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Christmas

Christmas Book Companions

The holiday season is seriously one of my favorite times a year for both personal and classroom reasons. It’s a magical time where lights are shining, people are a little happier and students can’t wait for Santa to arrive. Now, I’m not going to lie, the month of December is pretty crazy with extra activities and (let’s say) highly energetic students. It can be hard to keep up with academics when you’re having holiday parties, making gingerbread houses or singing Christmas carols like we do in my class. This is why I’ve created Christmas book companions for three Christmas stories. These resources help me celebrate the holidays while continuing our regular language arts curriculum.

Need a special activity to celebrate Christmas in your classroom while still keeping curriculum going? Check out my Christmas Book Companions.

Christmas Book Companions

A book companion is a language arts resource that goes along with a specific book. Each resource includes various language arts comprehension concepts that teachers can use to teach the skill or as a review. Also included in each companion is a craftivity. These are probably my favorite part of the product because they always make a good bulletin board (which you may know is my guilty pleasure!)

The Polar Express

This book companion includes:

  • Sequencing the story
  • Problem and solution
  • My Favorite Part Writing
  • Additional Writing Prompt
  • Describing the Boy Graphic Organizer
  • Describing the Polar Express Graphic Organizer
  • Polar Express Verbs
  • Craftivity

Each language arts skill comes with both a drawing page (for kindergarteners) and a writing page (for older grades).

Need a special activity to celebrate Christmas in your classroom while still keeping curriculum going? Check out my Christmas Book Companions.

Bear Stays Up for Christmas

This book companion includes:

  • Sequencing the story
  • Problem and solution
  • My Favorite Part Writing
  • Additional Writing Prompt
  • Describing Bear Graphic Organizer
  • Bear’s Verbs
  • Craftivity

Each language arts skill comes with both a drawing page (for kindergarteners) and a writing page (for older grades).

Need a special activity to celebrate Christmas in your classroom while still keeping curriculum going? Check out my Christmas Book Companions.

Mooseltoe

This book companion includes:

  • Sequencing the story
  • Problem and solution
  • My Favorite Part Writing
  • Additional Writing Prompt
  • Describing the Boy Graphic Organizer
  • Describing the Polar Express Graphic Organizer
  • Polar Express Verbs
  • Craftivity

Each language arts skill comes with both a drawing page (for kindergarteners) and a writing page (for older grades).

Other Holiday Book Companions

I love incorporating these holiday book companions in my classroom leading up to a holiday. They help me feel like I am balancing between celebrating the holiday while still focusing on important language arts curriculum. 

If you’re like me and love the holidays, check out my other holiday book companions

How do you celebrate holidays in your classroom? Do you stick with academics and your regular schedule or do you incorporate special activities?

The Holiday Kindness Character – An Inclusive Holiday Activity

The winter holidays can be a very hectic time. A time filled with much excitement for the upcoming celebrations. Many schools and classrooms are incorporating holiday activities in their schedules during this season.

Since I teach at a Catholic school, I’m allowed to openly celebrate Christmas, however, I know that’s not the case for most schools. I know teachers who don’t celebrate the holidays or celebrate each holiday so all students feel included.

While reflecting on both school activities and what society sees in the stores, I’ve noticed that much of the holiday resources available are all geared toward Christmas, which not everyone celebrates. I even have my own Christmas resources in my TpT store that I know not everyone can use. This is how the Holiday Kindness Character was born. The Holiday Kindness Character is an inclusive holiday activity you can use in your classroom during the holiday season.

Are you tired of seeing holiday activities that are only about Christmas? The Kindness Character is an inclusive holiday activity. Freebie inside!

The Holiday Kindness Character

Similar to “Elf on the Shelf”, the Kindness Character watches you during the holiday season. It is a stuffed animal or doll of your choosing who joins your classroom during the month of December. This character brings letters each day that promote kindness during the holiday season. Each letter has specific ideas of what students even as young as Pre-K and Kindergarten can do to spread some joy.

