1-2-3 Come Do Some More Snowman Activities With Me

 Whenever I toss in a bit of craftiness to our learning, I grab my kiddos' attention and they can't wait to get down to business. It's an absolute joy to see them so happily engaged. 

The little bit of extra prep time is well worth the effort, as everyone is focused and on task, with no wasted time with discipline problems or re-explaining things to students who were not listening. 

Plus, completed projects make wonderful bulletin boards and hallway displays, which promote pride in their work and increased self-esteem.

With this in mind, I designed a variety of snowman-themed activities, that practice a variety of standards.

"The Snowman's Nose" is a quick, easy and fun way to practice: upper & lowercase letters, numbers to up to 20 or backwards from 31, plus skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s, and can also be a way to whole-group assess. 

There are 8 different snowman heads to choose from. Simply choose which one is appropriate for your kiddos.

"Snowy's Nose" by Kelly Asbury, is a sweet book to read before or after this craft.

Another way to practice upper and lowercase letters, counting forwards and backwards, as well as skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s, and 10s, is with Pete the Puzzling Snowman.

Print, color, laminate and trim a set, keeping each puzzle in its own Baggie, and use them for an independent center activity, or do as a whole-group craftivity.

Children can color my snowman face, or they can draw one of their own, on the blank pattern. 

After children cut up their puzzle template, they arrange the pieces on a blue sheet of construction paper, leaving a little gap in-between each strip, creating a cool mosaic effect.

For more alphabet practice, try my Dollar Deal Alphabet Wheels, which build the vocabulary needed to give an example of a word, with that beginning sound.

They feature 6 nouns that begin with that letter, and come in black and white, for individual word work, as well as color, so that you can use them as an independent center activity.

I've also included a worksheet where students trace & write the words in alphabetical order. 

We revisit the letter Ss in January, with the Ss is for Snowman alphabet wheel.

To practice 2D shapes, make a set of "Shapely Snowmen". 

Look closely at the photo, and you'll see that the snowman's facial features match the 2D shape of his head. 

I put a sprig of holly on my hats, but a paper punched snowflake would also look cute.

Use them as giant flashcards, (Hold one up. Children call out what shape it is, along with its attributes, like the number of vertices), use them as a 2D bulletin board display, independent math center, or do as a craftivity, and have students make one of their own.

You can also play a variety of games with them. I've included directions in the packet.

My kiddos absolutely LOVE playing  "4 Corner Freeze" . 

It's easy-peasy for me, and only takes a few minutes, so it’s perfect for the end of the day, or when you want to give your students a brain break or get the wiggles out. 

Finally, if your kiddos need some review with color and color words, the Colorful Snowman Games packet is an interesting and fun way to practice.

Students can play the color-matching game as an independent center, or choose a partner and play a spinner game.

Make an extra set and glue the puzzle hat and scarf pieces to the appropriate snowman and use them for your winter word wall, or a bulletin board display.

I’ve also included a plain set, for students to draw in their own snowman face, if you want to do this as a whole-group craftivity, where each child makes their favorite color snowman.   The packet also includes a “Colors on a Roll” dice game. 

The other snowman color activity is Snowman Colors, which features an emergent reader that covers lots of standards, as students read the repetitive sentences, circle capital letters, add end punctuation, trace and write the words, and color the pictures.  Days of the week + color words are also reinforced.

The packet includes 3 graphing extensions, a game, bookmark and a worksheet, plus a cute snowman craftivity, where the “scarf” is a little flip booklet, featuring color words.

The featured FREEBIE today is a set of "I Spy" snowface worksheet games, which help reinforce upper and lowercase letters + numbers from 1-20.

I did "I Spy" daily, as a fun way for my Y5's to practice, as well as a quick and easy way for me to whole-group assess.

Well that's it for today.  Hope you found something here that tickled your fancy. The sun is shining outside my office window and making the snow sparkle.

As Mr. Rogers used to say: "It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood." Wishing you a carefree day filled with Brrrrr-illiance!

"Some people are so much sunshine to the square inch." -Walt Whitman

1-2-3 Come Do Some Snowman Activities With Me

No matter what grade I taught, my students LOVED making glyphs. They are a quick, easy and fun way to practice listening and following directions.

With that in mind I designed a snowman glyph.  Completed projects make an adorable bulletin board, and provide an interesting way to get to know your kiddos too.

