Let’s trim the Christmas Cone! This is relatively inexpensive so that you could do it with your students at your Christmas party for a fun snack that they would create. Or do it during your Christmas Tree theme day.

 Ingredients:

• Sugar cones
• Green frosting (I bought a pre-colored tube. You could buy a can of white frosting and then color it with green food coloring.
• Green food coloring
• Sprinkles, I used two different kinds. (You could also use red hots)
• Popsicle sticks
• Waxed paper

 Directions:

• Make sure everyone has washed their hands.
• Give each child a sheet of waxed paper to place their cone on.
• Give each child a dollop of frosting, Popsicle stick and cone.
• Children frost their cone with the Popsicle stick.
• Give them some sprinkles, or red hots.
• Children decorate their tree by pushing the red hots into the frosting.
• If they are using little sprinkles they can roll their tree onto them.
• When they are done, take a group picture and then the children can eat their trees.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 6-ounce package Ocean Spray® Craisins® original dried cranberries
• 2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips
  
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375ºF.
• Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, mixing well.
• Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl.
• Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition.
• Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks.
• Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
• Cool on wire rack.
• Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

My two favorite cookies to eat that my grama Lydia used to make were her oatmeal raisin cookies and her sugar cookies that we put our thumbs in and filled with a dollop of jelly.  During December tho' the most fun cookie we made were her gingerbreaad cookies.  She made them with black strap molasses which she believed was a cure-all for all sorts of ailments.  I don't think our cookies tasted all that fine because of all the gobbledy gook we loaded them with, but oh what fun we had making them, licking our frosting spoons and then decorating them.  I carried the tradition on with my children when they were really little, and plan to do it with my grandchildren too.  Click here for grandma Lydia's gingerbread recipe from my heart to yours.  There are two; one with molasses, and one without. Gingerbread Recipes

Gingerbread Play-dough Recipe: Now is a great time to mix up a batch of gingerbread play dough! Put it in your kitchen center or have a 15-minute whole-group gingerbread play dough center and give each child a cookie cutter and a small ball of gingerbread play dough to make their very own gingerbread play dough boy!  Click on the link for this delicious smelling recipe. This is a fun activity to do after you've read the story.   Gingerbread Play-dough recipe

Christmas Greetings-Christmas Blessings Snack

Ingredients:

• Bugles® brand corn snacks
• Small pretzel twists
• Chex Mix
• Craisins
• Peanuts/Cashews
• Red and green M&Ms®
• Hershey's® chocolate kisses

Directions:

• Use even amounts of all the ingredients.

• Mix together in a large bowl.
• Each ingredient in the snack symbolizes something associated with Christmas.

Bugles : Symbolize trumpets reminding us that the world is heralding the news that Jesus is born

Pretzels : Symbolize arms folded in prayer thanking God for the reason for the season; LOVE the greatest gift of all.

Chex Mix:  Symbolize a blanket of warmth, comfort and joy

Craisens : Symbolize the holly berries that decorate our homes

Peanuts or cashews: Symbolize the planting of seeds of thanksgiving and peace on Earth.

M&Ms:  Symbolize sweet Memories and the Magic of Christmas

Hershey Kisses: Symbolize the love of family and friends.

If you'd like to make this snack as a gift and put it in a tin along with a note, click on the link to print a copy.   

Christmas Blessings Snack Note

To make this adorable Hershey Kiss Mouse click on the link. His tail is the stem from a cherry that's dipped in chocolate. His ears are almonds. MMMMM-MMMM delicious!

Cinnamon Ornaments  

Are something fun you can do with your entire class.  They make a nice gift that is relatively easy to make, incorporates math extensions, and is inexpensive.  If you had parents sign up at your Open House to bring things in when needed, draw from that list for your ingredients, or tie it in with your snack time and ask that parent to donate bulk size jars of applesauce.    A bonus of this activitiy is that  your room smells fantastic!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cinnamon (The Dollar Store sells a large bottle. Wal-Mart has 2 for a dollar.)
• 1 tablespoon cloves
• 1 tablespoon nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons white glue
• 3/4 cup applesauce (Let drain in a strainer for several hours)
• Optional: cinnamon oil

1. Mix cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg together
2. Add applesauce & glue.
3. Work mixture with hands until smooth and well mixed.
4. Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness cut with cookies cutters. (I use small hearts )
5. Use a coffee straw to make hole for hanging.
6. Put on wire rack to dry at room temperature for several days.
7. Turn twice daily so they don't curl.
8. Use ribbon to hang.
9. So they smell extra strong of cinnamon I spritz with cinnamon oil, and then let dry again.
   
10. How many you get from one recipe depends on how big your cookie cutter is. 
    
11. Wrap gently in tissue to send home.
    
12. Remind students that they will break if they are not careful.
    

Well that's it for Dishin' Up With Diane for this month. I'd love to hear from you if you have a favorite December recipe or holiday tradition, or if you tried one of my recipes and had fun with it.  Drop me a line at diane@teachwithme.com   In the meantime, I hope you have a simply wonderful time with your kid in the kitchen!