The Kindness Character does not discuss any specific holidays but the holiday season in general. This makes this activity a much more inclusive holiday activity than the popular Elf on the Shelf. (Now, I’m not going to lie, I use the Elf in my classroom and we do celebrate Christmas because of my school’s circumstances, however, I want each classroom to be able to spread joy and love through the season, even if they don’t celebrate Christmas.)

Are you tired of seeing holiday activities that are only about Christmas? The Kindness Character fixes that by celebrating all holidays. Freebie inside!

The Resource

This resource includes 20 letters from your Kindness Character. These letters include ways to promote and spread kindness throughout the holiday season. It is editable so you can write your character’s name. It also includes an editable template so you can write your own letter.

Celebrate the Season of Advent in Kindergarten

For those of you who don’t know, I teach at a private, Catholic school in the Bay Area in California. Since I teach at a Catholic school, we are required to teach religion as a core, everyday subject. We also teach the Church seasons, one being the season of Advent. Advent is a time when we prepare for the birth of Jesus, on Christmas Day.

It can be hard to get students (especially the littlest ones in kindergarten) to get their attention off Santa Claus and presents and on to Jesus and his birth during this season. Here are some ways I promote and celebrate the season of Advent in kindergarten.

Celebrate the Season of Advent in Kindergarten

Do you celebrate the season of Advent in your classroom? Read this post to see how I incorporate Advent in my kindergarten classroom.

Advent Wreath

During the season of Advent, I set an Advent wreath out on our prayer table. This wreath has 4 candles around the outside, three purple and one pink. These candles represent the 4 weeks leading up to Jesus’ birth. They also have different meanings.

  • The first candle represents hope
  • The second candle represents faith
  • The third (pink) candle represents joy
  • The fourth candle represents peace

The Advent wreath is a great visual for students that this season is a time to connect with and prepare for the birth of Jesus. Often when we say our special prayers, I assign students to move our wreath from the prayer table, onto the middle of the carpet so we can see it as we gather around for prayer.

Special Prayers

My school gives out a packet of special prayers that every class reads during their religion time. This is a special way that connects individual classes together as one entire school. These prayers are very extensive and hard to comprehend for the littlest students in the school, that’s why, my principal provided the K-2 teachers with a book that is a bit easier for our kiddos to understand. This book is called Welcome Baby Jesus: Advent and Christmas Reflections for Families. Get your own copy through my affiliate link below.

We use this book along with our Advent journals to reflect on ourselves and ways we can prepare for the coming of Jesus.

Advent Journals

Our Advent journals are a way we take what we’ve heard in our special prayer during religion, and reflect on ways we can better ourselves and others and prepare for the coming of Jesus. I created this resource as a way to focus students on this important season in the Church year. The journal comes with 25 prompts that go along with the prayers in the book above, but don’t have to be used together if you don’t have the book.

The way I use these journals is after our special prayer for the day, using the Welcome Baby Jesus book, we have a quiet reflection time where students can draw or write, responding to the prompt of the day. Of course we never finish these journals because I’ve included all 25 days leading up to Jesus’ birth, however, I send them home and give students the option to continue to respond while they are on break before Christmas Day.

I love the way these Advent journals focus my kindergarten students and help them realize how special this season of Advent is.

How do you celebrate the season of advent with your students? Let me know below!

 

Run, Run for These Gingerbread Activities

There are so many activities you can do with your students during Christmas time that it can get overwhelming to try to do it all. Yet, I ALWAYS try to do it all because I can’t seem to let anything go. Gingerbread activities are some of my favorite to do during this season. The first and second grade teachers and I have started a tradition at our school where we mix our classes and students get to design gingerbread houses. This activity, plus a gingerbread man in class project, make for a perfect gingerbread filled day! Here are two gingerbread activities that are too much fun to give up!

What is your favorite way to celebrate the Christmas season in your classroom? Read about two of my favorite gingerbread activities here!