To practice data collection & analysis, as well as process of elimination, have students try and figure out who made some of the snowman glyphs. I've also included 3 graphing extensions to practice another math standard. 

Another super-fun snowman activity, is Silas, the 3D Cylinder Shaped Snowman.

I've found that if I toss a bit of craftiness into our lesson, I not only grab my students' attention, but they learn and retain those concepts better. 

The cylinder shape was a bit of a toughie for some of my kiddos, so this really helped solidify the concept.

Silas does double duty, as his facial features practice and review 2D shapes, which can be drawn on, or cut and glued.

Finally, my kiddos needed more place value practice. To put a bit of zippidy-doo-dah in reinforcing this math standard, I designed  Petey, a super-fun place value snowman.

Simply print the worksheet filled with an assortment of place value blocks. (There's 2 on a page).

Students decide which pieces they want to use to decorate their PV snowman with, then color, cut and glue them to the pattern.

Afterwards, they figure out the value of their snowman, then fill out the "My Place Value Snowman" worksheet.

I've included a blank template as well, if you think this is too much information for younger kiddos.

Children can fill out the black and white version, with whatever information is appropriate for their level. 

I've included one in color, so that teachers can quickly and easily make a sample to share.

Completed projects make an awesome bulletin board or hallway display. 

For more wintry place value practice, I designed a snowman, whole-group assessment game, which can also be used as an independent center activity.

I’ve included both a full page snowman, as well as a two-on-a-page pattern.  Students can draw in their own snowman face, or color my pattern.

To turn these into dry erase “boards”, cut squares out of glossy photo paper.  Each student needs 4 to glue on top of the squares on their place value snowman.   My students keep their snowman in their math journals, as we play the game once or twice a week. 

Students, don’t really seem to get tired of it, and the place value “light bulbs” go on rather quickly in their heads.   Despite the fact that many of my kiddos can't count past 100, they still can wrap their brains around place value, when shown visually, by playing this game.

Print; laminate and trim the number cards (0-9) and toss them in a mitten or winter cap.  Choose 3 students to pick a card.  This will become the 3-digit number that students write in the number squares of the snowman’s hat, using a dry erase marker.

Today's featured FREEBIE is a "Rip & Tear" snowman craft. Ripping and tearing paper is a super-fun way for kiddos to strengthen those finger and hand muscles. 

The packet includes a pattern for a mosaic snowman, as well as a whole, torn paper one. 

My kiddos do one the first week of January, then the other at the end of the month. 

Completed projects make an awesome bulletin board or hallway display, which we keep up through February. 

In the photograph, you can see Silas, the 3D cylinder shaped snowman, hanging with our rip and tear snowmen.

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

Even tho' it's a chilly 33 degrees outside, the sun is shining, so I think I'll take my poodle pup Chloe for a walk.  Wishing you an energizing day.

"The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results." - Anthony Roberts

1-2-3 Come Do Some Mitten Activities With Me

We are smitten with The Mitten, by Jan Brett. It's a Ukrainian folktale, and one of my kiddos' favorite winter books, that's perfect for practicing sequencing and a variety of other standards.

With that in mind, I designed The Mitten Literacy Packet, with quick, easy and fun "print & go" activities, games, and even a mitten craft.

The packet includes:

* A world map worksheet, where children locate the Ukraine as well as their own country and color it.
* A label the cover worksheet, with completed sample.

* Characters, setting and events, pocket chart cards.
* Story elements, plus beginning-Middle-and End parts of the story, worksheets.

* Worksheets for sequencing the animals.
* Several writing prompt worksheets, for summarizing the story and explaining your favorite part.

* Who-What-Why-When-Where-How? worksheet.
* Several games, including a set of Memory Match cards that you can play 3 additional games with.

* 5 Venn diagram worksheets, which are a fun way to practice comparison & contrast.
* A graphing extension.

* 21, pocket chart, sentence cards, which help review the story, as well as practice capitalization and end punctuation.
* There's a matching set of mini cards, to use for several other activities.

* 9, "We read The Mitten today. Ask me to tell you the story." bookmarks.
* "Mm is for mitten and . . ." beginning letter sound worksheet.

* Rhyme time worksheet, with matching answer-key poster.
* "How Many Words Can You Make?" worksheet with an answer-key poster.

* Keepsake hand print mitten craft, plus . . .
* 3 mitten-themed graphic organizer worksheets.

