Free Printable Pagan Holiday Lesson Plans for Samhain, Yule, Ostara, etc

Much is known about religious and national holidays. But the least known holidays--and ironically some of the oldest--are pagan or Wiccan. Here are free printable Wicca crafts, coloring pages and resources for pagan holidays (sabbats).

* Joelle's Sacred Grove features a pagan calendar with activities for and explanations of the eight sabbats.

--Yule (or Winter Solstice)--between December 20-23. Yule ends the old year and begins the new (starts near Christian Christmas)

--Imbolc--or Brid's Day--February 2

--Ostara (Easter)--Spring Equinox--celebrated around Christian Easter.

--May Day or Beltaine is celebrated on the eve of April 30 into May 1. It's also called Walpurgis Night.

--Litha or midsummer's eve or , which celebrates the first day of summer (Summer Solstice) around June 21-25.

--Lughnasadh, a harvest festival which falls on July 31-August 1. It's called Lammas in some countries.

--Mabon, the autumnal equinox (the first day of fall).

--Samhain celebrates darkness and coincides with Halloween.

* Pooka Pages provides free printable Wicca coloring pages, games, spell and incantations and stories.

* ADF--A Druid Fellowship (or Ár nDraíocht Féin) is a neopagan group dedicated to promoting old pagan customs. This link takes you to the kids page with free printable pagan activities for Lughnasadh, Imbolc, Yule and Samhain.

* Stella Australis has a free printable Wicca coloring book with the elementals, gods and goddesses, Egyptian and Greek deities, moon phases and a Wheel of the Year, puzzles, Wicca vocabulary, runic symbols, history, magic, tarot and zodiac.

* Vintage Holiday Crafts has free printable nostalgic Victorian and Edwardian period greeting cards and crafts. They're labeled by their traditional holiday name May Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Easter, but images hark back to pagan counterparts: Maybon, Lughnasadh, Samhain and Ostara.

I linked you to Halloween/Samhain because that's the next holiday coming, but scroll around for the others.

Free Printable Mayan, Aztec, Incan Lesson Plans

The Mayan calendar predicted the world would end December 21, 2012 (12-21-12). It didn't, but it does raise interesting questions on how time calculated. And it drew attention to the fascinating Maya civilization and other ancient pre-Columbian Mesoamerica native cultures like Inca, Aztec, Toltec and Olmec. Here are free printable Mayan calendars, lesson plans on time measurement and Mesoamerica culture study activities, hieroglyphics and lifestyle lessons Aztec, Inca and Maya civilization.

Printable Colouring Pages has six free printable images of Mayan calendars, referred to as Tzolkin or Haab, in the ancient tongue of the Maya civilization. Click here for another set of free printable Mesoamerica coloring pages. Be sure to teach students that Mesoamerica refers to a geographical region--around Mexico, Central America including Belize, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador--and to the pre-Columbian historical time period when the ancient Aztec, Zapotec, Teotihuacano, Olmec, Mixtec, Toltec and Maya civilization flourished. The ancient Inca civilization grew up around Peru in South America.

How-to-Draw has free printable Mayan calendars. Words for each symbol listed near Mayan calendars. Here's a free printable decoder tools for Mayan calendars. Click here for free printable Maya civilization coloring pages. Here are more math lessons based on the Mayan calendar. Here are lesson plans on the 20 day cycle of the Tzolkin or Mayan calendars, with inscriptions and codec hieroglyphics (picture symbols) used in the Tzolkin calendar, plus names and translations from modern Yucatec, classic Maya and English. Here are free printable math lessons, calendar converters and hieroglyphics from the solar Haab Mayan calendars.

Edupics has free printable coloring pages from the pre-Columbian Mesoamerica Aztec, Inca and Maya civilization. Look for pictures of famous pre-Columbian works of art, hieroglyphics and ancient religious sites of Machu Picchu, Tenochtitlan and Chichen Itza or the Temple of Kukulkan (now listed in the new revised wonders of the world). Check out these links for free printable paper models of Chichen Itza and Machu Picchu and Tenochtitlan.

