A December to Remember

December was a whirlwind, as usual. Here's a little recap of what went down in our little corner of the world. It's a little late for you to do most of these this year, but thankfully Pinterest makes it easy to save for next year!
The awesome melted snowman craftivity is from Tanja at Journey of a Substitute Teacher  
and the gingerbread cuties were from Alisha from The Bubbly Blonde.
Our class adopted a less fortunate family this year. The kids brought in gifts and we wrapped them and sent them off with big smiles before we started our party. Upper right: trying to fan an ornament across the rug as a minute to win it game and an impromptu conga line. Bottom row: our ice cream cone candy trees, mini doughnut reindeer and our newest obsession: Factory Balls on ABCYa.com
The kids were busting to open the stockings that we made. Original post here. They were so cute! The notes they wrote to each other were priceless!

I had out some puzzles that I made last year (original post here). Then a couple of my little nuggets asked if they could make their own puzzle! I told them to write the questions and answers they would use and gave them just a little guidance, but they pretty much did it all themselves. They were so excited about it and they just couldn't wait for one of their friends to try it out. I just thought that was so cool. Good thing I had some extra puzzles!
I realized late in the week that I didn't have a parent gift to send home with the kids. We're talking really late, like Thursday late. Luckily a friend suggested this awesome craft from Yvonne Dixon's gingerbread unit! I had never seen this before and they came out a-maaaa-zing! I cut the big circle out on Thursday night, laminated them and then the kids traced and colored the design onto the laminated circle. Then they cut out the whole thing and added a string. This is definitely going to be a yearly tradition!
You know you have a great class when you actually miss them over the break! I had one little guy a bit confused over whether or not he'd still be in 2nd grade when we came back and if I was still going to be his teacher. When I reassured him that I would be, he was pretty excited. Me too, little guy, me too.

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24 comments

  1. Love the Florida snowmen, and your seasonal header up top there!

    Happy Holidays!
    Halle
    Across the Hall in 2nd Grade

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    1. Thanks Halle! I almost forgot about changing the header until it was too late :)

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks friend! They were perfect for us Floridians :)

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  3. Super cute! Looks like you had a ton of fun! Thanks for the shout out!

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    1. You are so welcome. Everyone who came into my room went straight to that board to read their little stories and comment on how cute they were!

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  4. Thanks girl - I have great friends to turn to for inspiration!

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  5. What fun activities! I love that your class adopted a family. :)
    Lori
    Conversations in Literacy

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    1. Hi Lori :)
      It's a tradition in my school to adopt a less fortunate family. It's so sweet to see the kids care so much about a family of strangers they'll never meet. It's kind of hard to arrange and keep track of, but so worth it in the end.

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  6. I LOVE your parent gift! I am going to have to keep that in mind for next year. Love the Florida Snowmen as well. Going to have to make those when we return - bring from S. FL and all!

    Christina :)
    Check out my blog!
    Apples, Books, and Crayons
    applesbooksandcrayons@gmail.com

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    1. Hey, we're neighbors! Where are you in S.Fl?
      Your chocolate covered popcorn looked pretty yummy!

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  7. The stained glass ornaments are ADORABLE!!!! It looks like you have a lot of fun in your classroom. Thanks for the ideas!

    ~Julie
    TheHipTeacher

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    1. Hi julie,
      Those ornaments really did come out cute. I'll be doing those again for sure.
      The week before break was the week just after the tragedy at Sandy Hook and I just felt the overwhelming desire to let my kids be kids an have fun, probably a little more than normal. Winter break couldn't have come at a better time. Fresh start in January!

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  8. Hey Denise! Your stained glass pictures turned out great! So glad I could help you out. Just read your note on my blog and I appreciate the shout out. Hope you had a Merry Christmas too!-Yvonne

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    1. They are such an awesome craft! The kids had a blast with them too.
      Hope you're enjoying the break! :)

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  9. Everything looks so wonderful! Your class is so lucky to have you as a teacher to do all these fun activities with!

    ღDeAnne
    First Grade and Fabulous

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    1. Aww, thanks friend! I'm pretty lucky to have them too :)

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  10. These snowmen are super cute! I found your blog through First Grade Blue Skies. I am happy to be your newest follower.

    Becky
    Compassionate Teacher
    http://compassionate-teacher.blogspot.com

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    1. Hi Becky!
      Thanks for stopping by and for becoming a follower :)
      Off to check out your blog, love the name!

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    2. Thanks! I am glad you do. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I actually just made this bulletin board and shared about it. I gave you the credit for inspiring me!

      Becky
      Compassionate Teacher

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  13. Three times lucky!!

    I love the melted snowman activity. It would be a great activity to do with 'Sneezy the Snowman'
    If you go to Mrs Lambrecht's blog, she has read the book with her children.

    http://mrslambrechtsclass.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/sneezy-snowman.html

    Love all the ideas. Thanks. I will be saving them.

    Rhonda
    Classroom Fun

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  14. I just saw your melted snowmen! So adorable! What a creative idea for those kiddos who don't get to play in the snow! Don't worry, I'm in MO and we haven't gotten to build a snowman yet either...
    Amy
    http://3teacherchicks.blogspot.com/2012/12/its-my-birthday-giveaway.html

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