Whew! That covers a nice variety of stuff doesn't it? 

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop for The Mitten Literacy Packet. 

Today's FREEBIE is a snowman acrostic poem packet.

It's a quick, easy and fun way to incorporate the poetry genre into your studies. 

Besides the snowman arostic pictured, the packet also includes 5 other acrostic poem templates.

Completed projects make an adorable bulletin board too.

Well that's it for today.  Wishing everyone a wonder-filled wintry week.  Thanks for stopping by.  

"Poetry is when emotion has found its thought, and the thought has found words." - Robert Frost

1-2-3 Come Do Some Mitten Activities With Me

Do you read the Ukrainian folktale The Mitten, by Jan Brett? It’s one of my favorite winter stories and perfect for practicing the sequencing and retelling a story standards.

With that in mind, I designed some quick, easy and fun, mitten-themed activities.  First up is The Mitten story “slider” craftivity, that will help your students retell the story in the proper order.

Simply run the mitten and slider patterns off on white paper. Using construction paper or card stock adds to the sturdiness.

Children trim their mitten, then color, cut and glue their slider together. 
I pre-cut the mitten slits using an Exacto knife, so that children can easily insert their “storytelling strip”.

As they pull on the end of the “slider” the various pictures go through the mitten “window”, so that children can take turns retelling the story to a partner, then take their mitten home to share with their family, once again practicing the lesson.

I introduce the lesson by reading the story, then share my sample with the children.  We retell the tale together, using the picture prompts on the slider.

My students now know what’s expected of them, and are excited to transition to making a “mitten story slider” of their own. 

Another way students can retell the story, is with The Mitten Story Wheel.  It's a quick, easy & fun way to assess comprehension and practice sequencing as well.

There are full color patterns to use for centers, as well as a sample to share, plus a black and white pattern, so your students can make their own.

As a comprehension-assessment tool, and for more fine motor practice, another option is to have students cut up the picture sections, then glue them to the blank wheel in the appropriate order.

To practice ordinal numbers, have children write 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc. on each piece.   I've also included "Sequence the Story” Puzzles.

Use the full-color versions for an independent center, and print the black and white pattern, so children can color, cut and arrange their own puzzle.

There's also a writing prompt worksheet, where students write what happened in the story. 

Since The Mitten story has eight animals climbing into a mitten, its a wonderful segue for practicing ordinal numbers too.  

The packet includes:
* An emergent reader booklet: Move Over Please, So I Won't Freeze, which reinforces a variety of Common Core Standards, along with ordinal numbers and verb practice.

* A mitten paper plate pocket "craftivity", which students make to keep all of their mitten-related work in.
* A set of ordinal number pocket chart cards

* A student-made, mitten matching game, where students match the animal character to the animal's name, or the ordinal number position it had in the story, or all three.
Children can do this independently, or pick a partner to play against.

* Ordinal number character assessment strip
* 2 graphing activities
* 2 writing prompts on one worksheet, which can be turned into a class-made book.

* Several mitten worksheets, including one that covers rhyming words, plus more verb-work. (Great for Daily 5 word work activities.) and . . .
* A certificate of praise bookmark that can be used to play another game. 

Finally, my kiddos absolutely LOVE making class books. They're a quick and easy way to practice a variety of standards.  Contributing a page for a class book, is super-fun for your kiddos, and will grab their attention from the get go.

Completed projects make a cute bulletin board display; afterwards, collate the pages and put the book in your classroom library. 

There are two writing prompts to make two books included in the packet.  Both are based on  The Mitten, by Jan Brett. 

In the first one, Our Mitten, the teacher loses a mitten. As children find it, they tuck something inside. 

Here, I wanted my kiddos to take size into consideration, and think of something that could realistically fit inside a mitten.

On their page, students state their name and tell what they put inside their teacher’s mitten and why, adding an illustration.

The Animals In Our Mitten, is the next book. The cover and pages, are in the shape of a large mitten.

Children fill in the blank with an adjective, animal and action verb. i.e. “A slow, green turtle shuffled into our class mitten.”

I feel that even PK kiddos can come up with a descriptive word and action for their animal, and believe it’s not too early to have children practice writing a vivid and complete sentence, however, I've also included a simpler page, where little ones simply name an animal and draw a picture.

I’ve further tied the packet into Brett’s folktale,The Mitten, by including an alphabetical list of 39 of the action verbs in her story, along with a worksheet.