Design a Gingerbread House

Like I said, my kiddos, the first graders and the second graders all get to design their own gingerbread house. The day before this event, parent volunteers assemble these houses. (Tip- use very sturdy plates, a large tub of royal icing and milk cartons for extra support.) Then, the day of, I split my class into three and some kids go into the other rooms and they get to go to town on designing a gingerbread house. Many kids get very creative and add a front or backyard! It’s an activity where students surprise you on their creativity and attention to detail.

You might need…

 

(affiliate links)

Gingerbread Man Project

For this activity, students try to disguise a gingerbread house so the gingerbread man won’t get eaten by the old lady or any animals. This project is apart of my Kindergarten Projects for the Years growing bundle. It can be used as a take home project or in class. Since I didn’t have enough time to send home the project, I chose bits and pieces of the project and students completed it in class. Check out this project here.

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A Unique Way to Use Elf on the Shelf in the Classroom

Creating Christmas Magic in the Classroom

A Unique Way to Use Elf on the Shelf in the Classroom

Elf on the Shelf is typically known for getting into trouble and doing mischievous things. Not my Elf! My classroom elf promotes kindness throughout the holiday season in my kindergarten classroom.

Do you use Elf on the Shelf in your classroom? Instead of getting into mischief, my classroom elf promotes kindness during the holiday season. Read how here

The Inspiration

I am obsessed with everything the holidays have to bring! My favorite time of year is right before Thanksgiving and throughout the month of December. This is when we start to cozy up by the fire, set out decorations, light scented candles and spend quality time with our friends and families. It’s also a time of fun activities in our classrooms as well as reflection on what a great year it’s been.

The holidays in the classroom can be a tricky time. It’s hard to balance doing exciting activities to celebrate the holidays while still managing to teach the academics and not let your students spiral out of control.

Do you use Elf on the Shelf in your classroom? Instead of getting into mischief, my classroom elf promotes kindness during the holiday season. Read how here

The Classroom Elf

I’ve always loved Elf on a Shelf and the magic he inspires. (Not to mention students are always on their best behavior while the elf is watching.) And, I love using my creativity to make our elf get into trouble. However, I wanted to give our elf a bigger purpose. So last year, our classroom elf, Elfie, challenged us each day to complete an act of kindness.

Do you use Elf on the Shelf in your classroom? Instead of getting into mischief, my classroom elf promotes kindness during the holiday season. Read how here

The Letters

Each morning, my students find our classroom elf in a different spot of the room, up to some sort of silliness, next to a letter. The letter explains what the elf is doing and encourages the class to spread kindness or Christmas cheer through a specific action.

For example, I introduce my elf by having him sit in one of our buckets we use for bucket filling. Through this letter, he tells students to spread kindness through writing a bucket filler for someone they wouldn’t normally write one for.

Do you use Elf on the Shelf in your classroom? Instead of getting into mischief, my classroom elf promotes kindness during the holiday season. Read how here

These letters state many different ways students can share joy through the holiday. From giving a hug or smile, to donating old books or clothes, these letters give students as young as kindergarten concrete ideas of how to show love and spread kindness.

Check out my Classroom Elf: Promoting Kindness here.

Classroom Elf

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Creating Christmas Magic in the Classroom

 

Creating Christmas Magic in the Classroom

One of the things I love most about teaching kindergarten is the ability to go ALL out on every holiday. It’s like a built in addendum to our contract that in kindergarten, you must celebrate everything and anything! This year, I incorporated many fun, engaging and also educational Christmas lessons to spread the magical joy in my kinder room.

Elfie

This is my fourth year using Elf on the Shelf in my classroom. I use Elf on the Shelf in a unique way, to encourage acts of kindness throughout the holiday season. The first day our elf arrived, students spotted him immediately! Some of my kids had an elf in their home and knew the rules so I wasn’t surprised when one of my students shouted “don’t touch him!” Each day, students look forward to seeing where our elf was in the room and what shenanigans he was into! I start our day by reading the letter from Elfie and discussing what act of kindness he challenges us to try. Find a full list of acts of kindness and what the elf does in my TpT store through this here.


