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.
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!
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.
The kids liked creating their own personal Christmas Scent combinations.
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.
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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