A little late, but a fun Christmas idea!

I know that Christmas is over, but I wanted to share what I used in the classroom before Christmas this year.  My co-teacher saw an idea of using the Grinch to motivate the students before Christmas to be extra kind to one another.  We started by reminding the students how the Grinch's heart was small and we wanted to work really hard to make it big before Christmas.  We talked about things we could do to help make its heart grow bigger.  The kids talked about being kind to other kids, teachers, and adults.  They also talked about how following rules and keeping the classroom clean would make his heart grow.  

Each day when they came into the room I would have the heart from the day before on the wall and a new heart to show if it had grown or if it had not grown.  They were so excited to look at it every day.   During the day, I would also make comments of how some of their actions were making his heart grow bigger.  Today was our first day back from Christmas break and I put up the heart he started out with, the heart that was in the middle of the time we started and his final heart.  They were thrilled and talked all day about how much they made the Grinch's heart grow.  It was a simple thing to do, but they sure loved it!  

Hope all of you enjoyed your break or you are still enjoying it if you haven't gone back yet!

Merry Christmas Break!!!

Good morning!

This little cutie couldn't wait for me to open her present! These glasses were included with all the other goodies. Ha!

I finished up my last week yesterday and am sitting at home this morning with nothing planned---woohoo! I suppose I'll be wrapping some presents later and that is as hectic as my day gets. 

This week was so much fun! I tried to keep Monday and Tuesday pretty normal. Then Wednesday afternoon while we worked on parent gifts, we watched a movie. Can you believe I took NO pictures? We used round styrofoam ornaments and turned them into snowmen with earmuffs using pipe cleaners, poms, wiggly eyes, and felt for the scarf. They really did turn out super cute! We also made some foam ornaments using the sticky Lifetouch pictures and glitter to jazz them up a bit.

Thursday was Polar Express day. Need I say more? :-)

Yesterday we took a trip to the store here in town and did our Christmas caroling first thing in the morning. I had a little time to throw in a problem solving activity before our early pizza party lunch, followed immediately by our class Christmas  party. Students were dismissed at 12:30 and then the whirlwind was over!

I will say it was fun to take this guy with me to work yesterday. 

Birthday picture - he turned 15 this month!

Now that he is in high school, he was able to opt out of finals because of his good grades. The kids just love it when a "big kid" comes to school. My para's son also came and they were a huge help--cleaning up the stage (from concert and North Pole for Polar Express Day), playing with the kids at recess, and eating everything in sight! Ha ha! I'm so thankful I work in a place that doesn't mind my kids coming along when it works out. :-) 

Merry Christmas! Enjoy your break!

Merry Christmas (Wisdom for Wednesday)!

 

 

 

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

 

Isaiah 9:7

 

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

 

Luke 2:11

 

No one says it better than that...Merry Christmas!

A Comical Review of Last Week

Waking up at 7:30...

 

Sitting down to enjoy a cup of coffee and homemade cinnamon roll...

 

Working out at 9:00 instead of 5:00 (and yes, I realize if I'd skipped that cinnamon roll, the workout wouldn't have been as necessary - HA!)...

 

Plans to go absolutely NOWHERE in our icy/snowy weather...

 

Those are the small things I enjoy about Christmas break! And, boy, did I need it after last week!

 

We started the craziness on Monday afternoon with a movie reward for all the hard work the kids did on the Christmas program. Each teacher brought a different movie and the kids would get to choose which movie to go to...after some debate, I chose to offer Snow Buddies. I truly thought this would not get a big response (my other choice was Lion King) and was really hoping the Kindergartners would choose Toy Story (the K teacher) or the other Christmas movie (the 1st grade teacher - can't remember the name of the movie). No offense K teachers, but they still exhaust me even after teaching them in music for one semester.

 

We gathered in the gym...all 62 kids. Yes, that is our whole school K-2. Isn't it awesome? Then we announced the movie choices. I knew I was in trouble when there were many "oohs" and "aahs" over Snow Buddies. Finally, we told the kids to line up behind the teacher with the movie they wished to see.

 

That's when it happened...a stampede led by all those Kindergartners I had hoped to avoid. I shook my head and smiled, but I will admit I felt a small amount of envy as I watched at the other two teachers with maybe 6-8 kids each heading off to their movie. Then I herded my group of 40ish kids to my room and quickly started the movie.

 

I stopped the movie twice in the first half-hour to tell the Kindergartners that they had to be quiet in a theater so others could hear the movie. Oh, and people can get kicked out of the theater, you know?

 

Thank goodness for coaching basketball though. I got to make my escape before restroom and popcorn break!

 

On Tuesday, I started on parent gifts. It went so well, my friend/para posted this on Facebook that night:

 

 

This is what started it all: 

 

Isn't it cute? And it looks so easy! It even says easy in the description. See for yourself here.

 

Easy? No...not if the marshmallows won't fit. We tried rolling the marshmallows on desks to make them skinnier (with some success).We tried pushing them through with a pencil, which created an ooey gooey mess and then NO marshmallows would go through the hole. Then one little kiddo poked the pencil clear through the ornament. Okay, bad idea with the pencils... Next?

 

This pic shows the mutilated marshmallows.

We ended up with two broken bulbs and one that I just threw away because we couldn't get any marshmallows in it, so I had to buy another pack of twelve bulbs. Fortunately, this pack had large openings and the kids were able to stuff with no problems. See below:

 

No mutilated marshmallows.

