What to watch: The Nightmare Before Christmas
Where to find it: Disney+
Rating: PG
Best for ages: 5 and up (parental discretion is advised due to potentially scary content}
Why We Recommend The Nightmare Before Christmas
This is a great Halloween movie which also transitions into the Christmas Season. The Nightmare Before Christmas is Logan's all-time favorite movie. It is played all year long in our household. Can you guess what his birthday theme was this year? That's right, The Nightmare Before Christmas. So, if you have a kid anything like mine, then Jack Skellington will be singing in your household multiple times between October and December (and even beyond). The movie has a great lesson of being proud of who you are. Jack, the Pumpkin King, feels lost about who he is so he decides to try to become Santa and take over Christmas. Jack’s actions lead to chaos and explosions! While Logan loves the holiday spirit that comes with the show and the creepy yet creative characters, I love that there is a strong female character, Sally. Sally is initially in a "Rapunzel" type situation however, she uses her talents and bravery to save herself from the situation. She is also the only character that uses her voice to speak up when she doesn't agree with Jack trying to be someone he is not. She warns Jack and even tries to attempt to protect her friend from future destruction. A little side note about Sally's character that is not shown in the movie is that the creators originally wanted her character to be more of a voluptuous, pin-up-doll type character who was Jack's love interest. However, when the female screenwriter wrote the screenplay she took the liberty of transforming Sally; turning her character into the stronger female character young girls could look up to. This forced the animators to create the Sally we known and love! Also, it's pretty awesome that the screenplay was written by a woman.
Self Positivity Wreath Activity
The Nightmare Before Christmas Wreath Activity is a great exercise to use descriptive words as well as build self positivity while bringing a kid-friendly holiday decoration to your home!
Estimated time: 30-45 minutes
Materials needed:
Printouts of PDF (see below)
Glue
Crayons (or colored pencils)
Paper plate
Scissors
Pencil
Cardboard larger than the paper plate (could use an Amazon box)
Lesson
Before we start our activity, I like to engage in a conversation with my son by asking a few questions that pertain to the movie. This allows him to think about what he just watched and how we can relate to the movie and the lessons he learned from it. In this case, you will want to start with our The Nightmare Before Christmas discussion questions. Remember it is okay to help your children process their answers, as well as give your own opinions so that it is more of a discussion between the two (or five, if you have more than one child) of you. If other questions come up during your discussion that is great! It means your child is expanding on the conversation.
Why is Jack special?
What descriptive words would you use to describe Jack?
Why do you think Jack went looking to be like someone else?
Do you think Jack was bored?
What can Jack do to be more proud of who he is?
Who was Jack trying to be?
Why is it a bad idea that Jack tried to be Santa Claus?
Why do we need to be happy with who we are?
Why is Sally special?
How does Sally use her special talents to help Jack?
How does Sally speak up to try to warn Jack?
What makes you special?
What words describe who you are?
Which 4-5 describing words do we want to use for our Self Positivity Wreath?
Step 1: Take the Nightmare Before Christmas Wreath activity printouts (see link above for download) and write the 4-5 positive self-describing words on long bones (leave some bones blank for the background of the wreath). For younger kids, you may need to offer some descriptive words to choose from and write the words. If your child is practicing letters and writing words let them give a few words a try. Older children already writing words can write the words themselves. You can even add in a word or two to surprise your older kids and let them read them aloud.
Step 2: Next enjoy some coloring time together as you decorate the ornaments, pumpkins, bow, hat, and draw Jack's face. You can always print off extra sheets if you need more ornaments and bones.
Step 3: Now you will cut out all the bones, ornaments, pumpkins, bows, Jack's head and Santa hat. If your child is 4 and older let them practice cutting out some shapes. If your child is younger I suggest letting them color as you cut out the shapes. Remember this does not need to be perfect. Each child is at different stages in their fine motor skills. This is a child's Halloween activity, so it most likely will not be the most beautiful "instagramable" picture. The goal is quality time together, education, and creativity, not perfection.
Step 4: Trace the plate on cardboard, then draw a bigger circle around that circle to make the wreath background. Next, cut out a wreath-like shape. If your child has traced before have them help you with this step.
Step 5: Next guide your child to glue the bones (without writing) on the cardboard wreath background, followed by the ornaments, pumpkins & bones (with the self positivity words). In the bottom middle of the wreath, glue Jack's head and Santa Hat - or really wherever your kiddo wants. Let them be creative! I had originally planned to glue a bow at the bottom with Jack, but Logan did not want to do this, so I let him make the creative decision.
Step 6: Hang on your child’s door! Throughout the holiday season re-read the words to your children. Point out how they demonstrated those words during the day. I like to do this when we go to bed or enter the room together.
“Logan you were very caring today when you asked Daddy if he was ok when he stubbed his toe”
“Logan you know how you showed that you were inquisitive today? When we were walking outside you asked a lot of good questions about the different farm animals we saw."
Or you can ask them how they thought they portrayed one of their self positivity words.
Step 7: Share the fun you are having with us on Social Media! Tag us when you try out any of our activities so we can share as well! @curiouscouchpotatoes
Jeanette's Educational Insights:
Nightmare is such a good movie to watch with your child. There are so many layers to discuss! It is important to ask open ended questions so that your child is sharing their own thoughts and feelings. This movie has several psychological studies of a variety of personalities. Perhaps your child sharing which character they relate to the most will open up a discussion about how your child feels about them self. Sometimes it is easier to see the attributes of a fictional character than ones own.
A good story teller has a wealth of descriptive words. To help your child become a good storyteller and later writer, fill their vocabulary bucket with wonderful, expansive descriptive words. You can easily google the word "good" and find some beautiful language that goes beyond "good". Practice using these words more often and your child will catch them in his/her vocabulary bucket and use them too. So when you are helping your child find descriptive words about themself, offer some new, colorful synonyms.
For young children, cutting is an essential skill. Don't be afraid to hand your child scissors under supervision. Get child safety scissor. Encourage them to hold it the correct way (thumb on top, finger(s) on the bottom). This activity builds eye/hand coordination and builds hand muscles for pencil control. If your child is not ready to cut out the pieces for this activity, hand them a piece of paper to cut any way they want to while you cut the activity pieces. Feel free to add some of their shards to the wreath!