Christmas Traditions at Home and at SCHOOL!

Starting a new Christmas tradition?

Don't forget about this gem I shared last Christmas!

We flipped our Christmas tree skirt over and started annual handprints! We date the handprints and label with the first initial of the name. Over the years, we will make our way around the reverse side of the tree skirt and have a really special keepsake.

In the classroom, you can do something similar! Not with a tree skirt, of course. (If you do celebrate holidays in your classroom, you COULD use a tree skirt and do thumbprints to save space, maybe!) A teacher I used to work with actually had kids put their handprints in the hallway outside her classroom on the wall each year. They were labeled with student first names. It didn't take up much room, despite there being many many years worth of classes' handprints outside her doorway. Kids loved coming back for Open House to find their handprints. This is a fun tradition that can easily be done in many buildings with administrative approval!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Traditions for Families AND students!

Can we talk about Christmas traditions that work in the classroom and at home?

The 12 Days of Christmas!

Which is what we call it in our house. At school, it might be the 12 Days of Winter Break! Either way, as soon as we hit that 12 day count down, 12 wrapped gifts appear with the numbers 1-12 on them. We open them in reverse order, counting down to Christmas or winter break. And each gift is a special book to add to our collection.

It's time to get kids EXCITED about books!

Reading IS fun!

If you prioritize it, and make it magical, they will buy in!

My daughter is me. She is a reader through and through. My son likes books, but not quite as obsessed. But when he opens those daily books under the tree? He will read that book over and over and over again. (In our house, Mr. Elf delivers them.) If all it takes is wrapping books up in brown paper to get a kid to engage with them, I will do that! Any day!

Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays from this little Santa reindeer!

Enjoy this special time of the year with the people you love.

That's all! :)

A Christmas Tradition for Your Kids!

Yep! That's my Christmas tree skirt!

I saw this on Instagram (I don't remember who!) and thought I would give it a go!

My kids are 3 and 1, so we are starting a bit late, but better late than never.

Each child chose a paint color. We put their handprint on the underside of the Christmas tree skirt, along with their first initial and the year. We will add to it every Christmas season as they grow older and be able to see those sweet little handprints get bigger. 

It took me less than 5 minutes to get the handprints, and it will last a lifetime.

And how is your Christmas wrapping going?

I am a type A person with zero skill when it comes to wrapping gifts.

Well, maybe I could be better at it but I really don't make an effort. The challenge is that I want to wrap gifts the second they get delivered and then put them in a box ready to go to relatives and kiddos. So, although my husband would certainly wrap the presents like a store clerk, I cannot wait, and I wrap them like a fool.

It doesn't help that the gift above is a crockpot and I had major issues getting the paper to fit around it. And then I ran out of paper. And then...I gave up.

Hey, it's the thought that counts, right?

By the way, the gift above is a crockpot from Target, through the Hearth and Home line. It is so pretty, black and cream colored. And it is a "dip pot" as I call it - we have a smaller one for mostly dips but not as pretty as this. I totally recommend it!

Holiday Gifts for Families: Handprint Calendars!

If you are looking for a great holiday gift, not completely focused on Christmas, look no further. I have used this Handprint Calendar from Teaching with Mel D for YEARS! (She updates it each year) I used it with my second graders, third graders, and fourth graders....and now I use it with my toddlers as grandparent gifts!

There are a few options for some of the months (ie: You CAN do a Santa for December, if you want!). There is also an Australia spelling version, which is a cool little bonus.

In the classroom, I would sort the calendar by color. So, if I needed a light blue for the snowman pages and the snowflake pages, I would have a little assembly line - call over 5 kids, paint everyone's hands, handprint one kid at a time for both of the pages that need that color, and send them to the sink right after to wash up. The trickiest pages are when you need multiple colors, so I saved those for last!

I never lost instructional time to get this project done - I always did it during recess or when I let the kids eat lunch in the classroom as a treat. Which is why I started this project EARLY. Like Thanksgiving time early.

I also made sure to get some Sharpies for drawing faces and some googly eyes. Not for every page, but the googly eyes really do add something special to the pages with little critters!

Oh and the actual calendar pages with dates come color or black and white. I typically printed color because I let my students color in as much as I could, but they never had time to finish the entire calendar, so it made sense to print those pages in color so the coloring part would focus on the pictures near the handprints.

So, check out some of our examples from this year. These are my kids (ages 3 and 1), which is why there are two handprints on some pages. Instead of alternating, I just squeezed two handprints on the pages where I could fit them. It actually looks very cute! I'm impressed with our work! :)

Easy Winter Craft Idea!

Easy Peasy Craft Idea!

I used some craft paper and cut it into an oval. I cut the mouth hole next. Then I glued two popsicle sticks at the bottom as handles.

From there, my kiddo glued and glued white cotton balls until she just couldn't fit another white cotton ball. 

Then, let the pretend play begin!

She was Santa. She was an old man. She was daddy. She was anyone but herself. 

And it was very entertaining!

Happy December!

Quick and Easy Christmas Ornaments!

With the holidays right around the corner, here is a fun and easy craftivity I have done with my class in the past, and my two toddlers in the present! :)

A few years ago a bought a TON (Like 50) pre-drilled wooden discs with twine and ribbons that came with them for about $15 on Amazon. Best purchase ever.

Each year, we make ornaments! Last year we did thumbprints and then draw the string for a string of lights! Add some twine and a name/date, VOILA! Holiday gift!

This year, we did thumbprints again. Easy. But we drew on antlers and glued a felt nose on for Rudolph. Even cuter! And just as easy.

If you are looking for a holiday gift, look no further! 

And, of course, you could do this same thumbprint look on any ornament, piece of construction paper, whatever, to make it cheaper! Or free!