Advent Calendar Classroom Ideas: A Daily Task-Card Routine for Preschool and Kindergarten

Teaching a nursery, preschool or kindergarten group this December? An Advent calendar is a lovely way to count down to the holidays together – but with 25 children, a box of chocolates and one door a day quickly becomes a queue of disappointed faces. These Advent calendar classroom ideas are built around one small, screen-free task card a day that the whole group does together, in about five minutes, with ideas for preschoolers and for kindergarten.

Advent calendar classroom ideas: why task cards work

• Everyone gets the surprise. One child opens the card, but the whole group does the task, so nobody misses out.
• No sweets, no allergies. A riddle, a song or a kind deed is safe for every child and every family’s rules.
• It fits the timetable. Most tasks take a few minutes, which is exactly the length of a morning circle.
• It builds a routine. Young children love knowing that “after register, we open the card”.

Our printable calendar has 24 task cards – crafts, riddles, songs, kind deeds and little family moments – plus a page to colour off each day, four Advent wreath pages and six blank cards for your own ideas.

A five-minute circle-time routine

1. Choose the opener. Use a name list, lollipop sticks or a “helper of the day” chart so every child gets a turn over the month.
2. Open and read. The helper opens the envelope or bag; you read the task aloud. Older children can try to read it first.
3. Do it together. Sing, solve, count or draw as a group.
4. Colour the day. The helper colours that day on a large 24-day chart on the wall.
5. Look ahead. Count together how many days are left – easy maths practice in disguise.

Advent ideas for preschoolers (ages 3–4)

• Keep it physical. Tasks such as “Dance to your favourite song” or “Find 5 red things” (change “in your home” to “in our room”) are perfect for this age.
• Use pictures. Stick a small picture on each envelope so children who can’t read numbers yet still recognise “today’s” card.
• Do crafts in small groups. For the paper snowflake or paper chain, prepare cut strips or folded paper in advance and work with four or five children at a time.
• Repeat the riddles. Preschoolers love hearing a riddle twice and shouting the answer.
• Advent crafts for preschoolers. Let each child decorate one numbered bag or envelope in the first week; together they become your class calendar.

Advent ideas for kindergarten (ages 5–6)

• Let children read. The helper reads the number and tries the first word of the task.
• Turn tasks into lessons. “Count the windows” becomes a tally chart; “Draw a snowman and give it a name” becomes a mini writing task.
• Kind deeds as a class. “Give someone a big hug and say thank you” can become thank-you drawings for the school cook or caretaker.
• Swap home tasks. “Help to set the table for dinner” works as “help set up snack time”; “Decorate cookies” can be paper cookies with crayons if baking is not possible.
• Write your own cards. Add tasks for class traditions: a visit to the library, a nativity rehearsal, a winter walk.

Weekends, sick days and the last day before the holidays

• Mondays: open the weekend cards together, or choose the most fun one and send the others home in children’s book bags.
• Sick days: the helper whose turn was missed opens the next card when they return.
• The last school day: most schools close before 24 December. Hold a “card party” and do the remaining tasks as a carousel, or send each child home with one of the last cards to finish with their family.
• Short on time? Move cards around freely – there is no rule that day 14 must be on the 14th.

An Advent wreath for every new week

Four pages show an Advent wreath, with one more candle to colour each week. Pin the current page on your class board on Monday morning and let a different child colour the new candle. It is a simple, visual way to explain the four weeks of Advent and to count down without numbers. Use the wreath, or a task you write yourself, to talk about traditions from children’s own families, too.

Printing for your class and the free first 6 days

My Advent Calendar is a 19-page PDF for ages 3–8, in A4 and US Letter for the English edition, and prints in black and white. Teachers may print it for their own class or group. Small cut-out cards are not suitable for children under 3, and anything with scissors, glue or an oven needs an adult. Try the first six days for free, and see our guide to the printable Advent calendar for kids for 24 ideas and a home set-up.

Free first 6 days See the full calendar Printable Advent calendar ideas