1-2-3 Come Do Some Christmas Writing With Me

I love diddling around with a “play-on-words” and since my students especially enjoy Pete the Cat stories, I thought it would be fun to make some writing prompts using the word “Purr-fect”.

Whenever I toss a bit of craftiness into a writing prompt, my students can’t wait to get down to business.

With that in mind, I designed 6 cat-themed picturesinside a semi-circle.

As always, patterns come in black & white for students, as well as full-color, so that teachers can quickly & easily make an example to share.

Five of the six patterns feature a blue cat, while the 6th is a brown-colored cat. 

Children of course can color their cats however they want.

The semi-circle shape makes it easy-peasy to cut, then glue to the top of their writing prompt once they color it.

A semi-circle may be a new concept for some students, so be sure & grab that teachable moment to explain this interesting 2D shape.

I’ve included 2 sizes of paper, with lined & unlined options.

Both are trimmed with a snowflake border.

There are 3 writing prompts to choose from.

Pick your favorite or give students a choice.

I've also included a blank template, so that students can write about something else. 

"A List of Things for a 'Purr-fect' Christmas" is especially simple and provides practice for the "make a list" writing standard.

I've included my sample in the packet.

Younger students can simply make a Christmas card using the “Wishing you a purr-fect Christmas” greeting topper, which they glue to their snowflake-bordered paper.

This paper becomes the center portion of their craftivity where they write their name.

For that finishing touch, they can color, cut & glue a "dangler" to the bottom.

To add even more variety, there are 5 different “danglers” for students to choose from.

These are glued to the bottom of their writing prompt paper.

These too, come in black & white, plus color.

I've featured 3 different creative font options as well.

Besides the “humped” toppers, I’ve also included a “chimney cat”.

He’s peeking out from the rooftop.

The writing prompt papers for this craft are blank, allowing students to write whatever they want.

Students could also pick one of the writing prompts that are part of the other craftivity. 

In my sample, I kept things simple and made it a sweet Christmas card.

For that finishing touch, students can add a single set of bricks (left photo) or a double stack (right photo) to the base of their writing paper.

Because they are so different, you could stretch the lesson and have students do a semi-circle writing prompt craftivity, then for another day, have them make the chimney cat Christmas card.

Completed projects make a sweet December bulletin board or hallway display.

I’ve included a poster to add some extra pizzazz.

This activity pairs really well with my quick, easy & fun, cat-themed Christmas ornament packet. Click the LINK to take a look.

Today's featured FREEBIE is also a Christmas card activity.

Since Christmas Around the World is a super-fun way to get some geography into your December lessons, I thought making a "Christmas Around the World" greeting card would be fun. Click the LINK to grab your copy.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.

December is flying & I still don't have all my decorating or shopping done! Do you?

My feet have certainly hit the floor running this morning. Wishing you a fun-filled & stress free week.

"Heal the past; live the present; dream the future." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Make a Christmas Ornament With Me

If you’re looking for a quick, easy & super-fun little craft for your students to make, I think you’ll enjoy these cool cat ornaments to help wish someone a “Purr-fect” Christmas.

My Young Fives love anything with animals, especially a cool blue cat, so I thought making a Christmas ornament would be entertaining.

You’ll love the versatility of this activity as there are 5 options, which fit a variety of ages, grade levels & abilities.

With 20 cat-themed balls to choose from, there is plenty of variety too.

As always, patterns come in black & white for students, as well as full color, so that teachers can quickly & easily make an example to share.

Making a sample, not only helps you explain what you want your students to do, it acts as a catalyst for excitement.

 If your students are like mine, be prepared for many of them to ask, "Can we please make another one." Woo Hoo!

Besides the pictures, I’ve also included two “greeting” ball options, plus a blank version, so that students can draw their own picture, glue on a school photo, or write their own greeting.

The options?

1. Keep things super-simple & have students color & cut out a single cat ball, then flip it over and add a greeting to make 1 flat ornament.

I always like to tuck a little something in my students’ back packs as a surprise.

“Paper love” is an inexpensive but truly thoughtful gift, and this simple flat ornament is really easy to make a class set of. 

I made 20 in just half an hour. You could also add their school photo & then laminate. 

Pick one of the designs for their ornament from you, then run off the other cat pictures for them to make one of their own. 

Punch a hole in the top, and tie with a yarn loop. Voila! You're done.

2. Another option is to make the ornament a “flip up”.

Here you choose a cat ball to color & cut out, then add a dab of glue to the top of a "greeting" ball, then press the cat ball on top. 

You could also include a blank ball as well, or instead of the greeting.

3. The third option is an “Ornament Dangler” involves 3 ornaments glued together vertically, with a greeting centered on the back.

Grab that teachable moment for vocabulary building, as some children will not be familiar with the terms vertical & horizontal.

Completed projects look amazing swirling & twirling from the ceiling.

Plus the dangler, still neatly folds up for safe travels home in a back pack.

4.  My personal favorite option is the  three-part, 3D ornament.

Although a 3 dimensional ornament looks a bit tricky, I think you'll find that after you make a sample of your own, you'll see that they are really quite simple to put together.

I twirled the ornament around, so that you can see all 3 cat pictures, which make one-3D ornament.

Whenever I want to do something a bit more complicated with my Y5s, I enlist the help of our 3rd grade reading buddies.

My littles get the one-on-one help that they need, plus it's a great experience & self-esteem builder for the older students.

If you do this, make sure you have ornaments for the older kiddos to make one right along with their younger partner, for they will be just as excited to make a cool cat ornament of their own.  

5. Finally, a four-part 3D ornament, is assembled just like a three-part one, so it's pretty easy too. 

A 4-part ornament involves just one more step; gluing the 4th ball to the ornament. Here I added a "greeting" ball to 3 cat pictures. 

I had an absolute blast designing this craftivity & making my samples.  I hope you enjoy making some ornaments too.

Today's featured FREEBIE is a sweet "Rip & Tear" snowman craft.

Ripping and tearing strips of paper is not only fun for your kiddos, it's a terrific way to help strengthen their finger muscles. 

Completed projects turn or amazing and make a "snow" special bulletin board or hallway display.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for popping in.

Gotta run and get ready to watch this evening's Christmas parade. Several of our grandchildren will be in it!

Wishing you and yours a “purr-fect” holiday season, brimming with a ton of fun. 

"Try to learn something about everything and everything about something." -Thomas H. Huxley