"Flat" Gingerbread Men

We made foam gingerbread men today.  These will go home tomorrow.  Students will write about their adventures with their "flat friends" over winter break.

Those are flip flops on this girl's feet.  So creative!

The kiddos can't wait to take these home.  I'm looking forward to hearing about their adventures over break!

Penguins, Penguins

We've been learning about penguins this week.  It is an "off" week from our curriculum, so I wanted to focus on nonfiction. Warning: Lots of photos below!

Using white blocks and penguins from a TOOB to create a penguin habitat.  Also had some penguin predators. 

Found this little penguin puzzle (24 pieces) at Dollar Tree.

Ordering penguins by size (not sure where this came from).

Drawing penguins in our little book from Fran at Kindergarten Crayons.

Working on our penguin flip books.  They loved this writing!

A sneak peek at what is coming in my next "penguin post".  We made penguin habitats.
We love project based learning!

Follow me on the right to keep up with more of our penguin learning! 2 more days this week...tomorrow is pajama day.

Some Fun in a Crazy Week

Over the past few days, we've had some snow fall.  I was looking forward to a little warm up so the kiddos and I could go outside.  I sent a note home yesterday asking for any cold weather gear they have so we could go outside today.  

This guy was all about snow angels. 

Trying to make a snowman...the crunchy snow was a bit disappointing.

This is the result of counting to 3 and having the kiddos throw snow up in the air.  

It was nice to head out for a change of pace and enjoy some time together playing outside.  We've been learning about penguins this week; more to come on that soon! 

Holiday Lights

Do you have a few minutes this week that you need to fill?  Last year I tried this and my students loved it!

I made "vans" out of their chairs (6 chairs to a van).  Students sat in the van and drove to see Christmas lights.  I found YouTube videos with Christmas lights set to music (search: Christmas Light Displays).  The driver drove to the display.  We watched it then switched places in the van.  Everyone had a chance to be the driver. You could show different displays over the course of a day as opposed to all at once.

My students loved this activity.  I did it as part of my holiday party, but you could have students complete a writing activity about the light displays if you'd like!

I'd love to hear your ideas for this week too!

A Little Holiday Decorating

Art projects are not typically "my thing", but thanks to Pinterest, I'm becoming more open to art in my classroom.  I saw this pin and thought "I can handle that!".  We made these little trees the day before Thanksgiving break.  They are now hanging in the hallway.  Super easy and came out great!

Dip toilet paper tube in green paint.  Stamp on white paper in the shape of a tree (triangle).  Allow to dry.  Cut trunk out of brown paper.  Decorate as desired; we used sequins and a tiny Ellison star.  The kids love them!

Blinders

Sometimes we have blinders on, both literally and figuratively.  My kiddos are currently wearing blinders that only allow them to see December 25 and Santa.  It made for a long week.  Because I teach in a public school, I have a difficult time finding ways to incorporate "the real meaning of Christmas" without overstepping my boundaries.

I'd seen many posts about TpT packets and other items for purchase to help kids practice "random acts of kindness".  I'd love to see my students spontaneously participate in random acts of kindness, not just in December, but all year long.  I haven't purchased any of these packets because I'm not sure where I'd fit these activities in my day.  We use a "detailed lesson plan" curriculum (scripted) and our day is packed, as I'm sure most of yours are.  I've been thinking about ways for my students to incorporate random acts of kindness into our everyday or weekly routines.  I know it is in their nature, at their age, to be very self-centered, but I'd like to help them "remove the blinders" to help them see the joy that can come from helping others!

Speaking of blinders...an assistant at our school is quite crafty. One of my kiddos has a very difficult time visually focusing on materials.  When you ask him to look at a letter, number, shape, the SMARTboard, etc, his head moves in the right direction but his eyes don't always follow. He does not have vision problems, but I'm not sure he understands when I ask him to look at something.  Enter "blinders" (he calls them his goggles).  They are made from 3-D glasses with the lenses popped out.  She glued popsicle sticks to the sides and top of the glasses then added cardstock to the sticks.

He is SO proud of his "goggles".

This might seem a bit extreme, but they work!  He thinks they are cool because as he told me, he loves goggles, and my other kiddos have never said anything about them.  We have talked about how we all need different things to learn, and they think it is totally normal that he wears these.

How have you helped your students "remove the blinders" and do something kind for others?

Thankful for a Little Break!

It has been a wonderful 5 days off!  I've accomplished quite a bit, not as much as I'd like, but a bigger dent than I thought I'd make thanks to the help of my family!  Here are a few highlights from my break.

I finished this wreath for my brother's girlfriend.  Her birthday is this week.  She likes to decorate her door, and I know she already has quite a few Christmas/winter wreaths, so I went with something for spring.  Inspiration came from here.

My uncle installed this new light fixture in my eating area.  The old one was circa 1985, and there definitely needed to be an update in there.  So much better!

While my uncle was instilling the light fixture, my aunt and cousins helped me put up my Christmas tree.  The tree is new this year for my new place.  My aunt makes all the "kids" (her nieces and nephews) an ornament every year, so it was fun to go back through all of these!

My cousins also helped with the Reading A-Z book assembly.  It goes much quicker with 3 sets of hands!  I think I am set through January, depending on how quickly students change levels on me (not that it is a bad thing if they move up!).

I started working on some activities for our unit on space coming up after Christmas Break.  I'm not finished yet, but a good start. I'd like to finish before break so it can be printed, cut, laminated and ready to go before I leave for Christmas.

Everything in my TpT Store will be 20% off for the Cyber Monday & Tuesday sale.  Stop on by!