 

Polar Express

The last week before break, I’ve made it a tradition to celebrate Polar Express week. This is where I take a break from our language arts and math curriculum and incorporate different lessons all about the Polar Express. I purchased a few different TpT products to make this week happen. I use The Polar Express by Teaching in High Heels for our “write the room”, to compare and contrast the book and the movie and to describe our time on the Polar Express through our five senses. I use All Aboard the Polar Express by Free Falling in SDC to make our conductor or reindeer hats. Last, I use The Polar Express: Book Companion by The Curious Catfish for my North Pole tickets and my writing craftivity.

I’ve also come across a few freebies on TpT that I incorporate into my week of everything Polar Express. My absolute favorite lesson I’ve used during this week the past few years is the sequencing activity from Erica Bohrer’s Polar Express Movie and Craft Activities – FREEI do this whole class first, then students sequence on their very own Polar Express train. This week is very language arts heavy, but this freebie Polar Express Doubles/Doubles Plus 1 by Studly Peaches is a fun way to incorporate math, with various versions of a five in a row game. The Polar Express has been one of my all time favorite Christmas stories since I was a little kid and bringing this love to my kindergarteners makes for a very magical week before Christmas break.

Gingerbread House

I am so blessed to work at a school with the BEST co-workers. This year, our lower school team teachers (grades k-2) are some of my best friends. We planned a kindergarten through second grade gingerbread house decorating party! Parent volunteers brought in graham crackers, icing, and candy. The day before our party, our volunteers assembled our houses and then day of we had a few parents help pass out the candy or fill up student’s cups with extra icing. Every year, I am amazed with student’s creativity!

           

Parent Gift

Each year, I’ve made a different parent gift for students to give to their parents. I’ve never been super impressed with anything I’ve had them do in the past so I turned to my favorite addiction – Pinterest. After browsing pinterest for what seemed like hours, I settled on a salt dough handprint ornament that the students paint to look like Santa.

This was a very ambitious project but with only 15 students and the help of my assistant teacher, we were able to accomplish these gifts and they turned out AMAZING! Check out this link to see the full tutorial of how to make these ornaments. Students loved seeing their handprint after I baked the dough and felt so proud when they turned their handprint into a Santa ornament.

How to Create Christmas Magic in Your Classroom

What kinds of traditions do you have in your classroom around the holidays? This time of year is very hectic but also extremely magical. I wish you and your students a happy holidays and restful winter break!

Cyber Sale

This is the first Black Friday that I have NOT been running around all over town trying to get all the best deals. As much as I’m missing the chaos today, it feels good to be bundled up in our Tahoe house, looking at the snow on the roofs and relaxing with my husband, family and mother-in-law.

Thanksgiving is a holiday that is so overlooked.. Christmas decorations have been in our stores since the end of October! I love ANY and EVERY holiday. Spending time with family makes my heart happy. Last night, we taught my mother-in-law three different games and played for hours while drinking our favorite wine. screen-shot-2016-11-25-at-10-25-53-am

Now that Thanksgiving is complete, it’s off to the races to finish all that is Christmas by the time the 25th comes around. When we go back to school next week, my school has three weeks until Christmas break. I always feel like this time of year we’re squeezing in tons of fun holiday activities as well as trying to stay on track with our regular curriculum.

I’ve created an Elf on the Shelf unit to promote kindness in the classroom. This will be my third year using Elf on the Shelf in my classroom. The last two years my silly elf was just a fun way to incorporate Christmas magic into my kinder room, but this year, I’m hoping to inspire my students to spread the holiday cheer through these letters that our elf brings each day. Each letter discusses a small act of kindness that young children can do to spread joy throughout the Christmas season. If you’re interested, click here.

sale_740_400If you’re interested in other products I’ve created, check out my TpT store by clicking here. Starting Monday, you can purchase anything in my store for 20% off! Check out other sellers on TpT on Monday and Tuesday to see if you can snag some other great deals through the Cyber Sale.

I’m hoping this beginning to a crazy time is however you imagine it to be. Through the long days and the classroom chaos, just remember that our profession is so important and we are changing little lives each and every day! What are you looking most forward to in your classrooms this season? Share a story in the comments box below.