Polar Express Party

What a week this was! We started the week off with our Polar Express party on Monday. I wasn't too sure about doing it that early, but I figured it was the only open day we had all week. And I'm thankful I did it then, because my kiddos at home ended up being sick with a fever on/off all week. I had to take Thursday off so my husband could go back to work and I ended up coming down with an extremely nasty bug on Thursday afternoon. I pretty much felt like I was dying. Today is the first day I have felt more like myself and I can actually stay awake rather than sleeping the day away.

When the kids arrived at school Monday morning they were very excited about our Polar Express party. I printed off these golden tickets and laminated them. We punched them later when we started the movie.

I bought each of the students a little hot chocolate tumbler from the dollar store. I took out the Christmas picture and quickly printed up their names. We made hot chocolate in the classroom and they got to sip their coco while watching the movie.

Each of the students also got a silver bell necklace. This was a special day for the kids and they seemed to really enjoy the movie.  Later in the week we compared the movie and the book. During our Fairview rotations they completed the Polar Express center activities that I won from The Teacher's Club House and Queen of the First Grade Jungle. They were the perfect activities to complete right before vacation!

It's so nice to finally be on Christmas break and to be on the mend. I am ready to enjoy some quality time with my girls and my family. Enjoy your holidays! See you in the new year!

Five For Friday the 13th

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs for her Five for Friday weekly posts. Here's a look at five random things from the week:

This time of the year is so exciting for children. You can feel the buzz in the classroom, that's for sure! It's hard to get them to focus. So I'm trying to channel that excitement. 

 

We wrote our letters to Santa. The kids were very excited to show and tell me all about the things that they'd love Santa to bring. Since I teach 1st-6th, there is a wide variety of toys on their wishlists. From innocent little princesses to Grand Theft Auto. Awesome.

We've been reading the Polar Express and doing various activities about the book. I just loved this little activity I pinned on Pinterest. It was perfect for working on adjectives and our "I See" train turned out adorable.

I am super excited that I won my very first giveaway! It's huge! I won this amazing Polar Express Unit and Centers pack from Teacher's Clubhouse and Queen of the First Grade's Mini Polar Express Unit. There were over 2,600 entries and I was the lucky one. Crazy! It's perfect since we've been reading the Polar Express and Monday we're having our big Polar Express Day! I started to prepare the centers for next week. So many materials to choose from that I'm in Heaven! Thanks Amanda and Katie!

We started to work on our parent gifts. Thank God for Pinterest. Really, what did we do before it came along? These Dollar Store potholders (2 for $1) turned out perfect. I pinned this last year and loved the idea.

 

 

No Christmas would be complete without the school photo parent ornament. These little plaster ornaments were 70% off at Michaels.  So parent gifts cost me a whole 78 cents per kiddo this year. Perfect!

 

I'll be back next week to post all about our Polar Express party! It's going to be fun!

Promises, Promises

I keep promising myself that I will get to blogging today. Then it never happens. I haven't posted since October! Where in the world did time go?!?

Fall is pretty rough for me personally and professionally. Lots of stuff at home. Lots of trainings and IEPs this past month.

Sadly my Feedly has 1,000+ unread blogs. This time of year is tough for me to keep up the whole working mom gig.

Anyhow... no more excuses.

My goal is to get back into blogging and post a Five for Friday this week. See ya then!