A Sweet Treat For Christmas Or A Sweet Surprise To Ring In the New Year When Your Students Come Back.
Here is a photo of the snowman candy bars I made for my grandsons last year. Having a sweet surprise on your students' desk is a nice way to wish them a Happy New Year!
Because I have the extra time to putz during vacation and feel more relaxed, I enjoy whipping some things up, however, if you're looking for something to give your students as a gift, or even have them make for their families, these are super easy and sure to be a winner.
Putting them together in assembly-line fashion is enjoyable and gets the job done quickly. I made 20 in less than an hour.
I purchased Nestle Crunch bars from Sam’s Club. There are 36 in a box for $19. If you have a smaller class, perhaps you can split the cost with another teacher who would also like to make them.
If this is beyond your budget, you can scale things down and make the snowmen using packs of gum, which can also be bought in bulk at Sam’s or Costco. Instead of paper scarves, use ribbon and tie them on.
For complete directions of how to make a chocolate bar snowman wrapper, click on the link.
So that you don't have to spend a lot of time writing, I made a template with Happy New Year 2013 labels on it. - This is a DOC file so you have to click here to get the labels. You can then change the date each year.
- Click on the link for the Happy New Year labels.
- I've also made Merry Christmas Labels if you'd like to use them for Christmas instead of New Years. Click on the link to download the Merry Chrismas Labels.
- You can either make name labels or write your students' names on the bottom of the candy bar. I’ve provided a name label template for you as well.
- Click on the link for the name label template.
- Blue writing also looks nice if you want a different color. This can be changed on your menu bar by choosing a color and then highlighting your print on the template.
- Add facial details with watercolor markers.
- I’ve provided a skiing “cover” for the back of the candy bar to cover the glued tabs if you want to add that “finishing touch” so things look a bit nicer.
- Click on the link to view/download the Snowman Candy Bars. Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN anything you think others might find helpful.
"If there be any truer measure of a man than by what he does, it must be by what he gives." -Robert South
A Quick & Easy Christmas Craft With Math Extensions!
My grandson’s last day is Tuesday. If you too are still in school and looking for a quick and easy project to plug in for a little fun, but still want some standards attached to it, then you may enjoy making these little Christmas trees.
The initial shape is a circle; students cut it in half and then fold it in 1/4th’s, for a nice fraction review. Their circle now looks like a triangle.
When it’s glued together the completed project is no longer a flat shape, but takes the 3-D pyramid shape and looks like a mini Christmas tree.
They are such fun to make; you can also cover the concept of small, medium and large by doing different size circles.
To display the 3 sizes as a centerpiece, place them on a circle of aluminum foil with a large paper doily on top.
Students can count the ornaments they dot on their tree as another math extension, or give them the option to decorate their trees with glitter garland or snow.
Dabbing glue on with a Q-tip, is a no-mess hassle-free way to accomplish decorating the trees. Remind students “A little dab will do ya.” as you don’t want the glue running when they stand to dry, after children sprinkle glitter on top.
If you are making these at home with your own children, they make adorable place cards for your table.
Simply write your family’s names in the middle of one section of the tree and then decorate around it.
I used green printed scrapbook paper that was cardstock thick, but construction paper also works well.
You can top with 2 gold star stickers pressed back-to-back or cut some with a star punch for that finishing touch.
Lightly sprtiz with evergreen scent for that final Christmas bit of magic!
Click on the link to view/print the 3-D Christmas Tree pattern, OR click on the link to view/print the 3-D Christmas Tree pattern, pix and directions.
Here's Ho Ho Hoping you have a Jolly Holly-Day!
Helping Hands
Do you have someone who gives you a helping hand? Why not let them know by stuffing a pair of warm winter gloves with goodies and giving them this gift to show your appreciation?
You can make a helping hand glove set for your room helper(s), or teacher’s assistant or make some for a few of your close teacher friends. They also make a nice gift for the school secretary or other volunteers. I’ve made poems for both kinds.
It’s up to you what items you want to stuff inside. I included practical “pamper yourself” things that a helper might find useful, purchased at two of my favorite stores: Bath & Body & Yankee Candle.
I enjoy making jewelry so I purchased some pretty beads at Hobby Lobby and made a bracelet to put on the cuff for that extra touch of pizzazz.If you’re making a lot and want to keep the cost down, The Dollar Store sells all of the ingredients including the gloves! Here are a few suggestions:
Things that are hand-related:
- A tube of hand lotion
- Glittery nail polish
- A cute emery board or “forever” nail file
- Key chain nail clippers
- Purse-size-wonderful smelling hand disinfectant
Things to stick into the fingers:
- Lip balm
- Roll-on perfume
- Life Saver candies
- Rollos
- Mentos
- Pack of Gum
Etc.
- Purse-size Kleenex
- Votive candle
- Favorite candy bar
I’ve also made a cute little “meanings” for the things above and why you might include them in your gift glove.