Here are lesson plans on the monolithic Olmec heads and Toltec statues. Here's a free printable 161-page booklet of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica lesson plans on the Maya civilization. J.Q.Jacobs gives a detailed descriptions of the Haab and Tzolkin Mayan calendar along with images of their codices and instructions for use.

Free Printable Folded Paper Christmas Ornaments, Decorations

Remember those little cootie catchers kids used to make? Did you know those can be used as a lesson plan? Making origami (folded paper toys) provides fine motor skill builders and eye-hand coordination practice. Folded paper crafts provide practice in measurement, math, geometry and fractions, too. Need some educational Christmas crafts? How about free printable cut-and-paste and folded-paper holiday decorations?Kids learn while creating! These activities are perfect for elementary and middle school math classes, homeschool and winter vacation fun. With some assistance, these crafts will work with special needs, disabled students and preschoolers. Senior citizens will love them, too. 

First Palette is a one-stop source for awesome free printable Christmas ornaments. Print images in black and white and have children color them (ahem, parents and teachers--coloring pages are value added childminder crafts because they keep kids busy longer!) You can make these into photo frame Christmas ornaments by gluing them to cardboard once they're colored, then cutting small windows and taping pictures to the back.

Edupics also has free printable origami Christmas ornaments, folded paper crafts and homemade holiday decor. There are 3D Christmas ornaments shaped like stars and balls. Use cut-and-paste, folded paper crafts as math lessons. Cutting and folding paper and assembling crafts provides hands-on geometry practice. Children learn math measurement and spatial relations. Edupics has free printable folded paper crafts featuring cut and paste manger scenes, 3D nativity sets, Santa Claus and stand-up sleigh and reindeer. There are free printable cut-and-paste folded paper Christmas cards. Print in grayscale or black and white and Christmas ornaments become coloring pages for children to color and personalize.

The Toymaker features vintage free printable origami Christmas ornaments and folded paper crafts. The folded-paper boxes are adorable. There are also cute cut and paste greeting cards and holiday decorations. Paper folding is great for special needs students with perceptual challenges who struggle with such tasks. Multisensory crafts help children build scissors skills, fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination. Check the Toymaker for free printable advent calendars, gift tags, religious decorations. There are free printable Hanukkah and Kwanzaa crafts, too.

Noella Designs has all sorts of free printable origami Christmas ornaments, cut and paste and folded paper crafts for holiday decor. Children will love making the Santa Claus train, Santa village, 3D snowflakes, holiday decor, centerpieces and Christmas tree ornaments. Children could make crafts and give as Christmas gifts. To help children be successful in holiday craft making, be sure to provide sharp scissors and high-quality glue and tape. Follow instructions printed on the craft. Teach children to read all directions first. This practices skills of following directions, problem-solving and sequencing steps. Provide adequate adult supervision and assistance for special needs and preschool students. Children get frustrated if they can't make their project look the way they want it to. Encourage students to help each other, also.

Free Printable New Year Craft Activities, Lesson Plans

Planning a New Year's Eve or New Year's Day party? Are you finding it hard to keep kids happily productive and as you prepare for the party? Why not involve children in the holiday decoration making? Here are free printable New Year crafts, party decorations, games and activities. For the most economical printing, set your printer to "draft" and "black ink cartridge only." Printing activities in black and white turns them into coloring pages which kids can color--value added! You can save lots of money on printing ink and still get a nice quality print-out.

Making Friends is a charming website offering free printable paper crafts, templates, patterns and craft activity how-to guides for children. Print New Year's Eve party decorations that kids can make. Make party noisemakers, party hats, banners, a time capsule and journal covers. There's even a make-your-own New Year's Eve ball craft project.

