Cinnamon Stick Christmas Tree Ornament with Sensory Activities {Montessori Monday}

I’d been looking for the perfect ornament for my 3-year-old granddaughter to make for her parents. (Shhh! Don’t tell Zoey’s parents!) I didn’t have to look far when I saw a cinnamon stick Christmas tree ornament that’s been very popular on Facebook and Pinterest. I just needed to make it kid-friendly and add some sensory activities.

These gorgeous cinnamon stick tree ornaments from Consumer Crafts can be adapted for almost any age. Preschoolers can make them with some adult help, elementary age on up could make them on them own, and adults love to make them, too.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).

Christmas Picture Book Inspiration

The Sweet Smell of Christmas by Patricia Scarry was first published in 1970. It was a book my now-adult children loved when they were little. Now I have a new version in Zoey’s Christmas book basket.

Materials Needed for a Cinnamon Stick Christmas Tree Ornament

Montessori-Inspired Tray for Cinnamon Stick Tree Ornament

• Craft Gems (This bag includes the stars, although you might need extra stars for a class. The stars are approximately 20mm.) The original cinnamon stick tree ornament uses buttons, but I’m a fan of sparkly craft gems.
• 2¾” cinnamon sticks
• Canadian pine rope
• Wire cutters for cutting the pine rope (I used a scissors, which worked. It probably wasn’t the best for the scissors, though!)
• Twine
• Hot glue gun and/or Aleene’s Fabric Glue (We used Aleene’s Patch & Applique Glue, but this may be better according to what I’ve read.)
• Tray
• Small containers for loose parts

Note: I pre-cut the materials using the lengths from the Consumer Crafts cinnamon stick tree ornaments.

Montessori-Inspired Sensory Activities for a Cinnamon Stick Christmas Tree Ornament

Sorting Pine Branches by Length and Smelling Cinnamon Sticks for Cinnamon Stick Tree Ornnament

After reading The Sweet Smell of Christmas, we used a length activity with Montessori-inspired lesson.

I had Zoey sort out the lengths of pine rope into short, medium, and long lengths.

Then she smelled the cinnamon sticks.

If your child is an advanced gluer, you could have your child do all the gluing with the fabric glue. That worked, but it was quite messy. With a young preschooler, I found that it worked best for me to use my hot glue gun and ask Zoey where she wanted me to place the glue. After I put a drop of hot glue where she pointed, we waited a bit for the glue to cool enough for Zoey to place the pine rope lengths (or, later, the gems) on the tree.

Zoey placed the shortest branch on the top. Then she placed the “shortest one left” in the middle and the longest one at the bottom.

Adding Sparkles to the Cinnamon Stick Christmas Tree Ornament

Gluing Acrylic Gems on a Cinnamon Stick Tree Ornament

Once Zoey had the Christmas tree, she just needed to glue craft gems to her tree. I had stars  to choose from for the top of the tree and smaller gems to glue on the “branches.”

I was amazed at how fast these were to make. Zoey made three. She saved her two favorites for her parents.

I glued on the twine using a hot-glue gun.

The Sweet Smell of Christmas Book with Cinnamon Stick Tree Ornament

I especially love that the ornament has sensory and literature-based activities.

Cinnamon Stick Christmas Tree Ornament

I think the completed ornament makes a fabulous present for moms, dads, and grandparents. I’m sure Zoey’s mom and dad will love theirs! 🙂

Montessori Monday Link-Up

Except for content, this is a no-rules linky. If you have some Montessori-inspired activity trays/lessons to share, please link up below. They can be for home or classroom. It’s fine to link up a post from your archives – and you may link up anytime during the week! Your post may be any Montessori-inspired activity or idea. It doesn’t need to be related to my Montessori Monday post.

If you’re wondering what’s considered “Montessori inspired” and what to link up (or not link up), check out my “What Is Montessori Inspired?” post. Link up your exact post URL so that we can find your activity if we return to the linky at a later date. Don’t link to giveaway posts (unless the giveaway is only part of a Montessori-inspired post). Giveaways in general should go on my giveaway linky. Also, don’t link directly to products. You can link up a review of a Montessori product or activity post related to a Montessori product.

I publish the Montessori Monday post and linky each Monday morning and keep the linky open throughout the week. I do a lot of sharing on the Living Montessori Now Facebook page from the Montessori Monday link-up. Thanks for participating!

Notes: For community discussions, please join us at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page. And don’t forget the Saturday/Sunday weekend sharing days where you may share a kid-related activity of any kind at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page!

It’s also Motivational Monday on Mondays! I invite you to share something positive on the Bits of Positivity Facebook page (Bits of Positivity is my other blog) to help us all get a good start on the work/school week. You might share an inspirational or motivational quote, positive graphic, or post about finding balance or simplifying your life. Or you might share a post on organizing, an encouraging post, a post about making a difference in the world, or a positive parenting post. Just go ahead and share on the Bits of Positivity wall any time today! (Please “like” the Bits of Positivity Facebook page if you haven’t already.) I’ll be pinning a number of ideas to my regular Pinterest boards.

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Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy! I’m also one of the coauthors of the book Learn with Play – 150+ Activities for Year-round Fun & Learning!

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