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The Gist:  

”Twas the week before Christmas, and somewhere up north, dear Santa was frantic-he paced back and forth. He had just heard some news that he sure didn’t like: it seemed that the reindeer were going on strike!” From the 1^st cute rhyming line you learn that the reindeer won’t be pulling Santa’s sleigh, leaving him in an awful fix. He decides to try everything from dogs and cats to kangaroos and elephants but each type of animal runs into problems. Nobody’s as good as his reindeer. In the end Santa finds out that: “A whirlpool and sauna would make [them] quite able, [especially if Santa throws in] real beds, not grass, and a heater-and cable!”

Why I Love It:

The pages are doubled and have a popped out feel. The pictures are bright and shiny; children will find them attractive. I absolutely LOVE the short rhyming text. It grabs your attention and is easy to read. Lisa breaks the sentences up into 4 bold black lines and curves them across the page. The animals she chooses are very appealing to young children and the idea of elephants and kangaroos pulling Santa’s sleigh along with flamingos giving it a whirl is very funny to a child and amusing to an adult. When the dogs start sniffing and smelling and the cats start chasing mice one can only imagine the hilarious hassles Santa encountered.

Magic Tricks:

• Put a stuffed reindeer in the change bag, pull out an “On Strike” sign.
• Put a dog in the change bag pull out a cat. Put a cat in pull out a mouse.
• Put a flamingo in pull out a kangaroo, put in a kangaroo, pull out an elephant. Any Beanie Baby™ animals will do nicely, especially the mini ones.
• You can pick and choose the ones you can find. If you find them all, like I did, put a paper reindeer in the dove pan and produce all the animals that are trying out for the position of pulling Santa’s sleigh.
• Toss them to the children and have them help you sequence the story.

Story Telling Tips:

• I made a color copy of each one of the animals, + Santa in his sleigh, then laminated and cut them out.
• I put Velcro dots on mine and use a flannel board, but you could also use magnets and your white board.
• Pass the pieces out to quiet students. When you read about those animals pulling the sleigh they can come up and put that animal behind the sleigh.
• When you’re done reading the story go over the order once more, then pass the animals out to different children and sequence them again.

How Do You Celebrate Birthdays?

     This topic has even made headlines in the National news lately.  It seems that some schools are having a heated debate with parents whether their child should be able to have a birthday party at school.   I've seen posts on other blogs where parents actually ask this question as to whether it's OK and other parents seem to just assume that it is and are writing in on how to make their child's day extra special.  Then there are some parents who are irate that they can't send in a cake or cupcakes.  How do you  feel about this?

     I have a "no cake or cupcakes" rule and state the "birthday policies" in my Student Handbook.  The fact that some parents still send them in, shows how many parents don't thoroughly read it!  I don't want children feeling bad when their parents don't do the same thing as other parents;  this is one of the reasons I opt for the no cake or cupcake rule, but the biggest reason  is that it's really not a nutricious snack for snack time and more than half of my students don't even eat them. 

They lick the frosting off, getting it up their nose and on their clothes and fingers.  They make a sticky mess all over themselves and on the desks.  Some of them, despite my warning, still crumble up the cake and have crumbs all over the floor which invariably gets stepped. Then I hear complaints from the janitors. The ants have a field day as well and are a perpetual problem no matter what the season. 

I've listed all kinds of things, throughout my site, that I do for birthdays to make a child feel special.  Here are some of those links.

For my article Lets Celebrate Birthdays with some great freebies click on the link.  Birthday Article

For monthly bears click here.

For birthday cakes click here.

As always,  if you'd like to share somthing that you do for your students/children on their birthdays, please drop me a note and I will post it. Thanks in advance.

diane@teachwithme.com

What Should I Write About This Month?

Letter to Santa: Make it a bit more creative by adding a wrapping paper cover, a bit of curling ribbon, and a fancy tag. Have your students trace then write the sentences in an alternating red and green pattern with markers to make it a bit more fun.  Click on the link to view/print the masters. Santa Letter 

To Be Aware or not to be aware…

• December is National Awareness month. Organizers say that obliviousness is a national epidemic. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
• Their slogan is “Hey you! Come on, snap out of it!” They feel that people need to be more aware because being aware is related to decision making, prioritizing, and simply existing without bumping into the world around you. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
• Do you feel you are aware? Can you carry on a decent conversation? Do you know what’s going on in the world? Are you up on current events? Do you know who your political people (congressmen, governor, mayor, senators etc.) and lawmakers are? Could you identify them if someone showed you photographs? Are you aware of your surroundings, self, what makes your friends tick? On a 1-10 scale how do you rank your awareness with 10 being great?

National Drunk & Drugged Driving Month:

• Here’s the scenario: You’re at a party. Your friend’s older brother has a few of his college buddies over. They arrive with alcohol. You’re all underage. What do you do?
• Suppose you are of an age where you can drink, and you’re at a restaurant. One of the couples has had one too many, but still wants to drive you all home. What do you do?
• How do you say no to drugs when the “it” crowd is passing a joint around at  “the” party of the year.

