Search results matching tag 'christmas'

Bake a snowman :: cake recipe for kids

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 12:00:27 GMT

As we still haven’t been blessed with any snow yet, we decided we would bake a snowman instead. This is a great cake recipe for kids to try. It’s only got three ingredients, it’s a really easy recipe to make and it tastes scrummy yummy. Here’s how to make crispy cake snowmen.

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Lessons in Rhyming and Predicting

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:20:00 GMT

We spent November of Literacy Launchpad having all kinds of rhyming fun. And December was spent predicting, predicting, predicting!

I've been revamping my lesson plans as I go this year to give them a new twist, and try to help my students understand the skill we're practicing each month even better. These activities mentioned briefly in this post would be perfect to be incorporated into your preschool classroom curriculum, or even to be used at home with your own kiddos.

November had us reading Rhyming Dust Bunnies (Jan Thomas), I'm Your Bus (Marilyn Singer), and Each Peach Pear Plum (Allan and Janet Ahlberg). How much do I love Rhyming Dust Bunnies? A better question would be "How much do my students love it?" The answer: A LOT! We couldn't get enough of this one and its sequel Here Comes the Big, Mean Dust Bunny!. I'm Your Bus was another great one for allowing my students to predict and fill-in the rhyme that would end each page's text.

We brainstormed rhyming words, made rhyming buses, hunted for hidden rhymes in a drawing, and made rhyming signs that were fun to hold up proudly each time we heard rhyming words in our stories.

Then in December we moved on to predicting and read some more fab books. We read If You Take a Mouse to Movies (Laura Numeroff), Mr. Willoby's Christmas Tree (Robert Barry), and Snowmen at Christmas (Caralyn Buehner). It worked out great to choose some rhyming books in December to help continue giving us practice with that skill w had just recently been focusing on the previous month. Is there anything better at Christmas time than some great Christmas books to hunker down with? So cozy. So fun.

We did most of our predicting practice as we read our stories each week, and then we had crafty fun to follow-up our stories. I love how these fun crafts and activities with literature help my students to forever remember these great books that we read in class each week. We recycled like Mr. Willowby and made some awesome Christmas tree ornaments out of egg cartons that would have otherwise been thrown out. We also got creative making adorable snowmen ornaments after being inspired by all the cute snowmen in Caralyn Buehner's book. And we did some drawings to do our predicting with If You Take a Mouse to the Movies! There were a couple rhyming games thrown in there too! What a full and exciting month we had!

Goodbye 2012...Hello 2013!

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 19:08:00 GMT

Well, I have been absent for awhile. I was so busy for the month of December. Sometimes, it seems like my busy-ness never ends, but I wouldn't change it.

Christmas around my house was wonderful! We spent time with both sides of our family before Christmas. The kiddos had a great time running around with cousins and opening presents. I loved visiting with my family, enjoying all of the yummy food and watching the kiddos have such a great time. Our little elf, Susie, went back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve with Santa, much to Jenni's dislike. She is still asking about her and wants her to come back. Maybe, just maybe, she will have to pop in monthly and leave a little note :)

I never actually talked about the month of December much in my past posts. Ms. K finished up her student teaching. She did a really nice job with the kiddos. She had them make ornaments for the tree, handprint/footprint reindeer for the TTH class and Santa's in the MWF class. The kiddos were sheer excitement for weeks leading up to break.

The MWF class began AB Patterns with a candy cane. We will continue working on AB patterns and introduce ABC patterns in January. Depending on how that goes, we will also be working on AAB and ABB patterns before Spring Break. I don't introduce a new pattern until everyone has gotten the current one we are working on.

The Christmas parties were wonderful. The kiddos had so much fun with the gift exchange. Most of them liked Santa coming, while some (my daughter being one of them!) did not.

