Elf on the Shelf Week 2

Happy Sunday before the week before Winter Break! Last week I blogged about my Elf on the Shelf's antics in the classroom and I wanted to update you on what Bacon has been up to since then! I'm linking up again with Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations for her Elf on the Shelf Linky Party.

The week started out with Bacon making himself a clothespin for the clipchart and clipping himself up to the top. He helped himself to a piece of candy from the candy jar and an award for getting to the top of the chart. 

Another day Bacon got ahold of the Band-Aids in the classroom and stuck them all over himself. He wrote us a note saying, "I don't know what these things are, but they're sticky and fun!" The students definitely got a kick out of this one.

Later in the week Bacon decided to try out a little circus act and was hanging from a trapeze off of the Promethean Board. The snowmen were underneath waiting with a bowl to catch Bacon incase he fell. 

The week ended with Bacon soaking in a warm marshmallow hot tub to relax. 

Check in next week to find out how Bacon's last week in our classroom was! 

The Fantastic Addition of Elf on the Shelf and a Freebie

This is my first year having an Elf on the Shelf in the classroom and I'll start out by saying that I am fully aware of how RIDICULOUS the amount of fun I'm having with our classroom elf is. I'll admit it-I was feeling burnt out. I was feeling grumpy and ready for Winter Break more than I've ever been ready for Winter Break. This elf has made me look forward to going to school each day and I can only hope it's done the same for my students. 

-I love seeing the grins on their faces and the way they all shuffle into the classroom to get a glimpse of where our elf is and what he's been up to. 

-I love hearing the chatter about it as they're on playground and as they're going about their day. 

-I love that their imaginations are at work 24/7 coming up with ideas of things we can add for our elf (he needs a cubby, a stocking, a computer, a book box, and more, according to the students). He is definitely a part of our little 2nd grade family. 

-I love plotting out what our elf is going to do and setting him up. 

-I think the part I love the most though, is a part I wasn't expecting in this elf adventure, and that's the devious collaboration I'm enjoying with my fellow 2nd grade teachers at school. We're sneaking into one another's classrooms and moving the elves unbeknownst to each other, buying one another Elf on the Shelf (or EOTS as I have secretly dubbed it) paraphernalia (DVD's, clothing made for Ken dolls, etc.). 

Here's what's been going on in my classroom:

Our elf arrived from Santa straight from the North Pole. The package was cold and our wonderful school librarian really played it up when she delivered the package to us. 

After reading the story to the students, they each were given a sticky note and told to write a suggestion for a name. The elf was going to pick out his name that night. When the kids came to school the next morning, they found that the elf had chosen the suggestion of...

BACON!

Bacon has been found playing Battleship with some classroom snowmen

Swinging from the snowflake decorations

Sitting in the Christmas tree which he 

recently T.P.'ed 

(a coworker snuck in my room and did this one while we were at recess and the kids thought this was 

SO funny!)

And finally, engaged in, "The Great Snowball Fight of 2013" with another classroom's elf who was unable to go to the North Pole for the night because someone in the class had touched him. 

I even had a student bring in a DVD earlier this week with a home movie of her elf moving. Her parents had set up a video camera in their living room to catch the elf leaving for the North Pole at night. These parents went the extra mile and had the elf walking along the couch, jumping down, walking to the door, jumping up to the door handle, and heading out. There was some great video editing, the help of a fishing pole, and some parents who didn't want their children to stop believing just yet. I showed the class the video and it was pandemonium in the classroom. The next day, a big slew of students had a newly adopted elf at home. A classroom of believers. I love imagination. 

I did a little EOTS surgery this weekend on Bacon and followed this tutorial on how to quickly add wire to his arms and legs to make him bendable. 

I also added Velcro to his hands. A whole new world of possibilities has emerged for this elf!

Each night Bacon writes a letter to the students on elf paper telling them things he was up to, what he told Santa, things he likes in the classroom, etc. Each day the students write a journal entry about what our elf was up to that day. 

If you want a quick journal printable to use for your elf, I'm sharing mine as a freebie. Just click on the picture to take you to it!

 Time to link up your Elf on the Shelf classroom shenanigans with Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations. 

See you over there! 

Olive, the Other Reindeer Fun and a Freebie

It's been a fun week and it's only half way done! With our Elf on the Shelf making his appearance and the Christmas art projects starting to take shape, we are in full holiday mode. 

We're spending this week using reindeer as an inspiration for learning and we started off by reading the book, Olive the Other Reindeer.