It’s a TIE:

• It’s National Tie Month. Design the winning tie. What does it look like? What’s it made of? Who’s wearing it? How much does it see for? Details please.

Read To Succeed!

• It’s “Read A New Book” month. What new book have you read? Write a 1 paragraph review. Who would you recommend it to? On a five-star ranking what do you rate the book?

Shine On!

• It’s rising star month. If you could truly be anything you wanted to be, including a moving star, or rock star. What would you want to be and why?
• Some people like reading horoscopes and feel they are true. Do you? Why or why not? What’s your sign? Tell me about how that does or doesn’t reflect you.

Let’s Here It For Safety!

• It’s Safe Toys and Gifts Month. Tell me about a favorite toy you received as a child for Christmas. What was it, why was it your favorite, do you still have it ? Details please.
• What is your favorite gift to give? What’s your favorite gift to get? Details-details-details.
• Here’s the scenario: You are planning a surprise birthday party for your best friend. You’ve all chipped in to buy her a special gift. What is it? How will you give it to her/him, how is it wrapped? Do you hide it and make them find it giving them clues to find etc. Let’s hear all about it.

Hey! No fair! I Have RIGHTS!

• It’s National Human Rights Month. Make a list of 10 rights you have as a student/kid!
• How do you feel when someone violates your rights? Give me an example when this has happened.

High Five For Hand Washing!

• It’s National Hand Washing Awareness month. You’re an elementary teacher and you need to make sure your students are not getting sick by passing germs around. Tell me 5 ways to make hand washing fun for little kids so they are more apt to wash those piggies!

The Pie’s Have It!

• It’s National Pie Day December 1^st. What’s your favorite pie. Why?
• You’re in charge of the pie eating contest to raise money for your school. How are you going to pull that off? Tell me about the launch to the pies, to the winner and prizes.
• December 1^st is also “Eat A Red Apple Day.” If you could only eat one fruit for an entire year, what would it be and why? How would you add variety to that fruit to make it non-boring. i.e., I like apples so I’d have apple sauce, drink cider etc.

Home Sweet Home:

• December 3^rd is National “Roof-Over-Your-Head” Day! What’s your favorite room in the house? Why?
• You have $10,000 to design a dream bedroom, so get started. What does it look like, what’s it filled with, what kind of furniture do you have in it, what does the window look out over etc.

• Dec. 12^th is National Ding-A-Ling Day! It’s your opportunity to hand out 6 awards! What are some things that people do that make you think they are complete ding-a-lings? Does this turn you off, drive you crazy? Let’s talk!

Just Go For It!

• December 20^th is National Games Day. What’s your favorite game to play and why? How often do you play it? Are you good at it? Who do you play it with? This is a family game, board game, card or dice game etc. NOT a sport.
• You’re in charge of Game Night at school. So tell me about it. How do you promote it, posters, invites, announcements? Who’s coming? What games will you play? What will the prizes be? Details please.
• Games can also be sports! So what’s your favorite to watch or play? Same questions as number one, only this time the key game is SPORTS.
• You’re a Game Show Host! What TV game show are you the host of? You can make up a game show or tell me about one that’s already on TV. Give us a scenario.

Ooooh this is creepy!

• December 21^st is National Flashlight Day and I’m handing you yours at the museum. I just love that movie Night In The Museum and that’s just where you’ve landed with 3 of your friends! The electricity’s gone off, the doors are locked, the displays have come alive and all you’ve got is your flashlight. Ready-set-action!

Go ahead; It’s OK!

• I used to ask my children: “Where do you go when you whine and cry?” “To bed!” they’d answer! But not on National Whiners Day. It’s OK. Go ahead and whine all you want. In 3 paragraphs whine away about whatever you feel like whining about!

It’s Time For A Change!

• It’s National Festival of Enormous Changes At the Last Minute Day on December 30^th. What are some of the changes big or small that you’d like to make in your life for next year?
• They say the only people who really like change are babies with a dirty diaper. Is that true for you? Do you like change or do you like to keep things the same? Why or why not?
• How do you feel when people change their minds at the last minute? Can you go with the flow or does this drive you up the wall. Give me some examples please and explain yourself in both circumstances.

Lucky or not so lucky?

• The last day of December is unlucky day! Yuk! Who’d think up a day like that and then expects us to celebrate it? Some people are simply nuts with too much time on their hands. Anyway….Finish the phrase in as many ways as you want.

I feel unlucky because… then end on a positive note and flip it around with: I feel lucky because…

• Finish these sentences in detail: The unluckiest day of my life was when…, but the luckiest day of my life was when….

Merry Christmas!

