The Barefoot Teacher

It's the end of another week!
And Christmas break is HERE - WOOT WOOT!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching again

to share my Five for Friday!

Speaking of Doodle Bugs Teaching,

I loved her ornament craft that was posted last Friday so much, that I tried it with my class too.

I pre-cut the strips of paper and put them in plastic baggies to make it a little more manageable for the kids.

Once we were finished, we laminated it and thread it with ribbon so they would hang on the tree.

So thanks Doodle Bugs Teaching for another great idea!

It went right along with what we've been learning lately and

also goes perfect with our Measuring Trees...

Another ornament we made this week was from...
You guessed it!

(I'm telling you-I am an addict!)

This one was more challenging than it looked.
I found the ornament balls on Oriental Trading.

One bag of metallic shred was enough for the whole class.

But it was really hard for the kids to get into the ornament. They loved it none-the-less.

We used a hot glue gun on the
eyes and nose so that they won't pop off in the future.

This was the first time some of the kids had
heard of a hot glue gun...one girl even backed up
really fast when I picked it up, lol! I assured her
that nothing was going to shoot out of it!

My Christmas tree is up and ready...

We always put it up the day after Thanksgiving.

Each year, we take the four kids out to pick out their Christmas wrapping paper.

They know that on Christmas morning, they may only open the gifts that are wrapped in the paper they chose.

This year's hottest gifts under our tree?

Let's just say Lalaloopsy dolls and Batman toys

will be overtaking our home, haha!

My kids' school has a Christmas Bizarre for the

students to shop at. This year, we decided to have

our children buy for each other there instead

of for mom and dad.

They brought them home to put under the tree on Wednesday. Our family opens up sibling gifts on Christmas Eve (right after a quick Happy Birthday to mom).

Wednesday night, I did what any mom would do...

I PEEKED!

The presents I saw that my kids had picked for each

other brought tears. Now for those who don't

already know, my school aged children are 3, 4, & 6.

Yet, they really took into consideration what each

other would want and picked things that I know the

others will absolutely love.

Touching to see that despite all the fighting they do, somewhere deep inside, they truly do care for each other.

I celebrated my birthday with my class this week!

I'm a Christmas Eve baby...
born during a blizzard in Northern Wisconsin.
The doctor had to come to the hospital on snow skis, no joke.

And I blessed my parents with a whole lot of me-
I was 11 lbs 14 oz.
Yup! Go ahead and read that again-it's true!

So this year, I picked out my birthday present early.
Thanksgiving DAY early.

Here's what I ordered:

I'm super excited to get it...
I'm not even sure what to do with it first!

I love playing games, so I'm sure that's where I'll start.
Now...to just find some place quiet that I can go.

Well, there you have it-

Happy Friday! Enjoy the weekend!

~Til next time

bek

My focus this month
has been on creating FREE samples
of my bigger bundles and making them available
just for you!

Everyone likes a freebie!

Here are some of the things I have available...

January Freebie!

Take a little time for Common Core Everyday

I have always been a fan of morning work
for students each day as I take attendance and
deal with lunch account matters.

I love these sheets and use them with
my students almost everyday!

Try them for FREE...

They cover a range of activities and are created
for students to do independently with little help so that you can get YOUR morning work done!

There are more than enough pages for the month,
which allows you to pick and choose what you want to do.

Next up...

Superhero Color-by-Sight Words

I don't know about your students,
but mine have been Superhero crazed lately!
So why not be sneaky and tie in what they love
with a little sight word practice?!

The kids won't even realize they are practicing reading
as they color their favorite hero!

Want to try it?
Get a sample for FREE!

What about a...
Bulletin or Wall Decoration

Here's what I added with my Boho Birds set.

But really, you could do a million different things with it!
Tweeting never goes out of season!

Grab it for FREE!

Don't forget about a

Lunch Magnet Chart

Use this lunch magnet chart to make your
morning lunch account check go a little smoother!

Simply print out multiple copies
of this document and then...

1) Write (or use labels for)
your students names on it

2) Laminate

3) Get some cute magnets for students to use.

