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

The Elf on a Shelf book is so popular, that it’s found it’s way into the classroom, as a super-cute classroom management tool.  

Even if your kiddos don’t believe in Santa anymore, it’s still fun to have a mischievous elf “spying” on them.

An elf provides loads of writing prompt ideas. Use him to launch creative writing prompts.  "Write a note to the elf today about..." plus the "elf antics" you can do to add a bit of "elf fun" to December are endless.

You can also use him to practice spatial directions ("Where's the elf?" on, in, over, under, beside...) 

If you don’t have an elf, you can make this one.
He’s also a wonderful craftivity that your kiddos will enjoy making too.

I purchased some heavy-duty, Christmas-print bags, from Hobby Lobby.  The Dollar Store and other craft supply stores like Michaels, also have a nice selection.  

Because we recycle paper in our school, I had a supply that children could crunch up to stuff their elf with.  

Crunching, snipping, accordion-folding paper, are super-fun fine motor practice for your kiddos, that will help strengthen finger muscles.

If you don’t have access to recycled paper, ask for some newspaper donations from parents.

When the belly is stuffed, fold over the top and staple.  The bag sits nicely.
Children will glue their head to the top of the bag and the legs underneath.
You can also staple the body parts, to make sure they stay on.

Run the patterns off on construction paper and rough cut. Children color the face, trim and glue to their bag.   I had my children color an ABAB pattern on the arms and legs, but these also look good as solid strips of red and green.

For a splash of pizzazz, I pulled cotton balls, then glued the “fluff” to the hat brim, as well as the cuffs of the mittens and shoes. Pom poms and a bit of glitter, also add those finishing touches.

If you have room for a class set of elves to sit, I’ve included a behavior management “Tally Time” tummy label, students can glue to the belly of their elf. 

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to see. Lunch bag Elf on a Shelf Craft

Be sure and have a look around, especially if you've started a wish list, as TpT is holding their annual Christmas sale. 

Most shops are at least 20% off, and if you plug in the sale code: SMILES, you'll save an additional 10%. The sale is going on today, (November 30th 2015 to midnight December 1st).

The featured FREEBIE today is "Tweet Talk".  It's a quick, easy & fun way to practice those writing skills, at the same time being aware of what's going on in your students' lives.

Well that's it for now.  Thanks for stopping by.  I sure could use some "elf help" for all I'd like to get done today! 

First up though is to sort through my TpT wish list.  I have way too much clip art listed to buy it all.  Wishing you a holly jolly day. 

"Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping." -Bo Derek

1-2-3 Come Make a Gingerbag House With Me

Do you do some gingerbread activities during December? Are you contemplating making a gingerbread house?

If so, I think you and your kiddos will really enjoy making a "gingerbag".

It's a non-messy, quick, easy & fun craftivity, as an alternative to the gooey graham cracker creations, that often fall apart.

There are 8 pages of candy, cakes and ice-cream trimmings, chimneys, doors, and windows, that your kiddos can choose to decorate their paper bag gingerbread house with.

Face the bag towards you so that the bottom of the bag is at the top, and looks like a flap. This is the perfect place to glue the “candy roof” and chimney.

Students cut out whatever pieces they want to glue to the front of their house.

They arrange the pieces ‘til they are satisfied with the look, and then glue them down.

Children then color the trimmings with crayons or markers.

White puffy paint, glitter glue, and stickers can all add pizzazz to the houses.

For that finishing touch, glue a child’s photo in one of the windows.

You can also spritz them with a bit of cinnamon fragrance.

For writing practice, I've included 2 worksheets, where students describe their gingerbread house.

Completed gingerbags make a cute bulletin board too.
Caption: “Mr(s.) _____________’s kindergartners are wishing you a sweet and cozy Christmas.” OR…. “From our house to yours, we’re wishing you a yummy New Year.”  

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to take a look: Gingerbag Craftivity.

The featured FREEBIE today, also has a gingerbread theme. 

They are a set of gingerbread-themed parts of speech posters. I hope you find them useful.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.  I'm thrilled to be having the entire family over for dinner and games today. 

