14 Days to Christmas!!

Checking out our cameras and binoculars today!

Bought extra memory cards...

I can't even imagine how many pictures we will be taking!

And one week until winter break! 

We have been keeping our first graders excited and engaged 

with our Holidays Around the World Units!  

We started off by making this adorable suitcase and passport 

to introduce our thematic unit!  

We told them we were going to catch a flight and 

they kept asking if we were really going on a field trip!!

Our Holidays Around the World Suitcase craftivity 

is available as a FREEBIE here!

We started off with our Christmas in Germany  

Saint Nicholas Day non-fiction reader and craftivity.  

We left our shoes in the classroom over the weekend and when we arrived back at school this past Monday, there were treats for all!

This unit is available in our TPT store!

On Tuesday we learned about Hanukkah 

and had latkes with apple sauce! Click here for the unit.

Insiders Tip:  Trader Joes has great latkes and 

they are so easy to warm up at school!

On Thursday we read about Christmas in Sweden and made the cutest hats!  Our first graders loved the ginger cookies from IKEA!

To share this fun with your kiddos click here!

Next week we will be busy with Christmas in Mexico - Las Posadas, Christmas in Italy, and Kwanzaa!

These units are available in our TPT store 

individually or as a bundle.

Wishing you a wonderful last week before vacation!

Three Weeks To Go!

Three weeks to Antarctica...checking out our jackets, mittens, and hats!  

Also doing some penguin research and getting so excited!! 

There are 17 different types of penguins and on our trip 

we may have the opportunity to see 9 kinds!

We have a new polar product available:

Polar Animal Count and Rhyme Book!

Our kids will love starting this project during our first week back to school in January! 

It will be a great way to kick off the first of our five HABITAT units, 

The Polar Regions!

Our Polar Animal Count and Rhyme Book can be easily differentiated for student ability.

We will be using it with our TK and First Grade students!

Also included are 15 Polar Animal picture and name cards in both color and black & white.

Check out this fun activity in our TPT store or by clicking here!

Take time to enjoy the holiday season!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

It's always wonderful to catch up with family and friends!

 We woke up early on Black Friday and did a little shopping...

some presents and some fleece for our trip to Antarctica!

Found some cute mini erasers in the Target Dollar Bins!

Our students will love using them while playing 

Penguin Make a Ten!

Get this FREEBIE by clicking HERE!

Penguin Make A Ten is available in our TPT store for FREE!

5 Weeks to Antarctica!

Yikes! My big trip is only 5 weeks away...I haven't done much to prepare yet and it's not like I can buy what I forget when I get there!  My husband and I did make sure we have enough sea sick meds...I think that might be the most important thing to bring!  The crossing to Antarctica is sometimes called "The Drake Lake" and sometimes not!!  Hopefully our seas will be calm and our animal sightings plentiful!

This weekend we are heading out to Palm Desert for a family visit.  We'll definitely be stopping at the Outlets for some holiday and trip shopping!  Are any of you done with your shopping yet?

As soon as I return from Antarctica we will be starting our fabulous Habitats unit. We will be exploring five habitats: The Polar Regions, The Desert, The Rainforest, The Grasslands, and The Ocean.  We will kick off with The Polar Regions.  Here are some cute photos to give you an idea of some of the activities included in our cross-curricular unit.  If you would like to add The Polar Regions to your curriculum, click here to go to our TPT store.

Have a great weekend!

Count Down to Antarctica!

Join me as I count down the days until I leave for Antarctica!   
My husband and I are passionate travelers and have had Antarctica on our "list" for a long time! I am so excited to finally be going to my seventh continent! 

For those who are not done with your holiday shopping...we depart on Christmas Day so this is a count down for you as well!

In honor of my once in a lifetime trip, I have a Penguin Power Roll and Color Freebie for you and your kiddos! Click here to get this freebie from our TPT store. This past week our first graders have been working on the "doubles" in math! They will love having another math game to play on Monday! I've included two other versions so you can differentiate based on the needs of your students - one focuses on "counting on" and the other is simply counting from 1 to 6.

