I can tell it may be time to get back to school soon. I was shopping at Hobby Lobby today and I found this cute, unbreakable, bright green tray for $7.99(which came to about five dollars after I used a 40% off coupon:) My mind then began to go crazy thinking of all the awesome ways I could use this tray. It could be used at the guided reading table to sort sounds and during math time to show place value. Students could sort counters and even use it to show adding and subtraction number sentences. The best news is that if the trays get dropped they will not break and they come in pretty blue, green, pink, and yellow colors. This is not too bad for a five dollar purchase! Maybe it is time to get back to school!
This time of year can be so hectic and rushed in the classroom with everything that needs to get done academically. The students still LOVE the simple things, however. Making reindeer headbands with hand traced antlers and a red pompom nose seem to mean so much, especially when we take a picture of the whole class wearing their headbands and then make copies to place in the holiday cards we make our families! Making simple reindeer ornaments out of craft sticks to hang on the classroom tree also brings a sparkle to everyone's eyes as the kids realize they decorated the tree with things they made themselves. Glueing colored pasta around their own photo to take home to share, reminds each student that they are an important part of their family and our class. I have found it is the simple things that mean so much. We just need to slow down and realize these are the things the students will remember and treasure!
Happy Holidays!
Each year I like to have the students make something for their families for the holidays. Snowmen are always a favorite because we are all eagerly waiting to build a real one as soon as the first snowfall appears! This year we are painting small flowerpots white, and then adding buttons, a ribbon scarf, a foam ball for the head and a little hat.
I also wanted to share a picture of the paint roller snowman a teacher gave me a couple of years ago. It is just simply a paint roller, with buttons, a fleece scarf and hat and twig arms. Now we just need a major winter storm (instead of RAIN) to build our most favorite snowman of all...one made of SNOW!
If you need simple, quick gift bags for your students to make this is the idea I go back to year after year. You just need a white bag, bow, and green and red paint. I trace a circle on the bag in pencil and then the student dips a finger into green paint and dabs around the circle. When the green paint dries, the student can then dab a few red dots around the circle. I hot glue a bow on and then the bag is ready for a gift!
These are the cards I just finished making for Reindeer Noses gift bags for my co-workers. You simply just put some Whoppers Candy and a red gum ball (for Rudolph's nose) in a baggie and then place some type of tag labeled "Reindeer Noses" attached to it.