That's 21 people!  Woo hoo.  Gotta' get going on the yummies.   Wishing you a love and fun-filled day.

"Good painting is like good cooking; it can be tasted, but not explained." -Maurice de Vlaminck

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

No matter what your age, pretending is so much fun, particularly with children.  It's easy for them to become princesses and pirates. 

With that in mind, I designed 7, creative, Christmas-themed, writing prompts. 

They are easy-peasy "print & go" worksheets, that I'm sure your students will enjoy.

The more creative aspect, has students "think outside the box" and really try and become an elf, reindeer, snowman or gingerbread cookie.

What would these "characters" say, or what might they overhear in a conversation that Santa is having? 

You can simply give students a choice, and only do one, or add the cute journal cover, and have students write a new one each day.

Another option, is to have students do a non-fiction prompt, using factual information that they've learned about penguins and snowflakes.

What would they say, that would tell us factual information?

When everyone is done, go around the room, and have each student share one thing.

No time to complete them all in class? They make fun "homework" that your students will enjoy doing.

To add a bit of technology to the lesson, give them the sites you want them to visit to get some facts about penguins, reindeer, or snow, that they can then include when writing their sentences.

My full-color, completed samples, will give you an example that you can share with your students, to help explain what you want them to do. They match the black & white templates for students.

Click on the link to pop on over to my TpT shop to have a look at the Now You're Talkin' Christmas Writing Prompts/Journal.

Here's hoping your kiddos enjoy "pretend writing" as much as I did creating the samples.

The featured FREEBIE today, is another form of writing.  Using a Venn diagram helps your students learn to compare and contrast in a fun way. 

There are 7 Venn diagrams in this packet, all featuring an elf. I've included color as well as black and white templates. 

Use the black and white copy for students to write their own, then call them up for a whole-group discussion and add everyone's ideas onto the colored Venn diagram. 

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

It's a chilly, but sunny morning, and I'm in the mood and energized to start decorating for Christmas!  Wishing you a festive day.

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family, all wrapped up in each other." -Burton Hillis

1-2-3 Come Countdown To Christmas With Me!

Counting down is a great way to help your students practice counting backwards, as well as visually being able to "see" the passage of time, which is a rather abstract concept for young children.

My Countingdown To Christmas Craftivity packet includes a variety of quick, easy and interesting ways for your kiddos to countdown to Christmas.

I've included a file folder cover, which your students can decorate, to keep all of their countdown work in.

Since there's a nice variety of options, why not have them do a countdown that they can color, another they bingo dot, and finally, one that they earn stickers for.

I’ve also included a Christmas tree and Santa’s beard countdown activity, where students snip off a section each day. (Let's "trim" the tree & Santa's beard.)

After the last one is gone, children have a paper ornament to hang on their tree.

Snipping paper is a super-fun way for kiddos to strengthen finger and hand muscles too.

The "fingerprint" keepsake wreath, is another fun way to keep track of time, and comes with a sweet poem for the center. 

Children keep their work in the folder and take it out each day to countdown.

Only takes a few minutes, and frees you up to do some pull-out activities.

Send the folder home on the last day before vacation, so students can finish their countdown at home.

Finally, I’ve also included a “How many days until vacation?” Countdown paper chain that you can suspend from the ceiling by your calendar.

I review all sorts of math skills in just a few minutes, with this festive decoration.

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to take a look at the Countingdown To Christmas Craftivities.

If you do Elf on a Shelf you may like the "Elf Help" countdown craftivity.

Have your students color the elf's "stockings" in an ABAB pattern to reinforce patterning. 

I've included a traceable calendar of December, for years 2015-2017, with a blank one if you want students to fill in their own.

Tracing and writing the numbers as they countdown to Christmas, is also a fun way to practice numbers, as well as have a visual of "time passing".   Click on the link to check out the Elf on a Shelf countdown craftivity.

Today's featured FREEBIE is also a countdown activity. I put "Santa" on my whiteboard and we do "You Can Count on Santa" during our calendar time. 