Olive is a cute little story about a dog who thinks she's supposed to be a reindeer because she thinks she keeps hearing her name in the lyrics to, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (All of the other reindeer...). The story describes how this dog ends up being a great help to Santa and the reindeer on Christmas Eve. 

After we read the story, we did a fun writing activity in class where the students had to choose an animal that they thought would also be a great addition to Santa's sleigh. 

They planned out their writing

with four reasons their animal would be helpful and then completed their writing on this cute reindeer stationery. 

We talked briefly about great transition words to include in our persuasive writing and then they were ready to get started on their final drafts! 

We had elephants and sharks flying alongside Santa in our writing. They were all very creative and had some great reasons why their animals would be helpful! 

If you'd like to snag a free copy of the writing pages I used, click on the picture below. 

Later this week we're creating some reindeer art from this Pinterest find: 

Source

I can't wait! Love the scarf! 

Enjoy the rest of your week! 

December Currently and Classroom Decorating

It's the most wonderful tiiiiiiime of the year! I love December. I love all of the fun activities happening at school associated with the holidays. I love that there are only three weeks of school until three weeks off! I love it all.

The classroom is decorated for Christmas, student gifts for parents are ready to be made, the Elf on the Shelf is in the freezer...bring on the fun! Here's a quick peek at the stockings and such adorning the classroom. I'll be sharing a bunch of Christmas photos and a couple freebies this month so hang tight!

For now, it's time for December's Currently thanks to Oh Boy 4th Grade!

Thinking- about how excited the students will be tomorrow. We're starting the Elf on the Shelf, they have new seats, the classroom is decked out with snowflakes and snowmen, a Christmas tree, and stockings for each of them. I'm pretty sure they're going to wake up from whatever Thanksgiving break sleepiness they had pretty quickly. 

Favorite Tradition- Christmas Eve we always get new PJ's. I usually get a new pair of Old Navy's fleece pajama pants (soooo comfy they've been dubbed 'Comfy Pants.' That took a lot of thought, I know). We drive around looking at Christmas lights with hot chocolate in our hands and watch Christmas Vacation every year, thankful that our family isn't that bad. It never gets old.

Link up your December Currently with Farley now!

Christmas Bow Wreath

I'm back with another crafternoon project. This one is for decking your halls. 

I saw this pin on Pinterest by Censational Girl and immediately knew I had to give a bow wreath a try. 

I picked up a couple straw wreaths at the craft store and some bows from Target and got started. Leaving the plastic on the wreath, peel the backing off of the bows, add a small dab of hot glue, and stick the bows on randomly.

I made a small one for my sister in-law but failed to take pictures before handing it off. I also made this small one in red, white and silver for myself.

 Finally, I made this larger one for my mom. I think I actually like the larger size better. 

 Simple and pretty.

Melted Snowman Ornament

A Christmas crafternoon started off with the melted snowman ornaments floating around Pinterest. Super easy, super fast, super cute. 

Here's what you need:

clear ornaments (plastic or glass)

salt

peppercorns

orange Fimo clay

ribbon (optional)

Roll out some noses from the Fimo clay and bake according to directions. Let cool.

Pour some salt in the ornament and add the desired amount of peppercorns. Add a nose and reattach the top of the ornament. Tie ribbon to the top of the ornament. Ta-da!

I made some cute tags with a melted snowman poem to attach to the ornaments. 

Click here for the snowman poem printable

These would make great gifts for parents and would be simple for the students to make. I am attaching the ornaments to Christmas gifts this year to family and friends. 

Check back for another crafternoon project!

Random Acts of Kindness

Today my five year old nephew and I set out for a "Be Kind to Others Day." We quickly found out two things: 1. People are hesitant to others being kind 2. It feels pretty amazing doing things for others. 

Before we left the house we put some fudge and a Christmas card on the mailbox for the mail carrier. When we were driving home we saw him walking a couple houses down with our package in hand. I'm really not sure why I haven't done that before.

We got in the car and drove to a local park with a huge playground. We started handing out candy canes and Christmas pencils to kids on the play structures. We even hung some candy canes on the slides and ladders. We came across a parent who was taken aback and kept making sure we didn't want any money for them. We just said, "Merry Christmas!" and headed to the car. My nephew didn't even want to play, he said we had other "missions of kindness" to go on. Love that little guy.

We stopped by Starbucks for some hot chocolate, because by our wimpy standards, it was cold! We paid for the person behind us in the drive-thru which put a big smile on the barista's face. 

Our next stop was to the local hospital. We put some coins in baggies, added our random acts of kindness tags, and taped some to the snack and drink vending machines throughout the hospital. Hopefully they'll warm some hearts!