There’s also a verb-definition poster, plus 39 action verb cards, and 11 character cards, which you can use for several games and activities. 

Today's featured FREEBIE is a shaving cream snowman. 

Equal parts of non-menthol shaving cream, mixed with Elmer's glue, dries all puffed up, creating amazing results!

It's our favorite winter craft.  Completed projects turn out absolutely fabulous! We get tons of compliments on our bulletin board too.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.  I'm sure the holiday break went fast for you as well. 

Here's hoping some of these activities get you excited for back to school, celebrating a fresh start in the New Year. 

"Whatever you do, or dream that you can do--begin it. Boldness has genuis, and power and magic in it." -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 1-2-3 Come Do Some More New Year Activities With Me

Tonight will usher in a New Year.  Before I get busy preparing for that, I wanted to blog about some New Year activities, for those of you who'll be in the mood tomorrow to plan a few lessons. 

First up, is a New Year Place Value craftivity. It's a "growing" packet, as each year it will be updated with more dates.  As always, I try to combine math with literacy whenever I can.

Even though my kiddos are just doing 3-digit numbers, they have no problem wrapping their brains around this larger number, with an added place value section.

They trace, write, cut and glue the numbers under the appropriate "doors" that flip up, to reveal the year.

As a math extension, for the last “window” they practice subtraction, by subtracting the year that they were born, from the New Year, to get their age.

Older students can do the writing prompt: “Three things that are different from the New Year, than the year when I was born…” and glue this paper on the back of their flip up.

This can simply be basic information, or involve technology, by sending them to the Internet, and have them find 3 specifics and compare them. i.e., “The president when I was born was Bill Clinton. The president now is Barack Obama.”

If you think your students will need more room, or you want to do this as a separate writing block or Daily 5 activity, I’ve also included 5 writing prompt worksheet options. 
For more writing and comparison practice, there are  2 Venn diagrams in the packet as well. 

If your kiddos are learning to tell time to the hour, this  New Year emergent reader, is an interesting way for them to practice.

Students go from lunch time (noon) to midnight, as they trace and write words and times, draw hands on the clocks to show that time, and complete a few writing prompts, adding some illustrations.

There's a full-page template, as well as a smaller, 2-on-a-page one, to conserve ink and paper. 

Finally, no matter what grade I taught, and there were many(!) my students really enjoyed doing a Venn diagram.

I love them because they are a quick, easy and fun way to introduce and practice, comparison and contrast, plus the graphic aspect is perfect for my visual learners. Students can do them independently, or pick a partner and complete one together.

There are 17 different Venn diagrams in the Happy New Year Writing Prompt packet, plus I changed the header on the “head” pattern Venns, so you can use them any time of the year.

They are especially appropriate for Back To School, as a getting to know you icebreaker. Completed projects make an awesome bulletin board too.

Today's featured FREEBIE is a "High Fives New Year Writing Prompt" craftivity" “High fives for me! I made these New Year resolutions and am trying to keep them.” Encourage students to think of five.

Afterwards, children pick a partner and take turns tracing each others hand and wrist on a bit of flesh-tone construction paper, then trim.

Drawing fingernails, a watchband and rings adds extra pizzazz.  Have children write the New Year below the “knuckles”.  I’ve included a clock pattern students can cut and glue to their wristband, drawing hands to show midnight.

The girls LOVED adding flat-backed jewels to their rings. You can get self-stick ones, or use mini glue dots. Glitter nail polish was another option and highlight. 

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

My "to do" list for today, is rather long but lots of fun.  Wishing you a safe and blessed New Year's Eve, filled with lots of memorable moments.  

"Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right." - Oprah Winfrey

1-2-3 Come Do Some New Year-Themed Activities With Me

I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas break.  For those of you who might be in the mood to do a bit of lesson planning, for those first few days back from vacation, I thought I'd blog about some of the quick, easy and fun New Year activities that I just finished.

First up is a "Happy New Year" countdown slider.  It's a "glitter ball"  craftivity to practice counting backwards.  I've included countdown strips from 10-0, as well as 20-0.

Children trim, trace the numbers, and insert into the slits of their countdown ball. 
For that finishing touch, add a bit of silver glitter for extra pizzazz.

To practice, we start from a sitting position. My kiddos are holding their slider and counting backwards with me, as we pull the numbers through the "window" of their glitter balls.