I spent time over break on Pinterest (go figure!), but got some really good ideas off of it. I have been working on some new handouts and worksheets for the kiddos. (I will post these on TPT site and link to them soon!) I am also going to be switching things up in the MWF class starting the Monday we are back. I have to take a couple days to get everything together and copied and sorted, etc, etc, etc. We are going to be introducing centers to the MWF class. This will break up the long rotation/free choice period. I will send home a new schedule with the MWF class this week. I hope that it works out. It is going to be different and take a little getting used to, but I think that we are going to be able to cover some other things during this time, that I just can't get around to doing during rotation/free choice time.

I hope that everyone's break was wonderful and 2013 brings you all that you wish it to!

Happy New Year 2013!

Sip a Virtual Hot Chocolate

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 04:00:00 GMT

A rainy evening calls for hot chocolate...virtual style.

This game lets you customize your hot chocolate style even down to your accessories, hair color, cap and more. Give it a try.

Tis the Season to be Crafty

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 16:03:00 GMT

This Christmas season has been very tight for me with money, so I decided to look into some lovely craft ideas on Pinterest that would save me money, but also let me give to all my friends, family, co-workers, and loved ones. I found this one pin, and I fell in love! I also thought of a few ideas (although not original), still classic!

My three ideas I used for Christmas gifts were DIY coasters, black chalkboard wine glasses, and personalized ornaments.
Here are some pictures of the coasters I made...

Here are all the supplies that you need for the coasters:

4 x 4 white tiles (I got mine from Home Depot, and they were less than 50 cents each!)
napkins with your favorite design (or you can print out pictures, but the napkins work best)
mod podge
cork board (I bought a roll that had a sticky side.. if you buy this, you don't need a glue gun)
acrylic sealer
glue gun
sponge brush

STEPS:
1. The first thing I did was cut out the napkin to match with the tiles, and cut out the corkboard to match the tiles as well. Make sure you cut them a little bit smaller than the actual tiles.

2. After, you layer a coat of the modge podge over the ceramic tile(s) and place the napkin/picture directly over the tile. Let dry for 5-10 minutes.

3. Then I proceeded to cover the picture/tile with another layer of modge podge (as shown below) it will show up as a white coating, but then dry perfectly like in the second picture :) The drying time varies on how much modge podge you use, but I believe it took around 30-45 minutes to fully dry.

4. I put the finishing touches by water proofing the coasters with an acrylic seal. I let them sit overnight to FULLY dry, and then they are ready to go! :)

Here is a picture of the black chalkboard paint from Walmart.. It was priced at 4 dollars I believe? Perfect for wood, glass, ceramic, and other material. I used the chalkboard paint on wine glasses, mugs, and wooden signs for Christmas. We are all teachers, and can appreciate a little creativity :)

Here are some of the ornaments that I bought from AC Moore, and personalized with a felt tip marker (or sharpie). I made sure that they were each neat and clean... 2 ornaments were not neat enough for me and I did have to throw 2 away because they weren't neat enough ;) but that's just me!! And they make beautiful, special gifts!

I hope you enjoyed my crafts!! Let me know what you think, and of course, let me know if you have any questions!

A gift for the teacher

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 21:09:25 GMT

May your new year be blessed with appreciation, time with your students, and the trust of your parents.

Anonymous — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 05:01:00 GMT

This is an archive edition of AHN that first appeared in 2010. Best wishes to all for a happily restful holiday week.

Jim is observing Christmas. Not "the holidays," not "the season," but Christmas. On balance, the United States is probably still statistically a Christian nation, but its elite is largely secular, and that which isn't is religiously diverse.

Insofar as Christmas really is a minority observance among the people whose eyes may cross this blog, I don't regard that as a problem. Notwithstanding complaints on the part of some, there is no "war" on Christmas. There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical, if not hostile, to Christianity in general and Roman Catholicism (which I practice) in particular. But I don't think you have to be religious or Christian to find hope and cheer in a scenario of a poor child in a remote place coming into the world and transforming it by the power of word and example. And that a few wise men would sense something afoot and seek out the child (as well as a powerful satrap who would be thwarted in the attempt to find and kill a future rival). As would become clear over time, that child was never meant to be a secular king. His work, and his legacy, would prove more durable.

Merry Christmas to all. -- J.C.