• You’re planning the school’s Christmas Dance. Tell me all the details from the invitations and decorations to the DJ or band as well as the food and other festivities + who all is coming.
• What’s your most memorable Christmas that you’ve ever had? Details please.
• You can travel anywhere in the world with your entire family to celebrate Christmas. Where will you go and what will you do?
•  
• There are some fun writing prompts that make great December bulletin boards! Be sure to check them out on the main blog or click on the links: Writing A letter to Santa,  Family Snowflakes,  In December I lke to...poinsettia
  

Getting Your Students Writing and Reading By Making A Class "Big" Book

Making class big books is a super-fun way to get your students writing and reading. They’re easy and your students really enjoy making their own personal page to contribute to the class book.  Every year these books become my students’ favorite “Tummy Time Reading” favorites.  I incorporate word wall words and report card standards so I’m getting lots of bang for my “time buck”!

Many of them are Home-School Connections so I’m involving parents each month.  They are making time to do something special with their child.  I have received lots of positive feedback from parents on the enjoyable quality time they have spent making these special pages. Their child is not only learning a report card standard, they are often learning about themselves and their family as well!

 Here are some of the class big books  that I do, that I think you’ll enjoy making with your students.  You can click on the link to view/print the patterns for each INDIVIDUAL book or wait, and click on one link at the end of the article, to print all of the books on one pdf.  For your convenience, the directions for all the books are on one pdf. I've also made a poster  for you to display when you put your class-made books out on a table during conference time! 

Click on the link for the poster or get it with the all-in-one down load. These things will remain free through July 2011 and then go on the shopping cart for only .59 cents each!

Seasons, I'm Special, and the Class Yellow Pages will stay FREE.  Simply click on the WRITING apple on my HOME page and then click on CLASS BOOKS and there will be a list of all of the class books including the free ones.  Enjoy!

Wel-gum To Our Sweet Class!

When my Y5’s come to class I want to learn some things about them, and they are eager to share that information.  I also want to dive right into graphing and letting them know differences and similarities.  One of our report card standards is to be able to recognize your name.  I do all of the above, + lots more, with the above class book. It’s a big gumball machine.  I write each student’s name on a gumball. They find their name and COLOR it their favorite FLAVOR.  I explain to them that a flavor is different than their favorite color.  i.e., my favorite color is purple, but my favorite flavor is cherry, so I would color my gumball red not purple, because grape is not my favorite flavor.  I write the flavor words on the board for them to copy, to help them fill in the blank.  We graph the results. When our school pictures come in I cut them in the shape of a circle and glue them to one of the empty gumballs and then laminate this book.  

See Us Play !  Our Playground Book

Just ask any energetic 5-year-old what their favorite “subject” at school is and I’ll bet they say “recess”!  A fun class book to make is a “See Us Play” book.  Gather your little ones on the carpet and graph what their favorite playground “thing” to play on is. Take your list outside along with your digital camera and snap some pictures of your students playing on the swings, monkey bars, slide etc. .  When you get the pix printed off have your students glue their photo to their “See us play” page. Have them fill in the information and then illustrate their page. You now have a great “easy reader”  that will help them not only learn their friend's names, but a little bit about them too!   

Our ABC Initial Chicka Boom Boom Book

We’re learning the alphabet as well as learning to recognize and write our names, so what could be more appropriate than to make an alphabet book?  One of my favorite alphabet books is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom  by Bill Martin.  I use this book to introduce learning the alphabet to my Y5's. One of my friends, Mrs. B., made me this adorable  Coconut Tree sock puppet. I put  a velcro scratchy dot on the back of plastic magnetic letters that I bought at The Dollar Store. I pass these out to my students;  when I come to that particular letter during the reading of the story,  the child holding that letter sticks him to Cheeco the coconut tree puppet.  I've also included several skill sheets to go along with this book.  I do several craft activities as well, and have lots of extensions for Chicka. Simply click on the Reading Apple on the home page and then click on Chicka Boom.     

Yellow Pages “Who Ya Gonna Call?”

During October when we’re learning to dial 911 and having the fire department visit us, they tell us how important it is to know our phone number.  It’s no longer a report card standard, but really helpful to know,  so I try to stress to parents the need for them to help their child learn this valuable piece of information.  To make it fun for them, I do a class Yellow Pages Big Book. It’s a Home-School Connection assignment that parents enjoy helping their child with and doesn’t take that long.  I show my students the yellow pages and explain what they are used for. I tell them to think of what they love doing or what they are really good at that someone could call them and ask for help with. They are very excited about this assignment and think it’s fun that someone would call them to do a job!  It’s a great introduction to learning their phone number, and also ties in with our economic's standard where we learn about "Goods and Services" as well as fitting in with social studies and studying about community helpers.    

Our Favorite Color Book and Our Book Of Colors

Another report card standard is being able to identify nine colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, black, and brown; I tie this in with a math extension and we graph our favorite color. Since we have a color of the week, I also choose a day; send a note home with my students asking parents to please have their child wear that color and then I take a class photo.  In that letter they are also asked to please bring some pictures from magazines of things that are that color.  The next day I lay out a white sheet of construction paper at a gluing station center and children glue their color pictures on the page. This collaged picture and the photo of our class wearing the color of the week become the pictures in our Book of Colors  along with the graphing results.  

