While You Are At The Store...

Today, the kids and I made cookies for Santa and our 90 year old neighbor, but we were missing one important detail...the SPRINKLES!  So...since I knew my hubby was already at the store, I called him and said, "While you are at the store, please pick up some Christmas sprinkles for the cookies."  I had to give him a little direction as to where in the world a store might keep sprinkles, but he agreed to the task.  (My husband is the type that doesn't venture into the grocery side of a store very often.)

So....30 minutes later, he arrives with THESE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The last time I checked, it wasn't Easter or the Fourth of July!!!!  My 5 year old even said, "Those don't look like Christmas sprinkles!"  I thanked the hubby for trying and we ended up with cookies that look like this:



Notice the "candy canes"... I managed to make them with the only sprinkles I did have on hand in the cupboard.

Pretty sad...but I know Santa won't mind and Mr. Morris, our neighbor really won't mind.  : )

If you have any Christmas craftiness left in your bones, you might want to give these guys a try!  Super easy and they don't require sprinkles!

Put the stick into a large marshmallow, dip in chocolate and lay them down on your already broken pretzel antlers.  Quickly add a red M&M for the nose and miniature white chocolate chips for the eyes.  Leave them laying on the wax paper until they are completely dry.  They are darling wrapped in a clear treat bag with a little curling ribbon.  I made these for friends at work, and they seemed to be a hit!

If you haven't entered my BIG giveaway yet, you have until midnight on Christmas Eve to do so.  You can click {HERE} to go straight there! 

I am sooooo looking forward to candle light service on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my 5 and 3 year old babies!!!!  Have a wonderful Christmas!!!!

Christmas Tree Snack and More!

Are you looking for a fun, but healthy snack for your holiday parties?  Try this one!!!  You will need a Styrofoam cone, red and green grapes, a star fruit and toothpicks.

It is fun to put it on a plate with some shredded coconut for the "snow."  What fun food do you have at your celebrations?

Remember this post when I posted our parent gift idea?  Well, here are a few from my kiddos.  I thought they turned out pretty darn cute!  My room smelled like a paint factory after school today...but it will be so worth it when they are good and dry on Monday morning.

And one more thing...it was like Christmas today in my room when a mom showed up with this:

A whole bunch of goodies for our classroom!!!!  I have a little "donation" display out on our lockers, and she fulfilled a ton of my classroom supply wishes!!!  I was soooooo excited!  If you are interested in my Sweet Donations pack, click HERE. 

5 more wake-up days and then a well needed 17 days off!!!  Can't wait!!!

12 Dogs of Christmas

If you have not heard of this Christmas book, you need to head on over to Amazon and get yourself a copy!!  It includes a CD of the song that is so fun to listen to!  This has been a favorite of mine (I have a habit of saying that every picture book in my library is a favorite of mine) since I did my student teaching back in 2001.  My cooperating teacher bought a copy for me and now every year right before the holidays, I play it for my kids.  They beg me to play it over and over again.  It kind of reminds me of the excitement they had when I first played Pete the Cat for them!!!  I tried to find a sample of the song on the Internet, but had no luck.  You will just have to buy it and hear it for yourself!!!

What is your favorite holiday book?  I think A Wish To Be a Christmas Tree comes in a close second for me!!  Polar Express used to be on the top of my list until the movie came out and ruined the magic that the book had on its own. 

Parent Gifts for the Holidays

This is an easy and fairly cheap project to do with your students to give as a gift for their parents.  We ask our local big box hardware store to donate the supplies and they are usually very willing to donate everything we need!

To make the decorative tiles, you will need the following:

6x6 white bathroom wall tile for each child

an assortment of fine and extra fine Sharpie markers

piece of fine sandpaper

clear lacquer spray paint

Lightly (very lightly) sand the tile (this is so the marker will "stick") and wipe it clean with a dry paper towel.  Give each child a piece of paper with a 6x6 square traced on it to use as a practice before they attempt the real thing...there is no turning back once a first grader is armed with a Sharpie!!!!