Gift swap

Anonymous — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 19:47:00 GMT

I was so excited to gift swap with my bestest blogging buddy, Sara, aka Miss V, from Miss V's Busy Bees :) Not because we had to or linked up with anyone, but just because she has been an incredible person to blog with and become close with. I reaaally hope she likes her gifts, because she deserves them and all the more.
I am waiting to open her card on Christmas day, but I could not wait to open her presents.. I was too excited!! Her and her boyfriend Cody actually gave Mike and I a present too, which was SO completely thoughtful... here is the ornament that has our names on it XOXO It is so amazing and my favorite ornament on my tree.

She also got me a way too generous gift card to Michaels (which is one of my all time favorite stores - I can buy things for school there and for myself and my house). It's perfect!!! Sara also got me adorable Christmas stickers, 2 snowmen stockings (they are my favorite.. and penguins!), and the cutest reindeer ornament!!

Sara also got me these adorable smelly markers!! I am SO excited to use these because honestly, I live for the scented stamp pads and smelly stickers.. my kids love them too. So perfect and I will be using these so much!! All different scents like cherry, peppermint, strawberry, etc.

Here's my tree with my new, beautiful ornaments up, and with all my love's presents underneath... cannot wait to give them to him!! XOXO And over in the corner in that white bag are my uggs that he bought me this year...eeee I never would have gotten these myself because of the money, but I will wear them forever and ever!!

My coworkers were so generous to me too. Karen had this adorable idea that I saw on pinterest before, where it says "pop, pop, fizz, fizz, you're the best teacher that there is" with a bag of popcorn and a can of soda!

And my lady Heather got one of the most unique and wonderful presents I have ever gotten in my life... it is called a "Diamond Candle" (as seen on tv) and you light a soy candle, and inside the wax is a ring worth anywhere between $10 to $5,000. Most of the rings are worth $10, but what an extremely exciting and beautiful gift!! It is lit as we speak.. if you would like more details on this fabulous gift go to www.diamondcandles.com it talks about the prices, scents, FAQ like ring sizes and quality. Amazing and any one would be lucky to receive one of these as a gift!

My presents for my kids... goodie bags filled with erasers, candy, pencils, bouncy balls, and more, and these shirts with their pictures on them. Vistaprint groupon, oh yeah!

I will leave you with this.... this picture below and tons more were the many gifts I was able to get my Adopt a Family. Walter and Kathy will have the most beautiful Christmas, thanks to you. I went yesterday with a full car load of food, presents and clothing for my two lovely angels - Kathy, a single mom fighting *** cancer with little to no money, and Walter, a 16 year old boy with autism who wants more than ever to get presents this Christmas. Kathy's face was priceless bringing in the boxes and boxes of wrapped goodies. XOXO I cannot tell you what this means to me, and their family. Thank you SO much for all your help.. no donation is ever too small, and it really made a huge difference. My heart is full from this and it reminds me that kindness to others, and helping out people that need happiness in their lives, is EVERYTHING. It has made my Christmas

I wish you all a happy holiday... I will be blogging again soon before Christmas!!
XOXO

Making Sense of Senseless Acts - Part 2

Anonymous — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 21:41:00 GMT

With the tragedy of the Connecticut school shooting still weighing heavy on my heart, I was so happy to be able to share something new with my students that, once again, made me so glad I teach in a private Christian school. Even now, almost a full week after the event, I can tell it’s still on the hearts and minds of my students. I’ve been doing my best to try and explain to them why such

What To Write In A Christmas Card

Anonymous — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 10:17:00 GMT

Are you looking for cute or classy little messages and verses to add some punch and pizzazz to your Christmas cards? Well you have come to the right channel :)! I found a fantastic website which does just that for me so I am sharing it with you. The folks Homemade Gifts Made Easy is your one stop shop for any category of verses or messages that you may need this Christmas. Whether it's general, religious, non-religious or biblical these lovely verses can carry your message straight to the heart! Guys, it is truly worth checking out!

Click on Categories Below

All Purpose Verses and Messages

Religious Verses and Messages

Non-Religious Verses and Messages

Bible Verses