I just finished updating myHoliday Homework, and I wanted to share it with you. We still have some time before Christmas break, so you may be able to fit in a few fun activities before then.
I love sending home some fun, simple family activities for the children (nothing too time-consuming) this time of year. I used to make Christmas Countdown Chains for each child, and have an activity for them to complete on each link. Then, I would send a bag with all of the "extras" needed to complete the tasks. For example, on the night the chain said to "Drink your cocoa while you draw a picture to show how you like to stay warm in the winter. Write a sentence to go with your picture," I would put a cocoa packet in the bag. This is what I sent home when I had the children eat a special meal on their Christmas plate and then write and label the meal they ate on the paper.
Everything was just something little, like a special holiday paper plate, a holiday pencil, a highlighter, special worksheets... The Dollar Store is the place to go for the extra goodies!
This year, I decided to change it up a little. I made this Holiday Homework packet with activities in it. I cut the activities apart, so I only send home one at a time. I send about two a week. I attach the extra item with it, if it needs one. I tape the candy cane onto the paper for the first activity, etc. I have found that more of the activities get done this way rather than when they were given all at once on the chain. (Even thought the chain idea was fun, too!)
I actually also think the children and the families appreciate everything more when it is sent one at a time.
Here are pictures of the pages and the different activities:
I wanted to think of something fun to put on the children's papers when they brought them back, so I taped a Starburst on these cut-out stars to put on the papers. Sometimes I tape a silly band onto their paper. I like to put on a little something special, because I appreciate the extra help at home! Plus... it's that time of year for something special!
I am excited for another Five for Friday link up! Thank you Kacey, from Doodle Bugs Teaching, for hosting. Just as I suspected, December is FLYING by. (Well, not actually the school week so much...Did it seem long?!) Anyway, here we go!
We had fun taking Santa pictures this week and writing "Ho, ho, ho!"
This Santa amused me...
We also made addition sentence chains that the children hung on their lockers. I put them up hoping they might make it through the day- but the kids have been SO careful with the chains when they open and close their lockers. They still look great! OK- it's only been four days, but still. I wasn't sure they would make it four hours.
We also learned the S-a-n-t-a song, so now everyone can spell Santa. What a relief that THAT common core standard is complete! Phew!
I'm sure you have heard the song, but if not here you go. There are many versions, but this is how I sing it (because I can remember these two verses).
I know a man with a long white beard,
And Santa is his name-o.
S-A-N-T-A
S-A-N-T-A
S-A-N-T-A
and Santa is his name-o!
Eight little reindeer pull his sleigh,
And Santa is his name-o.
S-A-N-T-A
S-A-N-T-A
S-A-N-T-A
and Santa is his name-o!
I don't even have them clap and leave out a letter, because we have so many songs we sing, this one is just a quickie to teach them how to spell Santa for their all-important letters and notes with cookies!
This little video version is a hoot- and leaves out the letters with a clap, for a more "traditional" way of singing the song. Plus, you have to love the way he prances across that screen!
We read The Snowy Day this week. This is such a sweet book, and good for so many things. We have been working on small moments in our Narrative Unit. This story works great as a mentor text.
We will revisit it this winter, I am sure. I love to play the sightword snowball game after we read this story. This week, I used it because we worked on the letter "Qq." We made snow with Q-tips. It's a stretch for a Q activity, but we all loved it. It is so student directed and just plain easy and fun. I made and copied little Peter characters on red paper. The children cut these out and drew on his face and buttons. Then, they could experiment with chalk and paint with Q-tips to make their own snowy days. I taught them how I make snowflakes, and it was a very relaxing, quick little activity. Some kids had forts and blizzards. Some had a few flurries.
This was the puzzle we did last weekend. We got it from Big Lots- and Jeff is sure they are out to get him since they gave us 499 or the 500 pieces. It's a good thing we aren't MORE OCD. Of course we tried to get the edges done first, and we could not for the life of us find that last edge piece. Oh, Big Lots... Emily, Ellie, and her husband Matt were all helping to do the puzzle, so we made short work of it. The longest part was searching for that missing piece... We did not want to admit it wasn't somewhere.
OK- I wasn't going to put this on here because it is less than flattering- but then who cares. I made this little picture collage to send to my friend Betty who sent me these "Instant Capri Pants" in the mail. How fun are these?! Jeff (still in no-shave November mode then- the beard is gone now.) is Vanna-Whiting the pants when right after I got them. Next, are all the stages of them coming to life- until finally I put them on as close to the beach as I could get in Upstate NY this time of year. They just made me smile. We are going to visit Betty on Christmas day for a week. She lives near Houston. I have never been to Texas. YAY! We are so excited. The whole family is going- even my married daughter and son-in-law. These pants are staying home.
I wrote a blog all about Christmas lights you can see here.
I am having a GIVEAWAY for these fun Holiday Spec glasses. These are such a happy part of our Christmas that I wanted to share! You can enter here to win 6 pairs of these glasses- just for fun. The contest ends Sunday night.
We had lots of fun with lights this week. I used this fabulous Christmas Lights Pattern by Meredith Fitzhenry that she shared at her TPT store.
I enlarged this paper 200 times (well- I enlarged it 200 percent on the printer- maybe that is how I should say it. I didn't stand there enlarging it 200 times...) and printed it on 11x17 paper. Next, I wrote secret (aka white crayon) words on each bulb on each paper. Then, out came the watercolors and the ooohs and aaahs!
I had them write their words on a recording sheet.
I made some papers with numbers to work with my group who needs some extra number recognition work.
It is ALL about Character Education. You know how sometimes I keep going and going and adding resources and activities? Well, I did that. I am always so glad to have resources in one spot so I don't have to look all over the place, so I put my wonderful finds all together. I hope you find some things you love there, too.
I hope you had a great week! Thank you for stopping by. Happy Weekend!
Hi! I updated this post HERE with all of my Christmas Light ideas! Some of the links no longer worked or weren't free anymore. Plus, I found some new ideas!
My friend Terri Izatt, from Kinder Kapers, just added this wonderful Elf's Adventures Emergent Reader to her TPT store and I wanted to share it!
I can't wait to use it with my kids. It is great practice for positional words, and they will love it. So many of my kids have already been talking about their elves at home. They love learning with the elf. Here are some pictures from her book. She also includes a black and white version to use.
I have some mini elf erasers ( from Target, no doubt) that I am going to have the kids use when we go through the book the first time. Then, they can put on their elves that go with the book.
I have the kids make elves in our classroom with their pictures- similar to these from Crafts.diycenter.net. I love using the children's pictures in their crafts.
My friend Susanna from Whimsy Workshop has been giving these AMAZING freebies for the 12 Days of Christmas. Her precious little elf framed paper was Day 7!
My friend is terrified of the Elf on the Shelf- so, of course, one of her friends puts LOTS of pictures of the elf on her facebook. This was on today and I hadn't seen it before. It did make me smile. These are so many adorable things to do with that silly elf. (Not that, but... other things!)
I was looking for some clever elf food and came across the sweetest site called The Unconfidential Cook featuring Emma's Tiny Treats- full of elf food ideas. Look at these clever things!
Cheerios!
Mini Oreos with frosting in between!
Chocolate chip Hershey Kisses!
There are more at the site. The ideas came from The American Girl book Tiny Treats.