As we approach zero, they get in a crouching position.  As we say "zero!" they jump in the air and yell "Happy New Year!" 

Jumping around gets the wiggles out, then counting backwards in a whisper voice calms them right back down. Afterwards, they love "tip-toeing on marshmallow feet" to their cubbies, to put their ball away for another time. 

Next up is a Happy New Year balloon writing prompt craft.  It's  a “Growing” packet, as there are no worries of it ever being outdated, for I’ve included patterns through 2020, which I'll up-date each year.

I’ve found that if I toss in a quick, easy and fun craftivity, with my students’ writing prompts, they are eager and excited to get down to the business of writing.

This writing prompt rings in the new, while reflecting on the old:
* ”My favorite thing that I learned, my favorite thing that I did, and my favorite place that I went . . .” is the front of the balloon, and reflects the past.

The back balloon, contemplates the present and future:
* ”Something that I’d like to learn, something I’d like to do, somewhere I’d like to go . . .”

You can give students an option of which one they want to do, or assign both, completing them during two different writing blocks, then glue them back-to-back. 

An added bonus is that completed projects make an awesome display.  Simply run off on a variety of colors of construction paper, add some Dollar Store curling ribbon and suspend from the ceiling. 

Finally, this sports-themed writing prompt, Having a Ball With Our Goals For The New Year, also makes an awesome January bulletin board or hallway display.

We discuss New Year's resolutions, then I use it as a segue into making some goals for school too.

Students write a list of goals on a sheet of scratch paper, edit, then write them on either a volleyball, football, baseball, basketball or soccer ball, which you've run off on appropriate colors of construction paper.

After students share several of their goals with the class, scatter them on a bulletin board.

I've included a colorful "We're Having A Ball With Our Goals For The New Year!" poster, which you can put in the center of your display. 

Today's featured FREEBIE is a set of Happy New Year number puzzles, which will also help your kiddos practice counting backwards.

Well that's it for today. 

I'm busy working on all sorts of fun Snowman, Mitten and Snowflake activities, as I  look forward to all of the special winter celebrations. 

Wishing you a creative and cozy day. 

"In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy." -William Blake

1-2-3 Come Snip Some Snowflakes With Me

During the last few days before Christmas break, we took down all of our December bulletin boards and hallway displays featuring my students' work.

Because everything looked so bare, I always liked to do a craftivity on party day, that we could hang up for January. "Snippy, the 2D Snowflake", is perfect for that.

When it comes to practicing our scissor  skills, is there any cutting activity more fun than snipping a paper snowflake?

My Y5s absolutely LOVE making them, as there seems something almost magical about gently unfolding their creation, to reveal a lovely lacy snowflake.

With that in mind, I designed Snippy, the Shapely Snowflake Snowman, as a way to practice and review 2D shapes.

Although they look pretty awesome, they are no more difficult than cutting a regular paper, just follow my simple directions. 

If you opt to just make a regular snowflake, using coffee filters, instead of paper, is much easier for PK kiddos to cut.

The more "chunks" you snip, the more intricate your snowflake. Snipping chunks in the various 2D shapes, will also help reinforce this Common Core Standard.

I show my kiddos how to cut squares, rectangles, circles, triangles, a diamond rhombus, as well as a heart. 

Although each snowflake will be unique, just like real ones, the various shapes will be the same for everyone. 

Those snowflakes then becomes Snippy's body, with the hatbands stating the name of the shape.

Even if you choose not to do this as a whole-group, listening and following directions craftivity, make a set for a lovely "Winter Wonderland Wall", to use as shape review.

The packet includes directions, patterns and photographs of the folded steps, plus pictures of the completed projects.

Before we make our snowflakes, I read Snip Snip Snow by Nancy Poydar.   It’s one of my favorite snowflake books and my Y5’s really enjoy it. 

They always asked if they can make a snowflake too, which provides the perfect segue to our paper cutting activities.  

For almost all of them, this is a first-time experience, so they are extremely excited to begin.  To save time, you can prefold the paper for little ones, otherwise you can do the folding portion as a "monkey-see, monkey-do" following direction activity.  

While you are demonstrating, remind students to keep their snowflake folded and to have a space in-between each cut or they will have a snowflake with big holes that will likely fall apart. 

I always had a few kiddo's who got caught up in snipping and failed to follow directions.  For this reason, it’s a good idea to run off a few extra shapes. 