Simply print off the poster on card stock, color, then choose a different child each day to pull apart a cottonball, and glue it to that number on Santa's beard.

Well that's it for today, have to make a mad dash to the store to get a few things before everything closes up for Thanksgiving.

Wishing you a day filled with many joy-filled moments.

 "If men liked shopping, they'd call it research."  ~Cynthia Nelms

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

Thanksgiving break is almost here!  Woo hoo.  I always like to toss in a little bit of craftiness for that energy-filled (them, not me) Wednesday before vacation.

Here's a quick, easy and fun little My Thanksgiving Dinner Writing Prompt Craftivity,  with a variety of options to fit different age groups.

After reading several stories about the first Thanksgiving, have a discussion with your students about the kinds of meals that they enjoy for their Thanksgiving dinner.

How are they similar? How are they different? Do most of them have a traditional or non traditional Thanksgiving?

If they don't celebrate Thanksgiving, does their family have another special dinner at some point in the year?

Students then transition to the writing craftivity. They trace and write the words, add end punctuation and color the pictures; then trim the pages into a circle, collate and staple them to a paper plate.

For that extra pizzazz, I like using small, decorative fall plates from The Dollar Store, which also sells the real looking, plastic silverware for that special 3D effect.

Because they are silver in color, everyone thinks they look truly amazing, and always comment about our cool looking bulletin board display.

I've also included a blank page template for older students to write about their Thanksgiving meal.

Younger children can also exchange the pages that don't apply to them, substituting a few pages of their own.

There's also a generic "My Favorite Dinner" cover, so students who don't celebrate Thanksgiving, can still participate, creating their own pages of a dinner that's a favorite of their family.

For more writing practice and word work, I've included a set of trace & write word cards.

Children can trim, alphabetize and staple together to make an Itty Bitty booklet.

Finally, there are some larger writing prompt pages for older elementary, should you wish to skip the paper plate crafivity portion.  

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to take a look: Thanksgiving Dinner: A Writing Prompt Craftivity.

The featured FREEBIE for today is a Native American headband craft that practices 2D shapes. 

Another little something fun for your feast, or to make during the last week of school.

Well that's it for today. My "to do" list for Thanksgiving is rather long, so best get at it.  Wishing you a fun-filled day.

"There is only one difference between a long life and a good dinner: that, in the dinner, the sweets come last." -Robert Louis Stevenson

1-2-3 Come Do Some Cornucopia Craftiivities With Me

Just a few more days 'til Thanksgiving.  Woo hoo!  As you're anxiously counting down the days 'til  break, you might want to toss in a little craftiness for those last few days.

With all the testing, report cards and parent-teacher conferences that have taken place, I think everyone needs a bit of a brain break.

Here are some quick, easy and fun cornucopia-themed craftivities that take just a short amount of time, yet pack a big “Wow!” factor when completed.

The packet includes:

* Background information about cornucopias.
* A variety of crafts suitable for various levels of ability.
* Writing prompts
* Worksheets
* Center activities
* Shape activities
* Word find
* Dice game
* Puzzles that reinforce numbers 1-10, counting backwards from 10-1, plus skip counting by 2s and 10s, in both color as well as black & white.  

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to have a look see: Cornucopia-themed craftivities.

Since the Dolch fairy tale that I posted yesterday was so popular, I decided to feature another Dolch word FREEBIE today.

When you're deciding what Dolch words your students will work on, you may want to take into consideration their frequency of use. 

I've included 2 Dolch word lists in this packet. One lists the order of frequency for each separate Dolch word list (pre primer-3rd grade). 

The other list, categorizes all of the words, from all of the lists, by order of frequency.   I hope you find it useful.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.  I have a busy day ahead, as the entire house had the carpets cleaned yesterday and things are in a stacked-up disaster everywhere. 

Right timing because we're having 20 for Thanksgiving, poor timing because now I have more to do.  I'm sure most everyone can relate.  Wishing you a productive day, filled with lots of energy.

"The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving." ~H.U. Westermayer

1-2-3 Come Do Some Thanksgiving Math Activities With Me

Strut your math skills with this cute turkey craftivity.

