Honoring 26 Angels + Snowman Ornament Freebie

So I made a pledge Sunday night and shared it with my friends, family, and Facebook followers. I joined many bloggers in a day of silence on my blog in honor of Sandy Hook, but I would still like to share with you all what I said: For those of you who will be entering your classroom tomorrow with a heavy heart, remember these words. My plan tomorrow is to go in and have as much fun with my little ones as I can. I want this last week before break to be filled with fun in our classroom because I am thankful for the opportunity to still be able to do that with them. It's the best way I know to honor the 26 angels from CT and not allow one man's actions to take any more away from us. 

 This is how I truly feel in my heart of hearts. So this week, I remind myself how blessed I am to share this week with my kiddos, and  continue to teach them the best way I know how.

Yesterday we started my Christmas Celebrations Around The World unit with our very own, America. The craft in my pack for this particular country is a stocking. We made them in about ten minutes flat so then we went on to also make the stockings in this super fun Stocking Stuffers freebie created by. Susan from TGIF. In the past I have had my kiddos paste stocking templates onto brown paper bags so that I could drop little treats inside of them. But the template Susan had for her stocking was even cuter than mine, so I decided to combine the two ideas. I love the end result!
                                                  

Susan also included a template for notes to write and stuff in the stocking. My kids would write notes to each other all day if I'd let them. But instead I'm letting it be their morning work all week. This is my plan to ensure that everyone in the room is getting some love:

Monday- One note to anyone they want

Tuesday-Everyone writes a note to everyone at their table.

Wend- Everyone has to write a note to everyone at the table across from them.

Thurs- Everyone writes a note to Snowball (class Elf)

Friday- Notes to anyone they want-!!

On Friday the kids will also find a treat from Snowball AND Deeno The  Desk Dino in their stocking!! :)

We also did a little Just Dance Kids - Jingle Bells via Youtube. My kids and I LOVE doing these. (Yup, I get right in the middle and do them along with them) They make an excellent brain break activity!!

 

 

{Click here to check it out more  of these Just Dance videos}

And tonight I'm preparing for my favorite annual Holiday gift making session. I help my kiddos create a Five Little Snowmen ornament for them to give to their families every year. I SO wish that I had some examples to show you from previous years. Forgive me. I wasn't a blogger this time last year. And even though I know I have pictures SOMEWHERE, that USB stick is currently MIA. I do have this picture of the ornament I made with my friend's little guy who was only about 4 months old last Christmas. We decided we didn't need to make him draw little snowmen hats and faces on his ornament with permanganate marker like I do my first/second graders. But you still get the idea :)

The little tag that I attach is a sweet poem that really tugs at the heart strings.  I didn't write it. Or originate this idea. It found them  both floating around the internet when I first started teaching and have been doing it in my classroom ever since. But I did give the little poem tags that I created in the past a face life this year. If you think you might be able to use them, click the image below to download them for {FREE}. I made them in traditional Christmas colors as well as bright blue and pink!

{Font by Kimberly Geswein and Graphics by Scrappin Doodles & My Cute Graphics} 

I will be back tomorrow to share with you another Holiday gift I have up from my sleeves for my kids,  and how I'm about to get upstaged by Snowball the Elf....