Happy Holidays!

Not sure about all of you .. but I am WIPED! It has been an amazing week of activities (Reindeer Day, Elf Day, Santa Day, Grinch Day, Holiday Concert, Holiday Party!) ... throw in some sick kids at home, then and some x-mas shopping, cooking, cleaning .. OMG!!! It's been insane, but lots of fun! So, I will keep this short and sweet! New Year's Day is just around the corner .. it will sneak upon you, before you know it! So, I'm giving you this freebie, as a holiday present for all of you!

I would love to wish all of you  ... from my family to yours, a cozy and warm holiday season!

Let it Snow! Parent Gift Idea

Hi everyone! It's Jeannine from Creative Lesson Cafe! 

 What a rush December always is! Aren't we lucky to have some wonderful vacation time to look forward to? After so much Christmas crafting in the classroom, I can bet the LAST thing on your mind right now is another project! However, this is one that you may want to *save* for a great parent gift idea for any time of year!

 I'm here today to share one that I just LOVE! I hope you will too!

When I find a cute craft for my students to make as a gift for their parents, I stick with it! One of my favorites is decorating wooden frames. It's an inexpensive, sweet gift that parents adore and actually display!

This frame design can stay out all winter long.

I use these unfinished wooden frames from Michael's.
They are only about $1.00 each!
 The creative possibilities are endless.
 I've painted them with my class for Mother's Day and Father's Day gifts too.

We begin with a single layer base coat of acrylic paint on the front and the edges.
On the back, the students write their name and the year in Sharpie.

The next step is to do a little sponge painting with white paint.

We blotted the frame, but also twirled the sponge for a snowstorm effect.

Using a Martha Stewart tool, I punched snowflakes from white cardstock.

The students arranged their snowflakes and pressed them into a light coat of glossy Mod Podge.

 I helped them spread the Mod Podge over the snowflakes to be sure they were sealed and did not bend. They spread a final coat over the entire frame to blend it all.

Then it was time for the best part...adding fairy dust!

This is actually a beautiful embossing powder.

 We sprinkled the powder over the snowflakes before the adhesive dried.

 After that, we quickly added a light dusting of clear glitter over the entire frame.

  These plastic glitter bows came from Big Lots.

  I love the way they shine! 

They are hot glued onto the corner.

This year, I had the childrens' holiday photos developed in black and white.
It looks SO nice with the silver bow!

My kiddos are thrilled with the way their beautiful snowy window frames turned out!
 Oh, I wish you could stop by to see how they sparkle in person!

 I sure hope you will be able to file this project idea away! 
It's a keeper!

  Thanks for stopping by today friends!
Wishing everyone a very joyous holiday and a restful vacation!

Christmas Traditions in the Classroom

Hello, hello!  This is Sarah Kirby from Permanently Primary!

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love traditions.  I like trying new things, but there's something so heartwarming and comforting about things that have been around for a while.  Our grade level (1st grade) has certain Christmas crafts that have been around a long time.  I had to ask around today to find out how long we've been doing these Christmas traditions.  One teacher said she's been doing them ever since she started teaching at our school (this is her 24th year).  Another teacher, who has been there for 30 years, said they haven't done them the entire time she's been teaching.  That means these traditions have been happening between 25 and 30 years!  25-30 years of doing the same hallway decorations in 1st grade at our elementary building.  Here are some pictures of the ways we decorate our hallway during the holidays.  :)

Each student makes a large candle with their name on it.  I use 12"x18" red construction paper and cut it in half (long ways).  Then we have a template for the greenery at the bottom that they trace and cut out.  I just cut out a yellow flame by hand and they glue it.  Then they use glue to write their name and we put gold glitter on it.  We all tape them to the bottom of the walls in the hallway.  The entire hallway is lined with candles!

Another tradition is a little handwriting craft.  The students copy a poem on lined paper and then cut it out in the shape of an ornament.  They glue it to colored construction paper and add some glitter to the outline.

The final tradition is for each student to make a paper chain.  All of this is taped to the walls in the hallway for everyone to enjoy as they walk through!

Something new I did this year was having my students create a string of lights with the letters of their name.  They picked their colors and then wrote a letter of their first name with glue on each bulb.  We strung them together with yarn and I hung them from the lights in our classroom.

They look so amazing hanging in our classroom!  It looks so festive!