You can review all sorts of standards while playing this game, which is easy to differentiate for a variety of ages and learning levels.

Use the 10-sectioned pie pattern, to simply make a 10-piece puzzle, for younger students to practice counting and sequencing numbers 1-10. You can also review colors with them as well.

Older students can practice numbers and their number words.

It only took 15 minutes to make a class set. Store them separately in Ziploc Snack Baggies.

Reinforce life skills, by playing with the puzzles as a partner game.

You can use dice and practice addition, or use the spinner (3 are included) to play that way.

If your kiddos are also studying fractions, they can play Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?" games, with the turkey's pumpkin pie fraction cards.

I've made a larger set to use as flashcards, as well as included a set of black and white pocket chart cards. 

These can also be used as a worksheet for your kiddos to trace, write,trim & collate into an Itty Bitty fraction booklet. 

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to have a look: Easy As Pie, Turkey Number Game With Some Fraction Fun

The featured FREEBIE today is a short story "Who Will Be King".  It's special in that it includes ALL 220 Dolch sight words!

I've highlighted words in various colors, so that you know which lists they come from. Hope you find it helpful. 

Well that's it for today.  The carpet cleaners will be here this morning, so my office will be off limits to creative messes. 

Time to think up something else to fill up my day with.  Ummm, shopping before the crazy crush begins sounds good . . . Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

"Shopping at any level is a bit of therapy for my medulla oblongata." - Theophilus London

1-2-3 Come Do Some Thanksgiving Writing Prompts With Me

The activities in the "Thanksful Packet", are a creative alternative to the ever popular “Thankful For…” writing prompt.

The THANKFUL word, is a quick, easy & fun little craftivity your students can do in 5-10 minutes.

Children fill in the letters with things that they are thankful for. Drawings, stickers, or even a little photograph adds pizzazz.

I used all caps so that students had more room. Take a teachable moment to discuss why they think that most signage that they read is a “rule breaker” and uses all capital letters.

The packet also includes a class-made booklet, which includes several page options and covers.

It’s formatted on a full-page for a large booklet, as well as 2-on-a-page templates to conserve paper.

The booklet is a wonderful way to build students’ self-confidence, and is especially appropriate if your class participates in the “Bucket Filling” program, as children choose a partner then write why they are thankful for them.

Encourage older students to use at least 3 adjectives to describe their classmate, as well as 2-3 verbs of what they do that you are thankful for.  

Add school pictures for that finishing touch.

After they share their page, collect, collate and add a cover.
Remember to set your booklets out for parent-teacher conferences. 

As always, I've included my completed samples, so that you can quickly and easily make an example to share with your kiddos, to help explain what you want them to do.

There's also a sweet little note from your teacher: I'm thankful you're in our class, that you can tuck in students' desks, folders, or backpacks.

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to take a look at the: Thankful Packet.

While you're there, I'd so appreciate it if you'd follow me.  I know it's a bit silly, but I really get excited about this growing number. 

I only need two more followers to hit the 800 milestone.  When I do, I'll be sharing a special FREEBIE in celebration. 

By following, you'll know when I post FREEBIES or throw a sale.  Thanks in advance for you consideration.

The featured FREEBIE for today is Patrick, the paper chain scarecrow.  Use him as a creative and fun way to practice, counting and patterning via the links.

Older students can write why they are thankful on eack link, the scarecrow being a nice alternative to a turkey.  Completed projects look cute dangling from the ceiling or as a border up against a hallway wall.

Well that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by.  It's rainy, cold and dreary out. 

The perfect kind of day to start creating some Christmas craftivities.  Wishing you a warm-fuzzy, snuggly kind of day.

"Every day may not be good, but there is good in every day." -Unknown

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

I think you’ll really like the versatility of the Turkey Feathers number packet, as you can pick and choose what’s appropriate for your students PK-1st.

What’s especially nice about the variety, is that you can easily differentiate the activities to suit various student levels.

Use them as table top worksheets, independent centers, whole group activities, something for early finishers, homework, interventions, or a sub folder.

