Saturday, December 6, 2014

Sunday Rewind - Tis The Season

Yes Tis The Season – the season of exhaustion joy when the littles are full of anticipation of the red suited gentleman visiting them.  They are sure they have been “good” this year.

I try to limit myself to one art project each week but this time of the year there are sooooo many cute projects.  We started off this season of celebration by making a count down Santa.  Each day the kids can add a cotton ball as a type of advent calendar.  They were adorable.  This was the perfect lead in to our writing letters to Santa.



I work to make this a learning experience not just a lengthy list of gadgets, devices, and tiny bits of plastic that our kiddos are hoping Santa will leave under their tree.  In the letters, the kids introduce themselves, ask Santa a few questions, thank Santa for the gifts from last year, request a gift for this year, warn Santa about any potential problems at their houses, and tell him what they are doing for him.

I believe gratitude has to be taught, modeled, and reinforced throughout the year.  I am always a little shocked surprised at the number of children that can’t remember what they received for Christmas the year before.

We spent a week writing letters to Santa. My teaching partner had shared this wonderful writing project from Jessica Meacham’s blog.  You can read her original post here. We both loved it so much we have incorporated it into our December writing. 
The letters were darling and had a depth that letters in the past were lacking.
We even learned how to address an envelope.




Now that our letters are off to the North Pole, we can work on making a few fun Christmas projects.


One of my favorites is this green construction paper wreath.  It is beautiful in its simplicity.


We are also making a Rudolf with an “I like” pattern poem writing to go along with it.


I like
I like……..
I like …….
I like……..
I like……..
I like……..
But I don’t like…….

The poem can be seasonal
and related to the winter
holidays or make it more
general.

Together, they make a great bulletin board display.



Our final project will be a gift to our parents.  Each student will make a Santa ornament.  This year I went with plastic fillable ornaments instead of the class ones.  Nothing makes me more nervous than glass balls in the hands of 6 year olds so I switched to plastic this year. 

The filling is red construction paper strips that the kids wrap around a pencil and then stuff into the ornament.  The belt is self stick felt.  The kids paint on the belt with gold sparkle paint. 

I love keepsake ornaments and I always smile as I decorate my own tree and see the many ornaments  that I have received from my own children, friends, colleagues, and former students. The mister and I do a lot of "Do you remember when...?" 

What special things are you doing in your classrooms this month?

Tis the Season - I wish for you a season full of joy, gratitude, and blessings.


~Clara @ Teaching 365