A word of advice if you try to make the string of lights: have students cut out the bulbs, then write the letters on each one, then add glitter, then string together once they are dry.  The first few I strung together first and then tried to add glitter.  I don't know what I was thinking, but it was disastrous.  Cut, glue, glitter, string!  :)

Does your school or grade level do any holiday traditions that have been around a long time?  We'd love to hear about them!

Student Christmas Gift Idea

Hi everyone! It's Angela from Hippo Hooray for Second Grade. How many days do you have left before Winter Break? We go all the way to December 23rd, and there is SO much to do from now until then! I alway seem to be in panic mode a few days before we leave to get my student gifts together. I always give my kiddos a book from Scholastic, but a few years ago, I upped my game and gave them this as well:

It's a box of crayons and a note pad tied together with a little sign I made that says "May your days be merry and bright!"What kid doesn't love new crayons and a little notebook? I was thinking ahead this year, and I scooped up all the crayons and notebooks I needed during the Back to School season, so I only paid $12 for a class set of notebooks and crayons! NICE!! This year I revamped the label I'm going to put on all my gifts, so now they'll have this on the front:

Want this? Click here to grab this freebie :)

Only 2ish more weeks until Winter Break. Hang in there, Friends!!

A Christmas Carol Graphing Freebie

So we meet again!

It's me Christy from Crayons and Whimsy... and if you missed my first post on this lovely blog well you can read my "Meet Me" post right {here}

December has begun and it is just so hard. Right? Where should I focus my attention? On assessments? Eating chocolate? Report Cards? Holiday shopping? Teaching? Watching Elf?

Oh that's right.....

The answer is ALL of the above plus more!

So I wish us all luck to make it.

Today I am sharing a simple December math activity. I love to send this one home, but it works in class too.

It is a Christmas Carol Graph! We gather data about everyone's favorite carol and graph it.

I make a big deal about the gathering part.... I tell them...when you get home you need to talk with your parents about WHO will be your ten people to gather this important data from. And I suggest they are the ones to make that phone call {with an adult right there of course!}

I always push for family... because let's be honest, how much does a grandparent love getting the, "What is your favorite Christmas Carol call?" 

Here is a little sample action for you!

Now I need to switch gears for a minute... Can we talk about how much I adore the song Must Be Santa. Love it!!! 

It was brought to my attention that not everyone knows this one. What? How can this be? {It may account for the one sad bar colored in the above sample....probably from my vote!}

So two things:

1. Please listen to this song- I recommend that Raffi version. 

2. I provide ANOTHER VERSION with Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Don't even tell me you don't know that one!

It's ALL FREE right here:

Last thing.... did you know Primary Powers has joined forces with GoNoodle for some giveaway fun! There are a ton of things you can win! Click HERE to come on over to my little blog and you can click here to see the giveaway going on right here...for just a few more days.

P.S. It's Friday.... you made it to the first Friday in December! I am in serious countdown mode. Serious.

As in... I own this:

My sweet friend Renee at Colvie Creations made it for me and I think I need to ask her to make me a new one that counts down the days to Christmas break. Yeah, Christmas Day is pretty special, don't get me wrong... but a countdown to days in school could work well for me right about now.

Good luck and enjoy the weekend!

Diary of an Elf: A FREE Writing Activity

Hi All.

It's Amber from School Is a Happy Place.

Does an elf visit your classroom?

Well, for the past few years one has came to see my kids.  They seem to enjoy spotting our elf and doing elf themed activities during the few weeks leading up to Christmas break.  

I am not very creative when it comes to staging my elf.  But, that doesn't seem to matter one bit.  Just the fact that he moves from place to place is super exciting.

One elf themed activities that I love using with my young learners is my elf journal, Diary of an Elf.

With this journal, students can record basic information about their class elf.  They can write about the elf on a daily basis, every other day, or once a week.  It is totally up to you.  

This assignment is a great way to introduce voice and perspective in writing.  The best entries tend to be when students pretend to be the elf and write their entries first person.

We start our journals on the first day that our elf arrives.  After I read The Elf on the Shelf and our class chooses a name for our elf, we complete the introduction and calendar pages.  For the next several days students write about our elf on the journal entry pages.

This activity is fun and very simple to execute.  Most importantly it engages students and works a little more writing practice into the day.  

You can click here if you would like a free copy of Diary of and Elf to use with your students.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Happy teaching!