Hello December! I absolutely love this month even with all of the craziness it brings! I have been super busy with my other business, Gingerbread Home and Holiday too! Speaking of which, I am doing 12 Days of Christmas Deals. Find me on Facebook HERE!
Back to December, you definitely need to start the month with a plan! So Santa knew what he was doing when he decided to make a list and check it twice. December is such a hard month because there are so many things that need to be done outside of school to get ready for the holidays too. Spend some time making a GIANT to-do list for the entire season. These are the printables I use...
Back to December, you definitely need to start the month with a plan! So Santa knew what he was doing when he decided to make a list and check it twice. December is such a hard month because there are so many things that need to be done outside of school to get ready for the holidays too. Spend some time making a GIANT to-do list for the entire season. These are the printables I use...
I bet by now your elf has already made his appearance! Ellie Elf has visited my classroom the past six years and she is back! I absolutely love the Elf on the Shelf tradition! It just brings so much joy and excitement to our classroom.
Ellie loves doing fun things to make my class laugh. She will be using this calendar to plan out her fun! She even has some fun outfit changes planned!
Please download it from my TPT store HERE. Don't forget to follow me while you're there! : )
Please download it from my TPT store HERE. Don't forget to follow me while you're there! : )
While you are planning, be sure to plan your class gifts. I can't stress this one enough! There is nothing worse than trying to put together gifts for 22 little friends at the last minute. This year I will be giving my class a copy of How to Catch an Elf! Here is a picture of the book, but I actually purchased it from Scholastic. It was $1 in the First Grade Boor Order catalog! : )
My Ama also sews by hand a precious little heart ornament for each of my students.
I like to wrap each book up and add the ornament on top. It's the perfect gift!
Here is a peek at what else will be going on in my classroom this month:
Our writing station includes holiday cards! I just asked parents to donate any holiday cards they had on hand or pick up a pack at the dollar store. The kids LOVED it and it was perfect for practicing how to write a letter. You can also make a stocking for each child to collect their letters and other holiday goodies in.
We have been working SO hard on writing complete sentences and editing! I created this fun (and FREE) resource to practice those skills! I hope you will download it HERE and be able to use it in your classroom too!
Of course, we learn about reindeer and study non-fiction text features!
I always start my reindeer unit by discussing that there are two different types of reindeer: magic reindeer a.k.a. the type the pull Santa's sleigh and real reindeer a.k.a the kind that live in the wild. If you don't have this discussion, students will constantly be writing things like, "Reindeer fly and help Santa" which is only true of magic reindeer. : )
This is my favorite reindeer book for teaching non-fiction text features. It has all of the features a first grader needs to know and includes great pictures!
Students also write their own non-fiction book about reindeer.
I created this resource to help students...
Write and answer questions.
Organize their thinking and information.
Recall and record facts.
Identify and explain key vocabulary.
Label a picture.
Understand the purpose of non-fiction text features.
Organize their thinking and information.
Recall and record facts.
Identify and explain key vocabulary.
Label a picture.
Understand the purpose of non-fiction text features.
I am so excited to use it with my students! Each little page even has a cute little tabs. It could easily be paired with any reindeer craft too! Check it out HERE.
After learning about real reindeer, it is a lot of fun to watch a fun movie and compare the two types of reindeer. : )
Download this FREEBIE by clicking HERE. It has been fixed so that reindeer isn't reindeers. :)
And of course no reindeer unit is complete with out some reindeer food. Now this is for those magic reindeer mentioned above! ; ) However, we do remember that reindeer are herbivores and like oats. We read a few fiction reindeer books before making our food.
To make reindeer food, we just mix some plain oats with glitter. Make it extra cute by putting it in a clear bag and twist it shut with a brown pipe cleaner for antlers. Then glue on googly eyes and a red pom pom.
Students can also write about how to make reindeer food! This freebie can be downloaded HERE.
Don't forget to make a reindeer craft too! This one is from A Cupcake for the Teacher.
A reindeer hand print craft or sandwich is also fun too!
Math will also have a holiday twist too!
Happy December!