We loaded up our plastic red bucket again, this time with some Christmas themed pencils, erasers, stencils, and notepads. We visited the local library and stopped in at the children's section. 

We left the bucket with the library clerk to hand out to children. She was so overwhelmed, I think she said thank you 20 times. She told my nephew she appreciated his spirit of giving and a huge grin spread across his face. He said, "This is fun!" 

Our last stop for the day was to a Salvation Army kettle in front of the grocery store. The bellringer was  very sweet, although I'm really not sure how her ears are not super sore by the end of the day from all of the ringing.

On the way home my nephew and I had a long talk in the car about being kind to others. He chalked it up to being like the game Hot Potato. He said you shouldn't keep kindness to yourself, you should keep passing it along back and forth. Melt. my. heart.

If you're interested in a freebie of the tags we used for our acts of kindness, get them here! I'd love to hear about your acts of kindness!

Christmas Stockings

Last year while blog stalking the amazing Christina Bainbridge, I came across a Christmas idea that I had to do with my students. She has them color a Christmas stocking and attach it to a paper bag. 

A letter is sent home to parents asking for tiny little donations to help fill the stockings. She even has an example of her letter on her blog post from this year. 

I sent the letter home at the beginning of December and things started trickling in. Candy canes, Christmas stencils, bouncy balls, erasers, pencils, etc. The students were so excited seeing their stockings in our classroom and couldn't wait for them to be filled! 

I filled their stockings the day before our Christmas party and they opened them at one the stations during the party. The kids were floored. As in, "This is the best Christmas party EVAH!" floored. 

I forgot to take pictures of all of the loot once I'd filled the stockings, but here are some of the things that were donated as one of the kids was looking through their stuff. 

If you haven't checked out Christina's blog, you must! Seriously. 

All I Want For Christmas...

I am officially on Winter Break so I can start wrapping my mind around Christmas shopping, writing Christmas cards, watching the eleventy billion Christmas movies on my DVR, and spending the day in pj's trying to kick this cold. While I'm at it I thought I'd link up with Learning with Mrs. Leeby and Live, Laugh, I LOVE Kindergarten for their All I Want For Christmas Linky. 

What would be the perfect gift from. . . 

1. Students

2. Kiddies

3. Husband/boyfriend

4. Parents/Family

5. BFF

6. Santa

What would be the perfect gift from. . . 

1. Students

Handwritten or homemade cards. I received one yesterday from a little guy who just two months ago was screaming, crying, and carrying on trying to bust out of the classroom on his first couple days in my room. He hadn't ever been to a school before and didn't speak English. The letter from yesterday telling me he loved me and thanking me for teaching him was perfection.

2. Kiddies

I don't have any at the moment, but if anyone else's kids want to get me something that is fine :) I'd like this:

Dooney Florentine in oyster. I have it in cognac, but I'm thinking for the spring and summer here kiddies. I love the long strap that can turn it in to a cross-body bag. 

3. Husband/boyfriend

No gifts this year

4. Parents/Family

Petco Gift Cards

I received a picture this morning of one of the pups from the litter I'm getting from. Holy fuzzball! I am SO excited!

5. BFF

Gratitude Journal I found on Pinterest

6. Santa

Link up your lists!

On a serious note, tomorrow Farley at Oh' Boy Fourth Grade is asking all teacher bloggers to honor the Sandy Hook Elementary School families and community by having a day of silence. Click on the heart to find out more.

Olive the Other Reindeer

During the Cyber Monday sale on TPT I picked up a cute unit that goes along with the book, "Olive the Other Reindeer." I had never heard of the book until Across the Hall in 2nd Grade blogged about it and I knew it would be a great addition to my reindeer week. I picked up a copy of the book at Barnes and Noble and immediately upon reading it the students and I were in love! 

The premise of the story is that there's a dog named Olive who keeps hearing people sing, "Olive the other reindeer..." around Christmas time. So she decides to go to the North Pole because obviously she's needed as one of Santa's reindeer. Cute illustrations show Olive literally hanging from the reindeer thinking she's flying and the story goes on to explain reasons why a dog made a good reindeer after all.

We used the unit Across the Hall in 2nd Grade made to plan out what other kind of animal we thought would make a great addition to Santa's brigade. After planning it out we used the cute paper provided to write a persuasive paragraph explaining what animal we chose and what the reasons were for choosing that animal. Students chose wolves, hamsters, cats, and even elephants. They were very creative with their responses, reasons, and illustrations. 

If you haven't read the book I definitely recommend it! And don't forget to head on over to Across the Hall in 2nd Grade for other fantastic ideas!