I felt so bad about how some of the snowman turned out, we made another ornament the next day. Kristi and I made this one last year so I knew it would be cute...and EASY (truth - not like the easy of the marshmallow bulbs)! Foam snowflakes, sticky pictures of the kids, glue and glitter. Perfect!

 

Hey, check out that table above the snowflake. It is the kiddo's schedule during Daily 5. I know, I know...I'm supposed to let them choose, but this is what works for me. I made a PowerPoint and click through the rounds each day to tell kids where to go. I found that there were days the projector wouldn't work or when I had a sub, it was just easier for them to have a copy on their desks (laminated and attached w/ a velcro dot). Worked pretty well when I was gone recently. :-)

 

 

 After the excitement of the ornament making on Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday was Polar Express Day. We read the story, rode the "train" to the North Pole (set up on our stage by the 1st grade teacher - very cool), had hot chocolate and watched the movie. Best part was wearing my PJs to school! :-)

 

Finally it was Friday...we went caroling at the local gas station in the morning. I was a little nervous about this since I was responsible for having the kids ready to sing. They did great...it was over way too fast...literally. Came back to the school and "winged" it until our early lunch. The same gas station provided pizza for the kids, followed by our Christmas parties, and loading the bus by 12:30. I was completely exhausted!!!

 

I hope you are enjoying your break! Merry Christmas!!!

12 Days of Christmas Fun

I saw a fun idea on Pinterest to do the 12 Days of Christmas for your husband and decided to go for it - not only for my hubby, but also my kids. It has been a lot of fun!

The first thing I had to do was convince my husband to participate and open the presents. He is very "strict" about not opening any presents until Christmas Day. Believe me, this was a source of contention when we first got married. I was the baby of five kids and we would always convince my dad to let us open our presents early! As a newlywed, it was really hard for me to wait! LOL!

Hubby has softened up and now allows our kids to open one present on Christmas Eve (pajamas).

Anyway, I thought it might be fun to share the gifts I gave if you are in need of any ideas...

For Hubby:

Day 1 - Fusion Shaving Gel (I really like the smell of it - it is kind of an inside joke)
Day 2 - Pack of 2 of his favorite pens
Day 3 - Pack of 3 Chap-sticks
Day 4 - Pack of Undies
Day 5 - 5 Packs of Tic-Tacs
Day 6 - Pack of 6 of his favorite candy bar
Day 7 - 7 is the number of perfection, so I gave him 7 reasons he is the "perfect" man for me!
Day 8 – 8 coupons for some of his favorite treats that I make
Day 9 – Pack of 9 Krispy Kreme donuts
Day 10 - 10 homemade chocolate chip cookies
Day 11 - Package of 11 screws
Day 12 - Pack of socks

For Kids (11 year old daughter and 13 year old son):

Day 1 – Journal to write letters back and forth to us...my daughter has affectionately termed these the "LTFMD" for Letters To/From Mom and Dad. See the rules below:

 

The journals are something I have wanted to start for awhile...something that I can use to tell them things I want them to know or remember should something happen to their father and/or me. I explained it in the first letter I wrote to them. The gift had my daughter in tears. We have already had fun writing back and forth - even my son! His is plain black.

 

Day 2 – Pair of gloves
Day 3 – Pack of 3 Chap-sticks
Day 4 – Package of Snack Pack Pudding*
Day 5 – Gum or undies
Day 6 – Pack of 6 of their favorite candy bar
Day 7 – Gum or undies
Day 8 – Pack of socks
Day 9 – Pencils (10 pack, I took one out!)
Day 10 – Package of Capri-Sun*
Day 11 – 11 homemade chocolate chip cookies
Day 12 – 12 pack of their favorite pop*

***You have to understand that my kids don’t get that sort of thing very often, so they love it! It is even a tradition that I buy their favorite “sugary” cereal and wrap it up for one of their presents to open on Christmas Day because I won’t buy any cereal with more than 10 g of sugar. I’m such a mean mom! LOL!

And guess what? Hubby got in on the fun! He got pretty creative.

Day 1 – candle

Day 2 – pair of socks
Day 3 – 3 skirt hangers (Woohoo! I really wanted these - seriously!)
Day 4 – 4 new washcloths (remember I said I wouldn’t discuss the condition of our old ones…)
Day 5 – Post-it note flags (pack of 5)
Day 6 – pack of socks
Day 7 – coupon for something sweet
Day 8 – pack of Sharpies
Day 9 – “9 Verses That Bring My Wife to Mind”
Day 10 – decorative binder clips
Day 11 – “11 Things that Make My Wife Special to Me”
Day 12 -  TBA...

Merry Christmas!

Crystal

Christmas Activities in Pictures

Our words are still few as we think of Sandy Hook Elementary, but we wanted to share a few pictures or our last two days of activities.

 

Yesterday was our first day of break! :-)

 

Thinking of you that are still working. :-(

 

Decorating gift bags for our parent gifts...

Reading to Someone from the other first grade class...

Working together on a couple of Christmas worksheets...

Christmas gifts for mom and dad...

We bought the foam snowflakes on clearance last year, added their "sticky pictures" from the company that takes our school pictures, and of course, GLITTER!

Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. May the Lord give grace to help the families, friends, school, and community at this time.

Kristi and Crystal