This is my attempt at making a practice sheet for the example.  Don't laugh at my artistic abilities!



Next, read the kids the riot act about not dropping the tile because the nice folks (over at the store that rhymes with Gnome Sheep-o) only gave us enough for each child to have ONE!  Have the nice little talk about how moms and dads won't be too thrilled if permanent marker gets on their clothes and how the markers are NOT smelly markers and that they should not put them anywhere near their nose.

When the kids are finished, I have them CAREFULLY place the tiles on a large sheet of butcher/bulletin board paper on the floor.  When they all go home for the night, I lightly coat them with the clear sealer.  (Make sure your windows are open and you warn the custodian not to be alarmed when he smells a strong odor coming from your room.)  You may want to clear your senses before you attempt to drive yourself home.  That sealer is wicked strong!!!

It is totally optional, but you can put tiny sticky felt pieces on the four corners on the bottom of the tile so it doesn't scratch tables and things.  Parents LOVE this gift and cherish it for years to come...except for the one single dad that emailed me 3 days after receiving it with a warning to tell other parents not to put it in the dishwasher.  It completely erased the whole entire image that his child put on the tile!!!  I didn't have the heart to tell him it was for decorative purposes only.  LOL

I found some red and green bubble wrap this year that I will wrap the tiles in once they are completely dry.  The kids decorate a white paper lunch bag to use as a gift bag, too!

What do you have your students make for their parents????

I will be back soon with my parent volunteer gift idea that is easy peasy and el-cheapo!

Secret Santa

Does your staff need a little boost in the culture department?  Do you forget the true meaning of the holidays in the hustle and bustle of things at your school?  You need to participate in a Secret Santa Gift Giving activity!!!  We do this every year in our building and it is so much fun!  Each day you act as Santa to your recipient and give him/her a small $1-$2 gift for four days.  You have to get creative on how you deliver the small gifts so he/she doesn't figure out who you are!  On the final day (usually the day before break) we gather in the media center for a wonderful holiday breakfast before school starts and reveal ourselves to the person we have been showering with gifts all week!  We also give a bigger gift at this time, usually around $10.  Of course, not everyone participates, but it is still a blast!

I have cleaned up (and "fancied") the form that we use and have it as a FREE download for you if you would like to start this awesome tradition with your staff!  Click on the picture below to get your copy!

Christmas is Around the Corner!

Halloween was only a few days ago, but if you step into any store...Christmas is (and has been) coming as fast as lightning!  Poor Thanksgiving...it usually gets one lonely end cap shelf and Christmas explodes into aisles and aisles!

Well, I have a great excuse that I am posting about Christmas today!  I have less than 30 days to get pieces prepped and ready for our Countdown Santas!  They go home with the kids on November 30th so they can countdown to Christmas!  Parents LOVE this activity and I even do it with my 3 and 4 year olds at home!  It is a great visual and even practices counting backwards!  Bonus!

If you are interested in my Countdown Santa, please click on the picture!

Another fun activity I do in December is to make the EASIEST ornaments with my students.  You need sticky back foam (I find it at pretty much any craft store), glitter, sequins, small foam shapes, pieces of pipe cleaner, small pom poms, etc.

Leaving the backing on the sticky foam, cut shapes with a die cut machine.  We have an Ellison Die collection at my school and I usually go with the classic Christmas Tree for this project.

Have the kids peel off the backing to expose the sticky side.  Let them decorate it until their heart is content.  I like to already have their name and year written with a Sharpie on the back side before they start.

Next, sprinkle glitter (doesn't matter which color(s) you choose) all over the child's tree to cover the leftover stickiness.  I like to do this over a paper plate so I can reuse the excess.  Tap off the excess and you are done! 

Sometimes I add a magnet to the back, or a string (after I hole punch a small hole in the top) to complete the project.

Easy and cheap!