Winter
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Thoughts on Decorating the Classroom for the Holidays
You know that I’m big on celebrating holidays – personally, and in the classroom – so it should come as no surprise that I’m a fan of decorating the classroom to support this. At the same time, I know this can be a little tricky. We want to acknowledge the things that are happening in children’s lives, while also being culturally appropriate and making sure to respect all families’ traditions. I’ll be the first to say that I’m not an expert in this area, but I definitely try to do my best! Children are coming into contact with holiday decor and displays in the real world, so it’s important to…
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Using Christmas Clearance Finds in the Classroom
Christmas clearance sales are some of the best of the year – and they can really help you head into the rest of the winter with a good plan for your classroom! On Monday I shared a list of some of my favorite items to pick up for preschool while you’re shopping these sales. Today, let’s talk about some ways to use your Christmas clearance finds in the classroom. The sensory bin is a great place to start – fake snow with little animal figurines, cutting different kinds of ribbon, a bag of bows and little boxes – you get the idea. The great thing about Christmas clearance items is…
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I’ve got something new to share!
I told you Monday that I’d have an announcement by the end of the week – well, here it is! I’ve been working on something that’s meant to save anyone who teaches preschoolers TIME and money. Hopefully that’s music to your ears! Now you can go to my TPT store or Etsy shop and purchase one product that contains all of the printables you need for an entire month of preschool. These sets will all be called One Month of Preschool, followed by the month that it’s intended to be used. Here’s a preview for January: Each month contains materials to support all learning and development standards, instructions for using these,…
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Easy Science – What will freeze?
This week is all about my love for simple science experiments. This time of year lends itself perfectly to all kinds of ice experiments because they are relevant – nature is certainly making ice, so why not explore it? One way to go beyond just exploring ice is to look at all kinds of everyday items – both liquid and solid – to see which ones will freeze and which ones will not. This experiment will give your students the opportunity to make hypotheses, you can ask them which items they think will freeze before attempting. Here are some items that you probably already have that you can experiment with:…
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Thursday Freebie
I know, you’re used to Friday Freebies, but since this weekend will be so crazy, I didn’t want this to get lost in the holiday shuffle! Since it’s the first time I’ve ever done a Thursday Freebie, I’m going all out and sharing two freebies. This first one is a Christmas Cookie counting set, which would be great math practice as you wind down your Christmas celebration. The second freebie is a Snowman themed mini-book. This freebie is perfect for that transition from the holidays into the rest of your winter work. Download both freebies and have a wonderful holiday weekend!
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Tips for banishing pre-holiday behavior problems
If you’re spending this week with young children – your students, or your own children – then I’m sure you’ve taken a deep breath and prepared yourself for chaos and tantrums. While some off the behavior problems you might encounter come with the season, others are a product of messed up routines, missed nap times, and too many sweet treats. Those are the kind of problems that can be avoided with some careful preparation. Here are a few tips that I’ve picked up along the way: Try to keep your routine as normal as possible. If you can’t schedule fun events into your normal routine, then prepare the children in…
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Last minute gift idea
If you’re still looking for something easy to make for your students or co-workers, check out the idea I have for you: I whipped up some of these snowman marshmallows over the weekend because I had some extra frosting left over from baking sugar cookies. These are so easy to make that you could even have your students make some of them for their families. All you need is marshmallows, black frosting, and orange frosting. I used piping bags to get the small details, but you could always pick up some tubes of the pre-mixed colored frosting for even less mess and hassle. Add a packet of hot chocolate to…
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Talking about traditions
One of our social studies standards for preschoolers is to develop an awareness and appreciation of family and cultural stories and traditions. The holidays lend themselves perfectly to this standard so I make a special effort to encourage families to share their traditions with our class. Over the years I have had families bring in cookies to decorate with the class, I’ve had families make gingerbread houses with us, decorate ornaments with the children, share favorite holiday stories, and make traditional foods with the class. Each of these experiences has given the children the opportunity to compare and contrast their own family traditions, to see which traditions they…
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Winter Traditions
Around the holidays I love to encourage my families to share their favorite traditions with the class. Here is my winter tradition bucket list: All of these traditions would be fun to do with your students or with your own families!
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Friday Freebie – Holidays around the world
Happy Friday! As these weeks get closer to winter break I swear they get longer and longer! If you are still planning for holiday exploration (or evaluating how you want to teach this unit next year) today’s freebie is for you! This Holidays around the World Poster Pack from Sunny and Bright in First Grade is a great way to help your students visually organize the symbols and images that go with all of the different holidays. There are 8 holidays included in the set, and even if you don’t use all of the posters they give you a great starting point for your research. Download your copy and have…
