Holiday things

This is an old post that I just realized never got posted.  Sorry for the delay!

This week we added something new to our Work on Writing center.  

HOLIDAY CARDS!

And they are LOVING it.  Not only do they get to color, they can write a card to whomever they want.  I made multiple copies of each design so they could do many cards.  This has definitely been a hit ;-)

Click on the link to get your FREE copies!

December is here

December is finally here!  The cold weather and Christmas music is starting to get me excited for the month to come!  We have just started to get in the Holiday mood with winter and Christmas themed books and projects.  Before Thanksgiving we did a Reader's Theater performance for our parents.  One of the scripts was Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type (which they thought was hilarious) so naturally we had to read Click, Clack, HO! HO! HO!

 

This is a great story to work with order of events.  First, Duck gets stuck.  Then, all the farm animals get stuck behind him.  They also have to think of a clever way to get the animals out of the chimney.

To make the chimney we talked specifically about drawing the bricks. I think they really got the hang of it.

I'm sure the animals would enjoy their tails being pulled ;-)

Click on the link to take you to my TPT store to get this activity!

Also, we did a quick activity to extend our Kindness Challenge from Blair Turner.  Fun In First had the cutest idea for  sharing ways to be kind.  Since we have been working with weekly challenges all year this was a great way for us to write about a way we could be kind to others.  Some of them used ideas that we had done earlier this year, but some came up with totally new ways to show kindness.

I love how it 'lights up' or hallway.

The Countdown to Winter Break (and a freebie)

The countdown to winter break is on so I wanted to share this quick ornament to make with your students.  I get packages of glass ornaments from Hobby Lobby.  Every time I have gone they are 50% off, which ends up being being about $4.50 for a box of 12 (a steal).  

First, I write their name and the year with a sharpie around the top of the ornament.  Next, I have the kids pick two colors to put inside.  Then we cover the opening with a paper towel and SHAKE!  They end up looking almost tie-dyed.  

I have done this project for 7 or 8 years and this is the first year that I have had ornaments break on me (ugh), so instead of letting the kids shake them I had to do it.  I know that limits the fun a little but it prevented any more finger cuts and they still loved the way they turned out.

You use quite a bit of paint for this so you need to let them dry out for a couple of days.  We turned them upside down to drip dry in plastic cups.  After they are totally dry I put the top back on and added a ribbon.  

Here are the finished ornaments :-)

To wrap the ornaments we make these adorable reindeer heads out of paper bags.  I have a parent trace the antlers on the bags and then I have the kids cut them out and draw a face on the front.  They write who it's to/from on the back.  Finally, they add holly leaves as the ears.  I wrap them in a sheet of tissue paper and they fit perfectly!  Too cute!!

Also, if you're in need of a quick little word search, look no further.  I have some freebies for you.  There is one for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and a Reindeer option.

Click here to grab your free copy!

Merry Christmas, Splat

Our classroom door got a makeover today, and yes, it involved glitter.  The kids LOVED it!  The activity was pretty simple. . . we took two stocking pieces, punched them and then sewed them together.  It was a little bit of a challenge, but they picked it up quickly and were able to help each other!

When they were finished they got to choose their own color of glitter for the name.  I wrote it in glue and then they watched in amazement and we shook the extra glitter away.

Click here to get a free pattern of the stocking.

Also, our favorite cat, Splat, made another appearance this week.  The kids were so excited that we were going to be making a Christmas Splat that matched their Halloween version.

For the writing in this project we focused on time order; First, Next, Than, Last.  This was the first time we had done writing this way, but the kids did a nice job because we have been working on retelling the story with Beginning/Middle/End so much.  It was great to see them do this so easily.  We are also trying to focus more on the bigger parts of the story and not so much on the little details.

 

Their ideas are so creative - of course Splat got a big cat bed!

I know the example has a red present (as does the cover of the book) but sometimes I get a little bored when all the projects looks exactly the same. So I let them pick their own colors for the gifts and I think they turned out great!  I also got one of those huge bag of bows and let the kids pick their own.  It really adds a fun, finishing touch!

Click here to get your copy of Merry Christmas, Splat.