Our Favorite Seasons Book  This class book helps teach my students about the seasons.  We learn about them during our calendar time.  This is the chant I teach my Y5's to help them learn the seasons:  Winter, spring, summer, fall...  Four seasons…  And I love them all!   I have my students learn the sign language for the bolded words.  Learn how in my article "Sign Language in the Classroom."  It's a great fine motor skill!  There are two pages to this class book.  One incorporates the chant as seen in the photo.  I found the adorable paper clothes cut outs at this website:  http://www.makingfriends.com/f_Friends.htm  perhaps you can think of more ways to use them!   The other has them choose and illustrate their favorite season.  As a math extension we graph the results. Seasons Book

Our Book Of Shapes & Our Favorite Shape Book

Being able to recognize shapes is another report card standard and a nice way to tuck in the math standard of graphing.  My children by now really enjoy giving their opinions via a graph. A parent letter home asking them to help their child find an example of each one of the shapes in a magazine and bring in the pictures to help collage a page for our book is a fun Home-School Connection assignment.

I Am Me; I Am Special Book

This is another Home-School Connection assignment that is sent home.  Parents work on these 3 cute pages with their child and they become the pages in this class book.  When I feature the “Special Star Of The Week” their pages are shared by the child during Sharing Time and then put on the “Star Bulletin Board”.   I use this as a big self-esteem builder for my kids.  I've included a Star Student Certificate and two different kinds of Star Notes your students can fill out for their star friend.  I did a version of this when I taught high school. One young man shared with me that he saved his "praise paper" and carried it in his wallet to look at whenever he felt down!  Wow! You just never know how you can touch a heart.

Here’s Where I Live Book

Being able to recite one’s address is no longer one of our report card standards, but just like learning your phone number, the police and fire departments agree that this is important information for a kindergartener to know and can sometimes save a life. To help make learning their address fun, I turn it into a class book activity.  This is another Home-School Connection assignment. Parents work on this page with their child and they become the pages in this class book.   

My Family Book

This Is My Family is another Home-School Connection Book.  One of the students’ special exploratory classes is Spanish.  They learn how to say the names of the family members in Spanish.  When they are learning these I send home this assignment.  Children trace the sentences and fill in the blanks + draw a picture of their family. Parents help them label the people and pets that live with them. Including a real photo makes our book extra special.  

Our Graphing Book

We graph all sorts of things every day.  Several times each month, I choose some extra fun things to graph in a more artistic way and make it into a page for our graphing book.  In September, on the right, we graphed how we got to shool.  We used our first day of school photo.  During our science unit in October, on the left, we graphed if we did or did not like spiders.   I wrote the children's names on a red sticker.  These are laminated and first displayed on a wall in our hallway.  We call it our "Wall Of Fame".  After the month is over,  I put the pages in our book.  This is one of my students’ favorite books to look at.  They like comparing how they “voted” with the rest of their classmates.

 These are just a few of our favorites.  We make a book almost every week in class as well based on whatever theme we’re doing.   For some themes we'll make several different pages for one book.  For example for our 100 Day celebration we make a class book and have three different pages: "If I had 100 wishes I would wish for...",  "If I could eat 100 things I would eat 100 ...." and "If I could have 100 things I'd want 100..."  They either copy a sentence from the board, or fill in the blank on a sheet of paper that I’ve run off, and then they illustrate their page.  I collect their pages, put them into a booklet and read it to the class.  Many times what they are doing lends itself to a math extension and we graph their opinions.  In May we do a recipe book for Mother's Day as well as a Name Book.  I ask their mom via a letter why their family chose that name for their child.  It's another fun book. 

I also have books that the children work on individually like the fun  Very Hungry Student and I'm Thumbody Special books. Click on the links to view those free books. Rhyme Time: Moving Through The Months is also a wonderful whole-group project. Click on the link to view that entertaining  book that teaches months, seasons and a whole lot more!

 I hope you’ve gotten a few ideas to do with your students that will kick-start them into wanting to read and write!  Class books are also a great way to really learn about your students and practice the life-skill of working together!

Happy writing and reading!

Turkey Time

Are you looking for some fun activities to do with the little “turkeys” running around your house? I have some solutions for you!

     Crafting With Kids: It’s always fun to do crafts with kids, and especially nice if they can become a keepsake or have a practical purpose.  Click on the Patterns & Directions link at the end to view/print all the directions for these projects.

Keepsake Turkey Prints: My all-time favorite turkey craft is traced from my students’ feet (shoe on), and hands and then glued together to make these darling turkeys, sure to be treasured for a long time.  I write this little poem on a heart that's sent home with the turkeys.  “This is a turkey Oh so fine. Look at the body, It’s two feet that are mine. The feathers are traced from my hands too. I made this turkey because I love you!” The Indian corn seen in the picture I made by melting crayon shavings on yellow construction paper "corn cobs" that are covered with a sheet of waxed paper. The "husk" I made by tying on a raffia bow. 

 Oak Leaf Turkey: Another quick craft is Oakey The Turkey. Paint a paper plate; add some oak leaf “feathers” and a turkey head that you’ve added a bit of color to, and you’ve made Oakey!