I hope your kiddos have a blizzard of fun as they snip snip away. The results are truly amazing!

Finally, while researching paper snowflakes, I came across the lovely idea of using a snowflake as a paper tutu for a ballerina, over at Krokotak What little princess wouldn't want to make one of these! 

There's also a connet-the-dots snowflake over at Calvary Kids with numbers to 78. 

The featured FREEBIE today is another shape craftivity.  I call them snowman name stackers.

They are a quick, easy and fun way to practice name recognition, letters, circles, squares and rectangles. 

My kiddos also make these before break, so that we can hang them on our lockers.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by. I'll be watching Kaiden (3) and Kaitlyn (1) today.

My grandchildren are certainly rainbows in my life.

Maybe we'll make some snowflakes and attach them to the packages that still need wrapping.  Wishing you "fun-tastic" day. 

"Good friends are like snowflakes.  Each different and beautiful in their own way." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Gingerbread-Themed Math Activities With Me

Since the last week of school before Christmas break, tends to be filled with a lot of shall we say, energy, I try to plug in some especially fun activities, that still practice a variety of standards. 

With that in mind, I designed the whopping 167-page Gingerbread Number Fun Packet. 

As a special Merry Christmas treat, I’ve decided to price it at $4.95 instead of the usual $9.95 price for packets over 100 pages long.

It’s chock full of worksheets, games, emergent readers, puzzles & activities that cover a variety of standards and skills for PK-1st, all involving numbers in some way.

Simply pick what’s appropriate for your kiddos to practice . . .

Counting to 130, counting backwards from 10 to 1, skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s, sequencing, patterning, 2D shapes, ordinal numbers, colors, listening & following directions, data collection & analysis, small-medium-large, number words, groups/sets, addition, subtraction, non-standard units of measurement, odd & even, end punctuation, greater & less than, spatial directions, symmetry, +one more, 10 frames, and addresses.

I’ve offered 2-on-a-page patterns to save paper & ink, and included full-color teacher templates, so that you can quickly & easily make samples to share. 

Use these activities as worksheets, whole-group assessments, games, independent centers, or for homework, a sub folder and early finishers.  

A personal favorite of mine are the number puzzles. 

I use them for a math center, but also allow my kiddos to choose one and make their own.  Kiddos can practice sequencing numbers from 1-10, or counting backwards from 10 to 1, plus skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s, or 10s.

The "Measure measure as fast as you can.  I will help you. I'm the gingerbread man." measurement activities are especially fun too. 

My Y5s really enjoy scampering around the room finding "stuff" to measure with their 3 sizes of gingerbread cookies.

They use the small, medium and large gingerbread men, as a non-standard unit of measurement, to measure how many gingerbread cookies tall they are etc. 

Both the puzzles and measurement activities, are perfect for party day, as they are that creative, something different, that will grab their attention, and keep them happily engaged.

Here's hoping this packet gives you plenty of activities to plug into your day, that are easy-peasy for you, and fun for your kiddos. Gingerbread Number Fun

The featured FREEBIE for today is a super-fun wreath craftivity, perfect for the last week of school. 

This keepsake, fingerprint wreath is a nice decorative gift that students can make for their family, and demonstrates secondary colors: Yellow + Blue = Green. 

"I made this pretty wreath for you. I made it by mixing yellow and blue.
Yellow + Blue as you have seen, makes a lovely Christmas green.
The red berries, I’ll give you a hint, are made from someone’s fingerprint.
This wreath is a circle it has no end. It’s like my love, that I now send."

Yes, you can simplify things, and just have your kiddos use green paint, but I assure you, their squeals of delight, as 2 different colors blend together to make a new color, is priceless,  and well worth the mess.  It's almost magical. 

Well that's it for today.  Yesterday was "Christmas cookie-baking day" with 2 of my grandchildren, so today is "clean up the mess" day. 

I think we made more messes and memories than we did cookies, but the giggles, kisses and love were just as sweet. Wishing you a stress-free week, as you wind down to a much-deserved break.

"In the cookies of life, friends are the chocolate chips." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Make Some Christmas Ornaments With Me

Here’s a quick, easy & fun Christmas name ornament, that’s a perfect little craftivity for party day or those crazy last few days of school.

Even the Common Core “Grinch” police, will have no problem finding this an extremely educational activity!

It can simply be done with little ones (PK-Y5) to practice their names, along with letter recognition, and the difference between upper and lowercase letters, vowels & consonants as well as counting.