I’ve given you a DOC form so you can revamp the list for what you include in yours. Click on the link to view/print the Gift Glove meanings list.
- Click on the link to view/print the Gift Glove article, directions, pictures, & poems.
Merry Christmas and a grateful high-five thank you, to all of the many helping hands that have made my life so much easier through out my years of teaching,
and to all of you reading this, who make the time to be those helping hands in the lives of others!
Even your most reluctant writers will enjoy contributing a page to a class made book. I try to make one each week, sometimes more depending on the themes I’m doing.
Students TRACE the sentence and fill in the blank. So that they don’t have a problem with spelling and I can manage this activity with an entire class without a lot of repetitive questions, I gather everyone in front of the white board.
Read the prompt and then ask your students to give you as many examples as they can think of.
I tell my Y5’s to put on their thinking caps and we make motions and sounds to do that.
As they raise their hands and give me suggestions, I write them on the board.
They choose an idea from the list and then take their seats and get down to business.
I always do a sample, complete with an illustration, so that they have a model to refer to, that is posted on the board.
When everyone is done with their page, we do the graphing extension(s). I laminate their contributions + the graph(s) and put them into a book, and then read it to the class.
Afterwards, it goes into our “Class Made Books” basket. This is one of my students’ favorite items to read during quiet time.
Some of the books we make I develop as a nice follow up for a popular story that we’ve just read.
These stories usually follow a theme such as Jan Brett’s The Mitten or the classic winter fairy tale The Gingerbread Man.
For the gingerbread story, I pass out Keebler gingerbread cookies and tell my students to take just one bite. I ask for a show of hands to see who bit off what and then they write and illustrate their page. I also graph the results.
Click on the link to view/print Our Mitten class book.
Click on the link to view/print Our Gingerbread Man class book.
For more winter fun writing Class Books click on the link.
Why not subscribe and enjoy everything on the TeachWithMe site for an entire year! Click on the link for details.
As always, if you have an idea you’d like to share, I’d enjoy hearing from you. I’m currently looking for topics and books that teachers want me to make class books and writing prompts for. diane@teachwithme.com
Happy Winter Writing!
Have Your Students Make Them As Christmas Gifts, Or Give Them To Your Students As A Sweet Treat!
A crafty teacher shared her idea of making reindeer noses on one of the chat boards I enjoy. I thought it was really cute.
I've also seen it pinned on Pinterest, so I'm clueless of who to give credit to. I've included a poem and given you my version here.
I think your students would have fun making a bag of chocolate reindeer noses as a gift for their parents or grandma and grandpa. Keeping this in mind, I designed a poem-card to go with them, and a header they can color.
They are also easy enough for a teacher to whip together to give to an entire class on their last day before vacation, and make adorable party favors if your child has a December birthday.
Here's How:
I thought that Whoppers would make the perfect size for a Reindeer's nose.- I found the best deal for these malted milk balls at Big Lots. The bag is only $6. My 39 oz. bag had 501 brown reindeer noses inside!
- Yes I counted them all, so you wouldn’t have to wonder. That lets you make 62 bags! (You need 8 brown noses to represent 8 of Santa’s reindeer!)
On Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen!
You might want to share this idea with another teacher and cut your cost in ½ or make them with/for your students and send the rest as treats for your own child.- I hit the Jackpot when I checked our Dollar Store looking for Rudolph’s red nose. They had a bag of the same-size bubblegum that contained 44 pieces with only 4 color options inside! (red, green, yellow and blue).
- I looked for bags that had a lot of red. The 2 bags I purchased had 13 and 14 red pieces in them!
- Snack Baggies are also sold at The Dollar Store and make the perfect container.
- Run off my header, have students color it, and glue to a green strip of construction paper for pizzazz and you’re in business.
- You can staple the header to the Baggie or use Scotch tape.
Have children press their thumb in a brown stamp pad to make a reindeer head. Add antlers and facial details with crayons or markers. - Students write their names in an ABAB pattern with a green and red crayon and color the holly for that finishing touch!
- Children glue their completed picture on a sheet of red construction paper.
- Set up the ingredients as a center on a TV tray or small table. Put the noses in two different bowls with plastic spoons. Allow students to count 9 brown balls into their bag + 1 red one which will = 10 (I work with base 10 all year so this is perfect!).
- Students take their Baggie back to their workstation and may now eat 1 BROWN nose. 10 – 1 = 9 reindeer noses. Encourage students to say the equations.
- STRESS that they can only eat 1 and that it can only be a brown nose. It’s a nice way to review addition and subtraction and a great way to avoid begging and continuous questions of: “Can I please have one?” After all, it’s hard to be little and not tempted with a bowl of chocolate Whoppers!
Click on the link to view/download Reindeer Noses
After they’ve finished their gift, have them continue with another math extension and visit meilistudios to figure out how old they are in Rudolph years!
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"If you don't like the road you're walking on, start paving another one!" -Dolly Parton
