O Christmas Tree

I tried a new Christmas project today that did not disappoint. It was easy to prepare.
It helped kids use their brain growers: optimism, flexibility, resilience, and persistence.
Not a single project looked exactly like another.
Score!

Here's the original source.

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Christmas Candles

This year I found myself a new Christmas gift for parents. It was very easy, not too awfully expensive (thanks to the Dollar Tree), and turned out so well. I think parents will love them for many years to come. 

I found the idea here.

Click on the graphic to find directions.

Lines, Shapes, and Patterns

I don't peruse Pinterest much these days, but when I couldn't get to sleep last night, I hopped on and found this picture meant for coloring purposes.  (Click on the picture to visit the Pinterest link.)

I had a moment of creativity.  What if my artists could draw something similar.  I figured we could make it a lesson about lines, shapes, and patterns, which sounds fairly artistic to me.    By the way, I never showed them the picture above.  Here's what they come up with.

Elf on the Shelf Book

I gave the Elf on the Shelf a go this year.  The kids named him Rudolph.  I really didn't use him for classroom management purposes.  He was just fun to have around, and the kids looked forward to spying him each morning.  I took pictures of him every day and made them into a class book, of course.  I think the kids will enjoy reading about Rudolph long after Christmas is over.

RACK Book

My class did 15 Random Acts of Christmas Kindness this December.  This year I took pictures of each one and created a book.  Most anything can be made into a classroom book, and this one is pretty special.  I'm hoping it's a reminder of how we changed the world for 15 days.  Maybe it will inspire them to continue their world-changing ways.  (Go here to read about our RACKing.)

Joy!

Have you met Barbara from The Corner on Character?  She is a true gem.  I haven't had the privilege of meeting her in person, but several email conversations have convinced me that I'd love to steal her away from Texas and make her work at my school.  She inspired this post over a year ago with one of her random acts of kindness suggestions.  I quickly incorporated it into my classroom RACK (Random Acts of Christmas Kindness) activities we do during the month of December.  Look here if you're interested in hearing more.

We made get well cards, and I delivered them to the local Walgreen's pharmacy to be handed out with prescriptions.  Here are a few pictures.

This is what we wrote on the back.

When I made my delivery to Walgreens the other day, the pharmacist happily responded, "Oh yeah.  We had these last year!"  I'm glad my kids and their kindness left a mark, and I hope they leave many more in the future.  (Thank you dear Barbara for the inspiration!)

Christmas Place Mats

Back in November, I read a post by Miss Trayers at Not Just Child's Play.  Her kids made Thanksgiving place mats as a form of community service.  I loved the idea so much that I incorporated it into my RACK (Random Acts of Christmas Kindness) days that I do with my kids in December.  Go here to read more about RACKing.  

My kids made Christmas place mats for some local senior citizens.  They did such a beautiful job.  I was proud to share them with our elderly community.  Here are just a few, but they were all wonderful.

I hope these place mats create some smiles and change some worlds this Christmas season!  (Thanks Miss Trayers for the wonderful idea.)

New Christmas Tradition

For 19 years, I've relied on Scholastic bonus points to provide me with books for my kids' Christmas gifts.  This year I couldn't find the right book, so I went on a search for another option.  This is what I came up with.  My best friend Paige helped me think this through.

I made scarves.  These were my 6 fabric choices.  

After my dear Aunt Pat cut the fabric for me and my sister-in-law, Tammy Jo, reminded me how to use a sewing machine, I sewed pockets at both ends of each scarf.

I also sewed their names on the underside.  

I'm obviously not an accomplished seamstress.  I managed to graduate from high school without ever taking a home-ec class.  Surprisingly, I've made a few quilts in my day, even though I really don't know what I'm doing.  Here's my favorite.  Look closely and you'll see several embroidered Nike swooshes.

Anyway, even though I love giving away books as gifts, I think these scarves have become my new Christmas tradition.

Santa Art

Last Friday I needed a quick and simple Christmas art project that could still bring out the uniqueness of each artist.  I found it at Art Projects for Kids.  We drew up some wonderful and unique Santas.  You can find the step-by-step directions at Kathy's site.