 Disguised Turkeys:  Several of my fellow teachers do this idea with their Kindergarten and Preschool students and they turn out adorable; so I decided to make a pattern and letter for you to copy if this “floats your boat”.  It’s a nice home-school connection to get parents involved in creating a great bulletin board or wall display.

 Don’t forget to check out the Cutie Cup & Praise Turkey in the November Arts & Activities section of my side Blog! They’re quick, easy and real self-esteem builders.  I also have LOTS of turkeys in my Turkey Art and Activities Book. So click on the link and have a blast decorating your classroom or home while nailing report card standards!

 Click here to view/print  the Turkey art patterns and directions for the above 3 projects. I've also included The Turkey Pokey song.  My students enjoy singing this with whatever turkey creation they've made before they take their "masterpiece" to their locker.

      Games: I design a lot of games for my Y5’s.  It’s a fun way for them to learn life skills as well as report card standards.  These November games help reinforce colors, number recognition, sequencing, counting, etc. Click on the link to view/print patterns and directions. November Games.

      Educational Activities: Clicking on this link will get you a turkey glyph, Venn diagram comparing our modern day Thanksgiving dinner with the 1^st feast, a Native American headband activity that reinforces skip counting, patterning and shapes; a word-wall word skill sheet, + traceable- November word flashcards, and an  “-ump” family Pumpkin spinner.  Educational Activities.

      Other Fun Things To Do On The Web:

Graphic Garden has an adorable free Thanksgiving bear bookmark. Print off a few, glue them to construction paper, punch a hole in the top, tie a nice autumn-colored ribbon at the top, write names on the bottom edge and use them for place cards at your Thanksgiving table.

 A fantastic site for geography and history is found at our National Library site. Click on the link and click on their Jump Back In Time button and read about life during the colonial times.

 To view a cute newspaper article slideshow of the turkeys at the White House click on the link The article shows a photo of the president at the time (Pix from Eisenhower to GW Bush) and also gives an interesting turkey tidbit.

 To play some fun games that represent  colonial times click on the link.  My favorites were Revolutionary Fireworks Frenzy, where you had to light fireworks that went off in a beautiful array, Heads Up For The Colonists where you dragged hats and put them on the correct person on the ship, Paper Dolls At Play, where you dressed the Colonial girl in the appropriate clothing in the correct order.

 Info.Please has some great turkey facts. I knew that Benjamin Franklin argued for the turkey to be our National bird instead of the eagle, however I didn’t know that the US processed more than 6 billion pounds of turkey!  Wow! Click on the link to learn some really interesting trivia. 

 The HolidaySpot.com has a nice history of Thanksgiving. Click on the link. This site also has some great quick facts:  Play a rousing game of tic-tac-toe against a pilgrim and turkey. Careful; it’s addicting. I had to play ‘til I was ahead. Who’d want to admit that you’d been beaten’ by a turkey!

Scholastic's is having several free Web Casts: on Nov. 2nd tour the Pilgrim village, On Nov. 9th tour the Wampanoag village, on Nov. 16th enjoy a recreation of the 1st Thanksgiving. Great for Smartboards!   l copied their blip and it’s pasted below.  I've been to the plantation and it is awesome!   You have to sign up.  Click on  the link to do that.

A thirty minute online field trip to meet a Pilgrim and a Wampanoag—straight from Plymouth Plantation. Watch the fieldtrip from your classroom—or pull a few classes together in the library to take this exciting trip to visit Plymouth. Your class will also receive a series of letters from a Pilgrim and a Wampanoag. 

Last summer my husband and I visited Plymouth Rock.  Plymouth Plantation, a Wampanoag Village as well as viewed a replica of the Mayflower. Click on the links to view my pictures. Perhaps you can make a slide show from them or print them off to make your own picture book or b. board.

Well there it is, LOTS of fun-filled ideas to pack into your November drizzly cold days and squelch any “I’m bored!” complaints from your kids over Thanksgiving breatk.  Whatever you decide to do, I hope it’s simply “turkey-riffic”!

Happy November!

Scarecrow Fun!

     I'm not sure if scarecrows really scare crows away or not, but they sure are adorable, and are seen at craft shows everywhere!  They are one of my favorite themes to teach, and my Y5's  enjoy them as well. A scarecrow's body and face is perfect for teaching shapes and colors so I made up a cute booklet that covers those standards entitled: Scarecrow What Do You See?  It's a spin off of Brown Bear one of my students' all time favorite read aloud's. 

     I teach the vocabulary word SYMBOL with this story.  We discuss various symbols of November and different things that we see in Novmeber that symbolize this month, like turkey's for Thanksgiving, harvest, (cornucopias, corn, grapes), leaves falling (autumn), farmers in their fields harvesting those things in their  blue jeans, scarecrows chasing away crows also wearing blue jeans etc. 