Apples 4 the Teacher is a great website for parents, teachers, homeschoolers, librarians and activity coordinators. Apples 4 the Teacher has free printable New Year lesson plans and worksheets for students. Print New Year's Day crafts, calendars, games, word searches, jigsaw puzzles, history activities, coloring pages, trivia games and party decorations. Homeschool families might use these for New Year's Day lesson plans. Teachers, print New Year worksheets for fun back-to-school activities after winter vacation.

Free Kids Crafts has a whole page of links for free printable New Year's Eve party decorations, crafts, games, lessons and activities for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day parties. Free Kids Crafts also has an interactive calendar that is updated daily with a new craft for the day. You can access the archived crafts for days past, also. This is definitely a craft website to bookmark and check daily.

The Toymaker has two free printable vintage New Year paper craft activities for kids to color, cut and paste. There is a free printable New Year resolutions penny box to make. Children can use it as a piggy bank and practice the value of saving. There is a also a New Year booklet to print, assemble and read together.

Disney Family is an excellent resource for free printable Disney crafts, games, greeting cards, party decorations and activities for any holiday. The New Year activities are listed under Winter printables. There are New Year's Day coloring pages and holiday decorations to print, color and assemble. For more fun with printables for holidays, visit Free Printable Holiday.

Free Printable Advent countdown to Christmas Activities

Advent is the Catholic Christian season leading up to Christmas. For four weeks, prior to Christmas, Catholics practice Advent values prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Each week focuses on hope, expectation and joy. Here are free printable advent calendars for kids to make, to guide advent to Christmas devotions. 

Many involve candy or treats and while there's nothing wrong with a little treat, materialism defeats the Advent purpose: to focus on God. Constantly receiving teaches children (and adults) to be even more aquisitory than they already are at Christmas. If they're getting all season long, where's the magic of Christmas morning? Advent is about preparing for the coming of Christ with acts of charity.

Advent observances should be spiritual. Here are templates from Loyola for free printable Bible Advent calendars. Children read Bible stories and practice the gospel values of prayer, fasting and charity.

Have children make their own Advent calendar. Here's a printable calendar with Catholic feast days listed. Print Bible clipart from Clipart Pal or free Christian Christmas images from Web Weaver. Write Bible verses and gospel passages on the back of clipart. Have children list daily acts of kindness: visit the elderly, pass out cocoa at Christmas parade, wrap Giving Tree gift.

Mr. Printable has free printable Advents calendar crafts. They're not religious. but they could be made that way adding Bible gospel readings and works of mercy.

Here's are free printable Jesse Tree ornaments patterns for kids to color. The Jesse Tree is a visual aid that tells the genealogy of Jesus. It takes children through major Bible stories. Each night, children color a symbol to add to the tree, taking them to the O Antiphons (and ancient Advent prayers said before Christmas).

Sign up for ZonderKidz from Bible Gateway and get a free Jesus Storybook and Bible verses Advent calendar to print. Spiritual Advent calendars teach children that the best gift doesn't come in a wrapped box. The very best Christmas present, the reason for the season, was born in a rough manger.

ESRS creatives has a printable Advent calendar that looks like Christmas ornaments hanging from a tree. There's a printable contemporary Advent calendar. Check this site for a free printable whimsical styled Advent calendar. For a modern Advent calendar click here. Here's an advent calendar that looks like a 3D town. Here is another town shaped Advent calendar printout.

Yellow Bliss Road has an Advent calendar styled like treat bags hanging from a line. O Happy Day has a similar printable Advent calendar. And Petit Lapin has yet another printable bag-style calendar.

This site has printable advent calendars in different styles. For printable child-themed advent calendars, check this site for a Santa Claus Advent calendar. Here's a stocking Advent calendar. Or here's an advent calendar with tags that look like ornaments.

