Easiest Christmas Gift Ever!

Need a quick and easy gift for your students to make for their families? Look no further...

The first step is to order Blue Magic Color Scratch Ornaments from Oriental Trading Company. At $7.39 for a pack of 24 ornaments, it's an affordable choice.
https://www.orientaltrading.com/blue-magic-color-scratch-snowflake-christmas-ornaments-a2-48_4748.fltr

Your order will include three different snowflake designs in different shades of blue. Wooden sticks are also included in your order.

The students will scratch a design into the blue ornaments using the wooden sticks to reveal the silver color underneath. Some students will decide that they want to scratch ALL the blue off and will end up with all-silver ornaments, and that's okay, too.

Your next step is to add the student's picture to his or her ornament.  The company that does our school pictures supplies us with a few copies of small pictures of each student. These photos have an adhesive backing. I simply peel and stick their photos in the middle of their ornaments.

If you don't have this option, trim a photograph of each student down to an appropriate size and glue to the center of the ornament.

FINISHED ORNAMENT 

Reindeer Christmas Card

This is a fun Christmas card for your students to make. It may also be a keepsake your kids' families cherish.

Materials:
Paper plates
Green construction paper - 9 x 12 piece for each student
Paint - brown, white, black and red
Paint brush (bristle or foam)
Crayons, markers or colored pencils
Glitter and liquid glue (optional)

Preparation:
Cut 9 x 12 paper and fold in half to make a card

Put brown paint on a paper plate
Student rubs hand on plate or teacher paints student's hand (palm side)
Student presses hand on front of card
   BE SURE TO WRITE STUDENTS' NAMES OR INITIALS LIGHTLY ON CARD WITH
   PENCIL!
Let cards dry for a couple of hours
Put blobs of red, white and black paint on a paper plate
Student puts thumb into red paint and presses it onto the bottom of the handprint making a
   Rudolph nose
Student puts index/pointer finger into white paint and makes two eyeballs near top of palm on
   handprint
Student puts pinkie finger into black paint and presses into eyeball (white paint) to make pupils
Let paint dry
Students write "Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays, etc.) to my "deer" family! Love, (student
   name)" inside the card
Add glitter to card, if desired, and let dry.

Recycled Christmas Card Ornaments

Recycled Christmas Card ornaments are a fun and fast Christmas craft for the holiday season!

Materials:
Small decorative paper doilies (from the grocery store or dollar store) - 1 per student
Used Christmas cards
Glue stick or liquid glue
Scissors

Preparation:
Save last year's Christmas cards or ask your parents to donate any they may have
Use a pattern to trace circles on the cards (make pattern by tracing a drinking glass)

Let kids pick cards they'd like to use
They cut out circles traced on cards
Kids glue the circle into the center of the doilies

Recycled Christmas Wreath Art Project for Elementary Students

Wreaths have a special significance for the holiday season. According to http://www.holidayinsights.com/xmas/wreaths.htm:

Wreaths have been used as a decorative sign of Christmas for hundreds and hundreds of years. Christmas wreaths can adorn any part of your home, inside or out. In many homes, this symbol of growth and everlasting life can be found both inside and out. It is common to find a number of wreaths on doors, over the mantle, or hung in windows.

The wreath is made of evergreens, most often pine branches or holly. They can be real or artificial. But, an artificial one just doesn't smell the same as a real wreath. It is decorated with a variety of items including pine cones, holly berries, fruits, and just about anything you can imagine.

The wreath has significant meaning for the season. It's circular shape represents eternity, for it has no beginning and no end. From a christian religious perspective, it represents an unending circle of life. The evergreen, most frequently used in making wreathes, symbolizes growth and everlasting life. Holly branches have thorns. When used in a wreath it represents the thorn on Jesus' crown when he was crucified. Bright red holly berries symbolize Jesus' blood that was shed for us.

Today, it is sometimes hard to remember the real meaning of Christmas. We get all caught up in the hype of Santa and his arrival. The wreath over the hearth brings a warmth to our hearts as we stop to reflect upon the true meaning of this very special day. 

This is one of my favorite holiday art projects because it utilizes common materials in an unusual way, recycles material, and it is simple enough for kids to do (mostly) on their own.

Materials:
1 small or large paper plate for each student
1 bow pattern traced on red construction paper
Scraps of green paper
Glue stick or liquid glue
Red paint
Glitter (optional)
Scissors

Preparation:
Cut the center out of a paper plate (1 for each student)
Gather paper in many shades of green (I collect all year round)
  * Leftover flyers from notices that were sent home (print on paper is okay)
  *Wrapping paper scraps
  *Construction paper from your scrap box
  *Scraps of wide ribbon
Tear paper into 1 to 1-1/2 inch strips

Students get several different strips of green paper and tear them into approximately 1 to 1-1/2 inch pieces.
They then glue the pieces onto the paper plate until plate is completely covered. Pieces should stick out past the edges of the plate.
Next the red bow shape is cut out and glued on.
Finally the student dips his/her index finger into red paint and then presses it on to the wreath several times to represent holly berries.
Optional: Put some glitter on the wreath and/or bow.

Finished Wreaths

My Favorite Read Alouds - Part 2

One of the ways I try to share my love for reading is by reading aloud to my class every day. This is something I will never give up, no matter how full my classroom schedule is.

I model reading with fluency and expression, often using different voices for characters. I read books I enjoy which makes it easy to convey my excitement about reading to my students. I often read one book in a series and then offer the other books as a choice during our silent reading time. I read books that are at the reading level of most third graders, but I also read books that are above the reading level of my students as a child's listening comprehension is higher than his or her independent reading comprehension.

I've been teaching third grade for the past five years.  These are some of the novels I read to my class year after year:

Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo is an imaginative fantasy third graders enjoy as much as their teacher does.

Frindle by Andrew Clements is a fictional account of the way a new word comes into usage. The word lover in me loves this tale.

Punished by Vanessa Steel is the story of a boy who is cursed to use puns. Some may consider puns the lowest form of humor, but third graders and I love them.

PIE by Sarah Weeks is a mystery story about a pie shop. Each chapter features a different pie recipe. It's a unique story, and I have to admit reading it makes me a little hungry. FYI - I have not tried any of the pies recipes. My mother-in-law makes the best pies in the world which is, frankly, a little imtimidating to me.

Read-aloud is the best time of the day in my room.