour that have the tools the time and the knowledge to do it.

Monday

December Day:

Be inventive! 37

Christmas Vouchers

Activity

There’s no reason why you have to buy gifts for your loved ones at Christmas. Yes, they expect it, but if you explain why you’re deciding not to buy gifts this year, chances are that they’ll understand. So... what about giving experiences rather than physical presents.

For:

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You can create your own vouchers for things you believe are important to others. It could be literally anything, from offering a neck-massage to treating your grandma to a pampering session at home. You can also wash your dad's car, help your brother or sister with their homework or help your mom clean the carpet with the vacuum cleaner.

A Massage

From: To:

You deserve it!

Message:

For:

From:

To:

Message:

For:

From:

To:

Message:

Tuesday

December Day:

Be Eco-friendly! 39

Activity

Eco-friendly gift wrap Reduce your Christmas wrapping!

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Instead of buying expensive wrapping paper for your gifts you can use plain brown paper and ribbon that are biodegradable and extra eco friendly.

Write names directly on the paper using a brush calligraphy pen and finish with a small piece of ribbon. You can even glue on some crafty pom poms.

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George

aM ne le H

Wednesday

December Day:

Be Expressive! 41

Activity

Write down your thoughts

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Write something down everyday for the next 10 days, preferably in the evening. You can write your thoughts about an issue or your feelings about a matter that concerns you. Be consistent and try to write something down every day at the same time. You never know what you might end up writing if you just free your writing potential.

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Thursday

December Day:

Be brave! 44

Taste something new

Activity

What food you haven't tasted yet... 1.Take the surprise out of new foods.

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No one wants to try a food completely blind, without any reliable cues as to what it will taste like. So ask questions before you taste the new food: Is this crunchy? Does it taste like chicken? Is this squishy like apple sauce? Is this fruit? You can even search the origin of this food... is it Asian food?

2. One step at a time

You don't have to eat every single bit of that new food you are about to taste. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of pressure. Celebrate a single, solitary taste. Don't jump to conclusions if you like it or not, taste and give it time... if you want more after a while then go for it

3. Implement the "Mixing Rule" using foods you already enjoy.

The "Mixing Rule" is straightforward: Eat your food together with the new food you are trying to learn eating. By mixing up the foods you already eat you can learn more easily eating new foods.

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Eating a variety of colorful foods with every meal is vital for boosting maximum nutrition. It's a simple rule to apply to your diet: the more colorful the food on your plate, the more nutrients.

Don't be picky, the food out there needs to be tasted!

If you still can't eat or even taste a new food , write down the reasons why you cannot eat the specific food:

Friday December Day:

Be observant! 47

God is in the Detail

Activity

Observe things that you haven't observed before!

A beautiful way to understand how the world works is by observing insects and bugs.

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Spend some time to find an insect inside your house or outside (in the garden) and observe it as much as you can. Take your time and see how it moves, how it flies how it behaves. Insects are also part of our world, don't forget that.

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something magnetic about being in the open air (especially during Spring) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; so many different sights, sounds and scents, and so much to learn from watching nature do its work! Learn early the Joy of observing your environment with interest, curiosity and love.

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Look for ants, lady -birds, butterflies, or any bugs you can find and after watching them carefully write down what has impressed you about the way these insects move, fly, eat or even sleep.

If you can not find any insects due to heavy winter then you can observe the birds.

On the next page you will find an ant and a bird that you can colour:

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Saturday December Day:

Be responsible! 52

Clean Your Neighbourhood

Activity

Now that you have learnt to observe the details in your house go outside and have a good look at your neighbourhood; not to find insects and bugs this time but to see how you can make your neighbourhood a more attractive place to live in and start by cleaning it...

GET PERMISSION

Share your plan with your family. They may have ideas for how you can go about organizing your efforts or getting the word out about your event.

Tell your idea to your friends. Get them excited about the cleaning project and together complete the following steps:

ASK FOR DONATIONS

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Go to nearby businesses and ask if they can donate to your cause. The hardware store may offer garbage bags, gloves, or tools; your local bakery may donate bagels and other snacks for the morning of the event. Your community waste-management organization may also offer supplies and other types of support.

4 3

PICK A SPECIFIC LOCATION

Is there a local road thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s covered in rubbish? Or a nearby beach just swimming in litter? Select a spot that really needs some extra attention.

SHARE YOUR WORK

On cleanup day, be sure to take plenty of pictures (or have a friend snap some) to post online or include in an upcoming community newsletter. (Pssst: Your school or teacher would probably love to see some pics too!)

Make sure to WEAR GLOVES while you pick up to avoid contact with any hazardous material

SHOW APPRECIATION

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When the last piece of trash is all picked up? Give a giant thanks to your cleaning crew. You can also recap by detailing your achievements like how many bags of trash you hauled away and the number of volunteers you had. Then start planning your next cleanup event!

If possible get creative with painting and decorate neighborhood benches and planters to make it a more inviting neighborhood

Once you finish cleaning your neighborhood, come back and write your experience on every step of the process

Give feedback on: GET PERMISSION

ASK FOR DONATIONS

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Did your family support your event. Did they add up any idea that made the cleaning event more effective?

Did you go to the nearby business and asked for donations? What did they offer? Did anyone else offer any type of material help?

What area did you clean up? Why did you choose this certain spot? How dirty was it?

SHARE YOUR WORK

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PICK A SPECIFIC LOCATION

SHOW APPRECIATION

Did you create a collection of pictures of the event? Did you upload them or use them or a newsletter you made for your neighbourhood?

Write down the people that helped you. Write also down what you have achieved together. Finally write down your idea for the next cleaning project.

Sunday December Day:

Be Helpful! 57

December Day:

Help Santa

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Today's Task is to create an imaginary creature that will be Santa's assistant. You have to draw or describe a Christmas character with special skills that would enable him/her to help Santa to carry out his Christmas mission of delivering presents.

"Imagination is intelligence having fun" a great scientist once said. So let your imagination free and have fun creating the most original and skillful assistant for Santa Claus.

Write the features of the character that you want to create:

You can also write about:

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The character's appearance The character's background/past How the character speaks How the character moves The character's personality

You can also colour him/her::

Don't forget to name him/her!

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or draw your own unique Character to help Santa