The packet includes a trace & write counting booklet, a variety of worksheets, games, puzzles, several assessments, odd & even activities, plus a graphing extension.

There's also a turkey slider “craftivity”, with “slider strips” for numbers 0-10, 0-30, counting backwards from 10-0, as well as 20-0, plus skip counting strips for 2s, 3s, 5s & 10s.

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to have a look see: Turkey Feathers. 

While you're there, I'd so appreciate it if you'd follow me, so that you'll know when I post the latest FREEBIE or am throwing a sale.

Speaking of FREEBIES, today's is  my "Tasting Feast" packet.  It's filled with everything you need to throw a Thanksgiving Tasting Feast for your students: signs, ingredients, letters and notes home + tips.

The packet is one of the first Thanksgiving activities I posted years ago, before all of the clip art, fonts, and graphic design programs that I use now, but I think you'll still find it helpful.

A tasting feast is a fun and easy alternative to help celebrate this historical event.  My kiddos absolutely loved it. 

Half of them chose to be Wampanoag Native Americans, the other half were Pilgrims.  They especially enjoyed making hats and headbands, as well as collars and paper bag vests to wear.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by. The carpet cleaners are coming tomorrow to do the whole house. 

Babies, toddlers and a puppy have taken it's toll,  so it will be a busy day getting ready. 

At least I feel energized to get things spruced up for Thanksgiving. Wishing you a carefree day.

"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received.  Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling.  Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse." - Henry Van Dyke

1-2-3 Come Do Some Thanksgiving Writing Prompts Craftivities With Me

It never failed, that no matter what grade I taught (PK, K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, and even a college lit class), if I introduced a writing assignment that had a little bit of craftiness to eat, my students couldn't wait to get down to the business of writing.

An added bonus, was that completed projects made an awesome bulletin board that they were proud of.

The two writing prompt craftivities that I'm featuring today, are very simple, and can be done in a really short amount of time.

The first one is "Loopy". He's a creative alternative to the ever-popular "I'm Thankful For..." writing prompt.

Students write something that they are thankful for on strips of colored paper, then bend them into a loop and glue their writing prompt "feathers" to the top of their turkey.

I made my sample out of rainbow colors, but you'll have a wonderful variety if you let your students come up with their own designs. 

You can also reinforce AB-AB or ABC-ABC color patterns as well.

I've included 6 different options for a center circle; from as simple as "Happy Thanksgiving!" to several quotes, as well as a poem.

Include a blank, brown loop behind the head of the turkeys, so you can suspend them back-to back from the ceiling.   Click on the link for this "funtastic" Dollar Deal: Loopy the Thankful Turkey Writing Prompt Craftivity.

Next up is the Thankful Tree.  Like Loopy, it's a nice alternative to the "I'm Thankful For"  writing prompt. 

I designed this craftivity, so that I could reinforce the 4 seasons, which we were learning about. It's also a great opportunity to practice the use of adjectives, to make writing more descriptive.

Here, children complete the prompt: "I'm thankful for (winter, spring, summer, fall) because..." 

There's a cover page, 4 seasonal tree top writing prompts: (I'm thankful for winter, spring summer, fall because...) plus an ending prompt that says: "Most of all I'm thankful for . . ."

Students work on one tree top "page" each day. When everyone is done, have students share one of their favorite pages.

I've included a blank tree top pattern for older students. 
For more pizzazz, students can add small seasonal stickers or drawings to the tree tops. i.e. snowflakes for winter, blossoms for summer etc.

Adding a school photo to the "hollow" of the tree adds that finishing touch. 

Since scarecrows continue to be one of my top November downloads, the featured FREEBIE today is Pete the Peeking Scarecrow craftivity. 

Well that's it for today. Time to straighten up my organized chaos, and replace it with some "crafty clutter". 

I'm watching my grandchildren today; Kaiden's 3 and Kaitlyn's 1. We're going to make shoe print turkeys today.  Wishing you a day filled with special memory-making moments.  

 "Grandchildren fill a place in your heart you didn't even know was empty." -Unknown