Please check back for more Penguin Fun!
Erica

It's Turkey Time in TK

Oh my goodness…I can’t believe it is already November. My classroom has had a quick turnover just like the department stores, except I refuse to skip Thanksgiving. I sent home the witches, ghosts, and bats with parents when they came to school to celebrate Halloween with us. Little did they know that I had an ulterior motive…they had to find all of their own child’s artwork, take it down, and pack it up to go home with them. Genius of me I might say. It saved me so much time climbing up on the desks and sorting them into cubbies. My classroom was ready and the turkeys were flying in the very next day.  

My partners and I have created so many wonderful activities for November that it is hard to pick which one to do with my kiddos. One of my favorites is the 3D Pilgrims and Native Americans. They look so cute on a bulletin board and the students love the writing portion.  They come up with funniest things that we should eat instead of turkey.  This year’s classic was, “Save a turkey. Eat fried worms.” When I asked the little boy how he came up with that suggestion, he told me his older brother was reading the book, How to Eat Fried Worms. 

These cute craftivities can be purchased at our TPT store. It comes with many other activities including an informational text about the voyage of the Mayflower. Too advanced for my TKers to read by themselves, but I made a copy and read it to my class and then put it in our class library.

Yesterday, I  decided to make hanging turkeys with my whole class.  AGHHH! I don’t know what I was thinking, but BIG MISTAKE! I guess art with 20 four and five year olds and just me was a little too much to take on. They had a tough time getting their paper feathers to stick to the body. I suggested holding it down and counting to 30. Think again…some of us are still learning to count to 10.  As I picked the turkeys up to hang in the room, feathers were falling out everywhere. Our turkeys look more like plucked chickens, but the kids love them.  I can’t wait to see how our Turkey Math Craft goes next week.

November Math Turkey Craftivity

Halloween Excitement in TK

I don’t know about anyone else, but my kiddos are so excited about Halloween it is hard for them to think about anything else.  The social chatter is all about what costume they are going to wear. So far, I have an Elsa and Anna, Spiderman, a firemen, a few witches, a skeleton, and Olaf. The other kids haven’t decided yet, but I have a feeling I may see a few more Frozen characters by the sound of it. I know that I contribute to all of their excitement. We have been writing in our October Writing Journals and my room is filled with hanging witches, spiders, October Monthly Math Craftivities, and owls. You can purchase some of these products in our TPT store.  

                                                                                     

              

October's Monthly Math Craftivity

I have a great craft and treat planned for our classroom party the Friday before Halloween. I found these darling Mummy Hot Dogs on Frugal Coupon Living website.

They are really easy to make and taste great! My kiddos will love making them and I can't wait to see how excited they are when they come out of the oven. I must say that when they add the ketchup it might get a little gory. Maybe I will just have mustard! 

All you need to make these is: (This is for 8 Mummies) 

·    1 can Crescent Roll Dough

·    2 American Cheese slices

·    8 Hot Dogs

·    16 Candy Eyes or pieces of black olive (optional)

·    Cooking spray

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 375.

2.  Cut each cheese slice into 4 strips.

3.  Unroll dough and separate into 4 rectangles (crimp diagonal cuts in each one together).

4.   Cut each rectangle lengthwise into 1/2″ strips and join 2 together to form one long “bandage”.

5.  10 pieces, making a total of 40 pieces of dough. Slice cheese slices into quarters (1/2 slice cheese, cut in half).

6.  Wrap “bandage” of dough around each hot dog and 1/4 slice of cheese.

7.  Make sure to leave a gap for face.

8.  Place wrapped hot dogs (cheese side down) on non stick cookie sheet and lightly spray with cooking spray.

9.  Bake 15 minutes or until dough is lightly brown.

10.Place a small piece of cheese where eyes go and place in oven to melt slightly.

11. Place 2 eyes on each mummy.

For our craft project, Paper Plate Spider Webs, will be the perfect activity to do on Friday morning before the school Halloween parade.

 In TK we are working daily on improving and strengthening our fine motor skills. I always tell the kids to “flex your muscles” before we do an activity that really makes those little fingers work. They all stand up and do the muscle man stance, grimacing and posing with their arm muscles tight. This little exercise seems to help eliminate the groans and ughs when we are about to do tear art or use clothespins as a tool to pick up objects. When I saw this spider web craft, I knew that I could "trick" my TKers. Stringing the yarn through the holes is a perfect activity for my TK kiddos to practice those fine motor skills while having fun. I can't wait to do this with them and send them home  to hang in their windows for Halloween. There are great pictures of this craft and step by step instructions on SheKnows website.