     After our discussion, children CUT out their pages and sequence them in the correct order, and then they TRACE the color word in that color. Their booklet is stapled to the tummy of their scarecrow.  You can opt to run off the scarecrow and have your students color him, or you can run off the scarecrow pieces on construction paper, have your students cut them out and glue them together. I have pictures of both finished projects.    When everyone is done, read the booklet aloud to cover concepts of print. 

     The second scarecrow craft that covers standards is "Shape Your Learning".  Children can simply color their scaarecrow and glue him to the paper plate, or you can have them add a fall-colored paper chain to the bottom and have your students make ABAB or ABCABC paper-patterned links and dangle them from the bottom.  They look cute hanging in the hallway.   I've also included an "I like scarecrows." trace and write skill sheet where the students CUT and GLUE 2 scarecrows to the bottom of the page and choose their favorite.  This offers the teacher a graphing opportunity which is also included. Click on the link to view/print these 2 activities. Scarecrow Patterns

     If you'd like more scarecrow ideas you'll have to check out my Scarecrow Unit and my Scarecrow Art and Activities Book.  Just click on the links.   My all-time favorite is a personal scarecrow where I blew up my students' photo and had them become the scarecrow. 

Falling Into Fun- Autumn Leaves Art.

     I teach a lot of science to my students.  I almost became a science teacher so it's a real "hot topic" for me and my Y5's just LOVE it!  The big vocabulary word with our leaf study is chlorophyll.  They are all ears to learn why the leaves change color.  It's fun to toss a few green leaves into my change bag and have them say the "magic phrase" "No more chlorophyll." and then take out a red, yellow, orange and brown leaf!  I made up this quick and easy craft for your students to make, that nails that science fact and vocabulary word. It's called "Sneak A Peek Leaf" Click on the link to view/print the pattern and directions. 

For some great leaf templates and a cute leaf wreath "Color with Leo!" by clicking on the link.  You'll also find a cute Maize Maze and Shapely Turkey there as well!

     If you haven't read my October article Take Your Kids On A Nature Walk it's a fun read filled with lots of science and math ideas, and of course the Nature Faces that are sure to be a hit.  Just collect leaves, berries, acorns, pods, sticks or whatever other natural things that you find on your walk, arrange them on a paper plate so that they look like a face, gluing as you go, and Wahla! you've created a spectacular Nature Face. Be advised tho' they're addicting to make!  If you're looking for more leaf activities click on the link to see my fun Leaf Unit with 7 more great art projects.

 Turkey-riffic!  Our final theme this month is turkeys and they're terrific!

      A darling place setting turkey that I dreamed up is a fun and easy turkey made out of a styrofoam cup. Buy a pack of 45 at the Dollar Store and you can make one for each family member or have enough for your entire class. The other major "ingredient" is a coffee filter, also inexpensive and come 50 to a package at the Dollar Store.

     I've also included a turkey matching skill sheet, a "Let's do the Turkey Pokey" song, as well as a Turkey Pinch and Poke. What's a Pinch and Poke? It's a super way for little kids to strengthen their finger muscles and they LOVE LOVE LOVE doing them.  It also helps to give them upper body strength as I have them do this skill sheet on their tummies.  Students hold a fat-plastic topped tack and poke it into the holes on their paper.  Safety rules are explained that there is absolutely no poking themselves or another child or a consequence will result and they will not be alowed to do Pinch & Pokes.  They so enjoy this activity, that I've only had one problem in 10 years!   If you want to do this activity with real young ones, you can give them a golf tee and that will work just as well, but make a bigger hole. 

     The other turkey craft that's included is called Turkey Praise.  This is a wonderful way to build your children's/students' self-esteem and let them know that you think they are simply turkey-riffic!  Just a few supplies are need here, including yellow plastic folks.  They are the finishing touch and will make perfect turkey feet to hold a list of new spelling or sight words!  I pass out colored index cards to make that a bit more fun.  An index card is also the perfect size for this turkey's toes!  Words that the child has already mastered are written on alternating colored feathers. They are sure to ask for more to "gobble-gobble" so their turkey can grow big and fat!

     Click on the link to print all this "turkey-riffic" turkey stuff and hopefully you'll have a rootin-tootin' good time with your own little turkeys.Turkey Stuff

     If you're looking for more turkey fun, check out my Turkey Unit and my Turkey Arts & Activities Book.  You have to click on the camera to view some of the most adorable turkeys you've ever seen.  My students so enjoy making them reinforcing our report card standards as we go!   Our hallway always looks like a turkey farm. We receive lots of compliments during parent - teacher conferences!

     If your little ones are nutty over numbers, try some of these helpful skill sheets.  Make a Math Fact Family House , print off a number line, practice sums with a grid, trace numbers 1-100, or play the fun tic tac toe acorn game and reinforce addition and subtraction skills! Click on the link to view/print Nutty over Numbers.

     I hope these ideas get your creative juices flowing and your energy ignited; and that you and yours have a wonderful November creating and learning at the same time.

