Christmas Tree Budget - Special Education - Shopping - Life Skills - Money Math

Christmas is the perfect time of year for students to practice some budgeting skills especially with stuff that they love to do around the holidays! One of the most popular of these events is decorating the Christmas Tree each year. Since many students do not have the ability to practice budgeting skills on a day to day basis within the classroom, this download helps to fill a major void. Even the most reluctant of students will be excited to pick and choose items to add to their tree! 

Specifically designed for special education / life skills students, this packet helps to walk students step by step through the process of purchasing basic Christmas tree decorations. Students are given colorful visuals to help them decide what they would like and are encouraged to select items that will help them stay within budget. Students are guided step-by-step through the process to arrive at their final total. It is important to note, though, that any teacher looking to include more real world math skills into their classroom would benefit from the scaffolded support provided in this download!

How You Can Use This In Your Classroom 

I have recommended a budget of $125.00 for students to go shopping with, but feel free to adapt this number to differentiate for unique needs in your classroom.

Laminate the worksheets so students can use a vis a vis / expo marker and select what item they would like to buy. Then, depending on needs, use either the dollar up strategy or have students use a calculator to total up the exact amount they have spent. A scaffolded worksheet is provided to support this process! Since students will often be buying multiples of some of the items, it will also be a great way for them to practice basic multiplication skills in regards to money as well! 

This is a great activity that can be used many times to practice budgeting, sight words, money skills, and shopping skills in the classroom!

Purchase Includes:

 - 1 page of budget directions

- 2 pages of Christmas Decorations (Catalog)

- 3 pages of visual order sheets

- 1 sample page of how to use the order sheets

- 2 writing reflection activities (10 questions)

- 1 art activity where students can sketch their tree