Here are some printable window advent calendars. Here's a cute geometric one. Here's a vintage calendar. Here's a religious advent calendars from Loyola. All Crafts has advent calendar printables. And here are more Advent calendar to print. Here's a site with links to more printable Advent calendars.

Free Printable Kids Car Games, Activities, Puzzles

Are we there yet? This has to be the most oft-asked question from kids on car trips or vacations. If you've traveled with a fidgety child or three, you're nodding your head. When these questions start, it can make for a very long, tedious ride. That's why smart parents plan ahead in order to circumvent the complaints on car trips. Games make good boredom-busters and whining-stoppers. Here are free printable car games to stave off ennui and keep kids happily occupied on road trips. Use these for bored teens too. As much as they may protest the "baby games" I've found most adolescents love travel games! Homeschoolers, use these as lesson supplements for travel. Teachers, assign these activities as holiday vacation "homework."

Mom's Minivan has dozens of free printable travel games for car trips. There are different styles and game themes. Many of the car games do double duty as teaching materials, too. As a teacher and former homeschooler, I really appreciate that value-added benefit.

Some games are wordless and rely on pictures. This means new and emergent readers can join in the fun, too. My personal favorites are the roadside car bingo games . There are four different printable games with pictures of things kids might see looking out the window (cow, road construction markers, clothesline). Even two and three-year-olds can play if the non-driving parent or an older sibling marks the items spotted by the child on his bingo card.

There are four printable vehicle identification bingo games, too. I recommend these be played with older children who are better able to spot vehicle details. Older kids will enjoy the silly songs and license plate games. Kids of all ages will enjoy the free printable themed coloring pages of cars and animals.

The site offers printable dot games, puzzles, Old Maid, Crazy Eights, Battleship and tic-tac-toe as well. There are free printable scavenger hunt games with words and pictures shown (like a rebus). Learning to connect words and pictures helps children practice reading, spelling and vocabulary skills. These games can be tailored to the age of the children.

Games are vehicle-friendly and require few playing pieces. I recommend cutting and assembling games ahead of time. Place each child's activities in a separate folder, cardboard box or zippered bag. I recommend skipping the crayons as they melt easily. Markers tend to leak on vehicle upholstery. I suggest giving each child a box of colored pencils with sharpener or a 10-color pen. The pen is my preference for travel as it's self-contained. These free printable car games help keep children quietly productive.

Printable Diwali Activities, Rangoli Crafts for Deepavali

Hindus, Sikhs and Jains began celebrating Diwali, the Festival of Light. It began with Dhanteras on October 30 in 2016 and moves to the official Diwali on November 1 and 2. Diwali, also spelled Deepavali, is the Hindu calendar new year. There's lots of feasting, decorating, worship, lighting of diya (lamps) and fireworks. Rangoli are special Hindu designs used in crafts and decorating. Here are free printable rangoli patterns for Diwali.

• Activity Village has dozens of lovely free printable rangoli patterns. 

• Activity Village also offers free printable Diwali crafts, There are Diwali coloring pages, greeting cards, games, puzzles, money envelopes, stationary and writing paper, bookmarks and scrapbook pages, plus printables for Bhaiya-Dooj the holiday that ends the Festival of Lights. Print Bhaiya-dooj coloring pages and crafts. 

• Diwali Festival has many free printable Rangoli patterns, coloring pages and activities. 

• Kids Gen has easy child-friendly free printable rangoli coloring pages. 

• The Toymaker has free printable paper Diwali crafts including rangoli designs.

• Best Coloring Pages for Kids has a plethora of intricate rangoli coloring pages to print free. 

• Study Village has loads more free printable rangoli templates.

• The Holiday Spot offers free rangoli printouts. 

Use rangoli patterns as stencils to decorate fabric, create murals, or chalk your walks. To design a pretty Diwali welcome sign on your front walk, rrint patterns on zoom to expand. Then trace on sidewalk. Color in design with sidewalk chalk or paint. To give holiday greetings, say "Shubh Diwali!"