     November is such a fun month!  So many goofy things going on to trigger kids'  thoughts and get them excited to write!  From pizza to football, turkeys to forget-me-nots, there's a little bit of everything! Here are just a few:

• November 10^th is Forget-Me-Not Day!   Does anyone out there know who thinks up these things? Does someone form a committee? Do they have to vote on them before they become a National Something or Another and then get added to our calendar? Anyway they make for some smilie-moments as I’m surfing the net trying to find out what’s going on in the month of November to jump start some writing prompts and get those creative juices flowing for your students. Hope you find these creative and thought provoking!

 Play it again Sam:

• National Saxophone Day shares election day status on Nov. 6^th. If you could play any instrument and be a concert virtuoso at it, what would you play and why?
• What’s your favorite kind of music to listen to? Why? On the other hand, what kind of music drives you up the wall? Why do you hate it?
• It’s Election Day! People were jailed and some even lost their lives trying to get the right to vote. Today, many young people are apathetic about the entire process and many have never voted. Why do you think this is? Will you vote when it comes time? Why do you think it’s important?
• You’re running for office. What office are you running for? How do you get those apathetic friends of yours out there to vote?

Forget-Me-Not!

• There’s a part of your brain called the amygdala. It tends to remember things that are unforgettable. For example if you are a baby boomer like me, you remember exactly where you were the day president Kennedy was shot, or more recently, what you were doing when 911 happened. Tell me about something that happened in your life that will remain unforgettable as long as you live.

Going Nuts!

• It’s Peanut Butter Lover’s month. Are you a lover of peanut butter? Why or why not?
• Some things just drive people NUTS! What are some of the things that drive you nuts and why do they? What do you think you can do to calm yourself down?

Football Frenzy!

• It’s that time of year again when the fans hit the stands and the men hit the field. Here’s the scenario, and they actually made a movie out of this story: A girl is a super football player. She wants on the team. Should she be able to try out? Why or why not?

I’m thankful for our Veterans! Happy Veteran’s Day!

• My dad was a Vet. He was in the 2^nd World War and drove a tank for the army. He often talked about his time in Italy & Germany. I’m very proud of him for that. I couldn’t be in the military. I love my country, but I couldn’t shoot another person. How about you? Here’s the scenario: Obama declares war. Will you enlist? Could you shoot another person? Tell me how you feel?

I’ll take it with everything on it!

• National Pizza Day is the 12^th. What’s your favorite kind of pizza? Now here’s your challenge. There’s a $1,000 prize to come up with a new pizza. What does yours have on it? What shape is it? Anything else cool or unusual about it? What’s it called? What will you do with the money if you should win?

Paging Miss Care Giver; you’re wanted in the OR Stat!

• Operating Room Nurses Day is the 14^th.  Would you want to be one? Why or why not? Or…has a nurse every really helped you? What happened? Details please.

If you can read this, thank a teacher!

• It’s National Book Month. You’re a famous author. What kind of books do you write? Why? What’s the title of your latest book? Why should I read it?

Now Read This!

• National Button Day is the 16^th. What’s your favorite button say? Now you design one. (Teachers let’s have a class contest!) I still have my Badge – A – Minute™ button maker in the basement. I used to use it to help my pom pom girls raise money to pay for their uniforms. I also make photo magnets for my students to give to their families at Christmas. It’s been a fun craft tool I’ve used & enjoyed for a years. J

A is for Adopt

• Nov. is National adoption month. If you’re adopted tell me about it. Do you want to find your birth mother? If you’re not, do you think parents should tell their children that they are?
• Here’s the scenario: You’re adopted. You want to find your birth mother. You’ve located her! She knows nothing about you, and has not tried to contact you. She’s married and has a family. What do you do…tell me the story.

I’m fighting for my life!

• It’s National Diabetes Awareness Month. You’ve just been told you have diabetes. Tell me how you react, what you say, what you do, what your plans are.

Hello there!

• November 20^th is World HELLO Day! Tell me 5 things you can do to make this world a friendlier place.
• Find out how to say Hello in 3 different languages. Bring it to class tomorrow to share.

Happy Thanksgiving:

• What are the things you are most thankful for and why?
• You’re in charge of the Thanksgiving feast. Where is it going to be? What are you having? Who’s coming? What’s the attire? What’s the entertainment afterwards?
• Would you rather have been an Indian or a Pilgrim at the first Thanksgiving feast and why? Write as if you are that person. What are you wearing, bringing, doing?

This freaks me out!

• Nov. 26^th is Pins & Needles Day. What makes you feel like you’re on pins and needles and simply freaks you out? Why? What do you or can you do to peel yourself off the ceiling?

Oh Yeah!

• Nov. 29^th is National Square Dance Day. I remember having to learn how to square dance in gym class. It was one of the rare times the boys got to have gym with the girls. We had to wear our dorky gym outfits and I was so self-conscious and embarrassed. Tell me about a time that you could have died of embarrassment.
• Do you like to dance? Why or why not? If you do, what’s your favorite kind of dancing. 
• It’s the ballroom dance championships. You are one of 5 finalists. What dance will you be dancing? What is the song you will be dancing to? What does your costume look like? What is your partner wearing? What does he/she look like? Where is this taking place? Do you win? Tell me the details.