Older kiddos, (K-3rd) can practice a lot of math:
such as graphing, addition, greater & less than, data analysis, inference, guess-timation, plus comparing & contrasting with a Venn diagram.

I’ve included several worksheets and graphing extensions, plus a "secret" coded Christmas message that you can challenge your students to solve.

Make it a "speed" game, and see who can decode the message first.
Afterwards, students pick a partner and write a secret message to them.

For a sweet keepsake, have children write their name on the back, along with a date and grade, then glue their school photo on. 

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to take a look: Christmas Name Ornament Laced With Math.

Laminate your students’ completed projects; punch a hole at the top & add a yarn loop.

Today's feartured FREEBIE is also an ornament. It's a fingerprint Christmas tree, sure to become a keepsake as well.  

This little craftivity, is a terrific way to review the concept of +1 more and counting to 10, and includes a poem for the back:

"My fingerprints as you can see, have made a lovely little tree. They're stacked up straight and oh so tall, with love from me when I was small."  Children sign and date.

Thanks for stopping by.  I've got to hustle off to go buy the ingredients to make Christmas cookies.

That was one of my favorite memories with my Grama Lydia, and I hope to make it an annual tradition with Kaiden (3) & Kaitlyn (1) who are coming over today.  Wishing you a love-flled day.

"Grandchildren are sprinkles on the cookies of life." -Unknown

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

"Welcome To My House" is an interesting and fun writing prompt with two door options. 

For one, students decorate their construction paper door, trim and glue the “hinge” portion to a sheet of white paper, which they also trim. The other, is a “color me” option.

Inside, students write their final draft completing the writing prompt: "Welcome to my home for Christmas..."

Encourage students to use plenty of adjectives that involve their senses, to help describe what a visitor might see, hear, and smell, as they enter their home.  I've included a completed sample to help you explain the lesson.

Students who don't celebrate Christmas, can simply write a "Welcome to my home" for another celebration or holiday that their family celebrates.

If you do a Christmas Around the World theme, students can choose a country, and welcome visitors to their home in France, Sweden, Mexico etc. as they write from that point of view.

Completed projects make a lovely bulletin board.  I’ve also included an address tag, to go along with your display.

Next up is a class-made book: Who Will Pull Santa's Sleigh?

Introducing a writing activity with a story, grabs my kiddos attention, stimulates their imaginations, and gets them excited to get down to the business of writing.

Who’ll Pull Santa’s Sleigh Tonight? by Laura Rader, is a personal favorite of my students, and was the inspiration behind this class book writing activity.

The reindeer have all come down with a cold, so Santa holds auditions for replacement animals, with some outrageous and funny results.

To practice more standards, I like to read a similar story, so that my students can compare and contrast them.

A Venn diagram activity, as well as a graphing extension are also included in the packet.

Our comparison story is, "Who Will Guide My Sleigh Tonight?" by Jerry Pallotta. It's an adorable “go along”, with awesome illustrations!

In this story, the reindeer are not sick, as the tale starts at the beginning, before Santa thought about reindeer for the job.

Many silly scenarios are presented, as different animals try out for the job.
From skunks, kangaroos and giraffes, to monkeys, mice and even snakes, your kiddos will get lots of ideas of who should pull Santa’s sleigh. 

Finally, The Twelve Days of Christmas packet, also includes several writing prompts, as well as an emergent reader, plus several games, which practice a variety of standards, as well as some posters and worksheets.

The emergent reader contains over 100 Dolch sight words!
Students read the sentence, trace and write the number and ordinal number word, then complete the writing prompts.

Besides the writing within the emergent reader, there are also 3 other writing prompts:

* “If money were no object, list 7 things you’d like to have”;
* “A Favorite Gift” where students tell about a gift that they really enjoy and why it’s a favorite.
* “Something Special For Someone Special” where children choose a person that they’d like to give a gift to and write who-what-why. 

The featured FREEBIE today is "Me Mints!" one of my personal favorites.  Completed projects make an adorable bulletin board.  I've also included a smaller template, if you'd rather make a Christmas ornament.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by. I have so much to do, I'm not sure where to start. 

A bit of housecleaning is certainly in order before I add any more Christmas decorations... hmmmm maybe I'll just go shopping instead. Wishing you a frolicking-fun day. 

"Housework: Something nobody really notices, until you don't do it." -Unknown