In a few weeks, the girls will be auditioning for
their parts in their ballet school's Christmas production of 'The Nutcracker.' Miss K, especially, has been excitedly reading and learning all
about the characters and their dances. It seemed like great great opportunity to add a Nutcracker Ballet unit study!
Below you will find all the links to the free web
resources we will be using. I have listed them by
subject rather than by the order we will be using them. Including nine study guides from different Ballet Companies all over North
America might seem a bit over the top but they are all different. Be sure to check out each guide as they all have unique
suggestions for activities, puzzles and games. Each guide also outlines the
theatre, cast and crew for their performance. Some of the photographs of the
dancers and theatre alone are worth pouring over with your kids! We hope you have as much fun as we will studying the Nutcracker!
History
Timeline history of the Nutcracker Ballet and some great photos
-Ballet Minnesota
The History of the Nutcracker (the
tool/ornament) at Magicofnutcrackers.com
Study Guides
San Francisco Ballet Nutcracker Study
Guide -PDF Printable
National Canadian Ballet Nutcracker Study Guide PDF
Printable
Inland Pacific Ballet Nutcracker Study Guide-
PDF Printable
Milwaukee Ballet Nutcracker Study Guide- PDF
Printable
Boston Ballet Nutcracker Study Guide -PDF
Printable
Lancaster Performing Arts Center -PDF
Printable
Houston Ballet Nutcracker Study Guide -PDF
Printable
Reif's Performing Arts Center Nutcracker Study Guide
-PDF Printable
Language Arts Nutcracker
activities
5 Nutcracker Language arts based activities from the Union
City Youth Ballet
Nutcracker themed Handwriting Practice Pages from TwistyNoodle.com
The Nutcracker Reading Comprehension Worksheet from ESLprintables
Drama, Theater and Dance activities
A short play based on the Nutcracker Story from coreknowledge.org
The Dance of the Flute activity lesson plan from Lesson Planet
Comparing Smooth and Sharp movements of Dance
from Lesson Planet
Analyzing two Dances from the Nutcracker and creating a
Dance Map from Lesson Planet
Watch
Elmo and Jamie Foxx sing a 'The Nutcracker Mash' -You Tube: Sesame
St
Math Based NutcrackerActivities
2 Math activities for Pre K - 1 from the Union City Youth Ballet
Compare Nutcrackers with a Venn Diagram printable from Teach123
Symmetrical Nutcracker Activity from A Faithful Attempt
Science Based Nutcracker Activities
4 different areas of science to explore from Union City Ballet
Learn about Clarks's Nutcracker bird at Allaboutbirds.org
Hands on activity to explore different kinds of bird beaks from
Utah Education Network
Hands on activity to explore Levers in everyday use (incl. worksheets) from ingridscience.org
Hands on Activity exploring the basic Dance element of
Force from Lesson Planet
A video about how
snow is formed from crystals
Make your own crystal snow flake -an experiment from Science Kids New Zealand
Social Studies & History Activities
Ideas about studying the
history of Ballet and the Country of Russia (the origin of the
story)
Timeline history of the Nutcracker Ballet and some great photos -Ballet
Minnesota
The History of the Nutcracker (the
tool/ornament) at Magicofnutcrackers.com
How
Nutcrackers are handmade in Germany (video)-YouTube
Music
Learning about Tchaikovsky
Active Listening to different dances in the Nutcracker
-From Elementary Music Methods
Play along music for Dance of the Sugar Plum fairy
from Teaching Music
Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra -An
interactive online book/game from the Carnegie Hall site
Hey Kids, Meet Tchaikovsky at Making Music Fun
A great collection of Musical
instrument worksheets can be found at Enchanted Learning
Free 60 Pg Musical Lapbook Printable
from 123Homeschoolf4me.com
Music Coloring Pages from Coloring.ws
Active listening and Discussion worksheet for
'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy' at Lesson Planet
Listen & watch how Bike Parts were used to play the
Nutcracker Suite at creativedigitalmusic.com
Art and Crafts
Oil Pastel on Black Paper Nutcracker Lesson from
Art Projects for Kids
Printable Nutcracker Character Puppets to Make from
Printables 4 Kids
Nutcracker Paperbag Puppet Printable from Jim
Gamble Puppets
Make Nutcracker & Clara puppets with this
printable from Lesson Planet
Recipe for Sparkly Sugar Plums from the
Cupcakeproject.com
Recipe for Sugar Plum Fairy Cupcakes from
the Cupcake Project
Instructions to Build your own Lego Nutcracker
from Lego my Mamma
Ballet
Ballet Lap n Note from Homeschool share:
Topics Incl.: Swan Lake,
Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, history of ballet, creative writing,
positions, tutu
Preschool Nutcracker Ideas and Activities
Christmas Theme: The Nutcracker Pre K Printables
from PreschoolMom.com
Lesson Plan and crafts for The Nutcracker Ballet
from funlessonplans.com
Nutcracker Cut & Paste Activity from
Makinglearingfun.com
Nutcracker Montessori 3 Part Card Printables from
Laura's Place
Nutcracker Number Match Game Printable from
Prekinders
Ballerina Preschool Printable Pack from
1+1+1=1
Nutcracker Coloring Pages from
Supercoloring.com
2 Math activities for Pre K - 1 from the Union City Youth Ballet
Free Clipart and images to add to your project
Free Music
Themed Black and White GIFs at ClipArt etc
Free Dance
Themed B & W GIFs at ClipArt etc
Free Theatre
Themed B & W GIFS at Clipart etc
Color Nutcracker image at Phillip Martin
Clipart
Male Ballet Dancer Image at Phillip Martin Clipart
Openclipart.com has a lot of ballet themed
images
Candy and Gingerbread Clipart at
Mycutegraphics.com
Free iOS Apps
I found this one, full of colorful photographs and clear text.
Miss K sat down and read it cover to cover as soon as we got home. Mini Piwi decided if Big Sis liked it, it must be exciting and carried it around for the afternoon. The following day she also insisted we weigh apples like on the cover of the book. 
Bear's buddies try to keep him awake to celebrate Christmas. I think we can all appreciate being woken up early for Christmas present opening!
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