Groundhog Day Activites!

 Groundhog Day is a silly but fun holiday to celebrate in the classroom. Even though there is no science to back up the groundhog's predictions, it is a fun tradition to bring into the classroom. I've created a new resource that is full of groundhog activities that are fun and academic at the same time. From a groundhog mini book, groundhog writing pages, how-to-draw a groundhog, to a hat and crafts, these activities are sure to be loved by your students! Click here for the 24 page pack!

Candy Christmas Tree Fun!

Before we went on break for Christmas our class made the most adorable Candy Christmas Trees! This is the third year I have done this project and my students always have so much fun! I love this project because the kids can get creative and it is much easier to prep than gingerbread houses. I used waffle cones this year because I was hopeful the trees would be bigger than the sugar cones, but looking back I realized the sugar cones were much sturdier. Check out the pictures of the fun we had!

I wish I had a picture of how the we wrapped up the trees. We used cookie bags and placed the trees inside. We used ribbon to tie them up and the kids took them home. Our rule was that we can eat the leftover candy from our cups, but the trees had to be saved for home. I can't wait to do this fun project again next holiday season!

Here is a list of supplies we used:

white frosting and coconut flakes for snow
green frosting
sugar cones
plastic knives
small containers for candy ( I used Dixie cups)
twizzlers pull and peel candy
small candy stars
holiday plates
plastic cookie bags and ribbon for transport
sprinkles
mini m&ms
other candy of choice for decorating

Pastel Penguin Art Project

This winter I decided I wanted to get creative and come up with a new art project for my kiddos. I decided to choose something more "wintery" than "Christmasy" because I wanted to hang the projects for more than two weeks.

I decided on a multi-media penguin. We used construction paper, paint, pastel, and glitter all in one art project! The penguins took two sessions to complete, but they look adorable and brighten up our hallway.

I showed my students how to draw a penguin chick on black construction paper using a white chalk pastel. I then showed them how to blend the penguin's feathers to make it look like down. I added a little bit of black pastel to add definition and then let the kids give it a try. I stressed the importance of making their penguins big, as most of the time students tend to draw on the small side. Some kiddos used a little too much black pastel and the white did not show as much, but we fixed that with the addition of  a little white oil pastel on top.

We then cut out the penguins and set them aside. Next was the snowy/glittery background. We used white tempera and sponges cut in circles to sponge paint the snow onto blue construction paper. I showed the students how to "dab" since their first reaction is to "scrub" using the sponge. Once the students covered a half to three quarters of their page with snow, I had them sprinkle glitter on the paint. Oh boy, did they LOVE that! Every kid loves glitter, and since it was the Christmas season, I decided to go all in with glitter mess.

Once the background was dry we used white glue to affix the penguins to the page. It took quite a bit of glue due to the thickness of the glitter. Some penguins needed a little glue touch up because they were peeling up, but the process ended up working out great.

We love our glittery penguins and my mind is already swirling with other winter projects! Please leave any questions in the comments below! :)

Supplies:
Blue Construction Paper
Black Construction Paper
Chalk Pastels
Glitter
White Glue


Click here for more winter themed units and ideas:
Polar Bear Unit
Penguin Unit
How to Draw Polar Animals

Last year we made these adorable polar bears using a similar technique I found from whimsy workshop and my students LOVED them. Here are a few pics of the adorable bears. :)

How to Draw Polar Animals- Writing Center

I am very excited to share a fun writing center that I have come up with. My students have been transitioning from narrative to explanatory/informative writing and I wanted to continue this during my centers time. Writing centers have traditionally been very open to student choice of topic in my classroom. For this new center, I wanted to provide my students with enough support to be able to write an explanatory piece independently.

To keep the students engaged and hook them into this style of writing, I decided to use the wintery theme of polar animals as a subject for the center. Each week I introduce a new polar animal and provide my students with a word bank and basic facts about the animal. The students then have some information to use when creating their own sentences. These resources are displayed for them at the writing center.

The students learn how to draw the animal using the steps on the page. They practice following the illustrated steps, and read the sentences to help them with their drawing.

Then the students write about the animal using the resources and knowledge they have gained. We talk a lot about not copying from the fact page, and instead using the word bank to help create sentences of their own. The writing center has been so engaging and my students have created quality informational writing using it. You can get it here!

Here are some examples from the writing center:

I have some fun art projects to implement once the students learn about the various polar animals. Check out our cute walrus project!

Check out the Arctic Fox and Antarctic Penguin  art projects!

Happy Teaching!!

Winter Freebie and Addition Color by Code Pack!

Now that the winter season is approaching I am looking forward to shifting out of the fall and into the festive Holiday season! To celebrate I would like to share my Winter Color-By-Code Freebie. Get it here. It is an addition activity and a part of a larger addition color-by-code pack. Check out the whole pack here. These are great activities for reviewing addition skills in an engaging and festive way!

Here is an example of a page from the full pack.

Happy Teaching!