4) Mount on a file cabinet
or something of the like and enjoy!

Check it out here.

Want more freebies?
I'm working on making more!

You can become a follower of my store

in order to receive updates and notifications of
more freebies that I add.

Just click this link here:
My Store

It will take you to my store.
Then click the "follow" button up at the top.

This will allow you to get notification via email
every time I add something new.

Enjoy!
~Til next time

bek

It's the end of the week and, for the first time ever,

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching

to share my Five for Friday!

Know these guys?...

You do if you have littles running around your house!

Well, we got tickets for:

for TOMORROW!!!

Do I have everything ready? I hope so...

Tickets?...Check.

Yo Gabba gear?...Check.

Excited children?...Check.

Even MORE excited mom and dad?...Double Check!

Our family's favorite Yo Gabba song?

Definitely Party in My Tummy!

Look what I found?!

All for $1 each!

They are perfect Christmas presents for my students.

I plan on putting them in a white paper sack with a simple ribbon. I'm still trying to think of some type of exchange game that I can do with the kids when I give them out.

So if you have any ideas, leave a comment below;

I'd love some help on that!

My oldest daughter learned how to use a friendship loom that was given to her and has started her own business-ha!

She calls it "Bracelet Maker" and she's selling key-chains

(not bracelets...I know, right?!) for $2 each.

Have you seen a picture of this crazy girl from my blog yet?

This is the most recent one...

(She is just as crazy as her mamma.)

Well, she's been saving for an American Girl doll for

the last two years.

(It's something we are making her earn and not receive as a gift.)

She's getting close.

The frustrating thing for her is that mom and dad make her put half of

all her money in a savings account...so she has to earn twice as much to buy whatever she is saving for.

She'll get there.

I decorated our classroom door.

I found the idea on Pinterest.

(How did we teach before Pinterest?!)

Here's our classroom door:

It took about thirty minutes to make and

I'm hoping to get a picture of each kid standing in

front of it with some "food", trying to feed the reindeer!

I love it!

My family has three pets...
a rabbit, cat, and tortoise.

Two of our pets are best friends...

This is our cat (Sami) and our rabbit (Abby).

They love to play and cuddle.

And when Abby is put away at night,

Sami likes to to lay on Abby's blanket and 'tease' her

about her lack of freedom at night.

Reminds me of children.

These are the best two animals a person could have.

We love them dearly!

Well, there you have it-

Happy Friday! Enjoy the weekend!

~Til next time

bek

If your looking for winter or Christmas crafts, ideas, and activities for Preschool, Kindergarten, or First grade students, you've found them! Download some FREE resources too while you're here. These snow and snowman themed activities will keep your students engaged and excited about the season!

Winter is here! The snow has begun to fall (and actually stick) here in Illinois, and the first thing two of my children wanted to do was to run outside and make snow angels!

**This post contains affiliate links.**
Seriously guys?! Snow angels in a 1/2 inch of snow - HA! Anyway, I love the excitement and emotion that the first snow brings.

Snow can make you feel so jittery with excitement...

...or give you the warm fuzzies as you cuddle by the fireplace.

(Yup! That's my baby!)

It seems that kids are always so calm when doing snow-related craft activities. Don't believe me? Try it! The next time your kiddos are acting off the wall, pull out some paper and crayons and tell them to draw a snowman on it...See what happens! And before you know it, you'll be pulling out snow activities to do all of the time!

Which means....

you're going to be needing some ideas, so let me give you some!

Let's kick things off with a FREE WINTER DOWNLOAD!

Download it here:

Winter Counting & Skip Counting Puzzles

Our favorite winter craft so far this year has been this character frame ornament.

It comes with six different characters to choose from. I printed out some larger pictures of the kids and we glued them behind the frame. I told the kids they could give it as a holiday gift, or even just hang it up somewhere to be festive!

If you ask your students what they like to do most with or in the snow, your most common answer is probably...
BUILD A SNOWMAN!

So I entice my reluctant readers by telling them we are going to build a snowman in a book!
Huh? What?
That's right! We're going to build a snowman IN a book.

Use super fun, scent-a-licious Mr. Sketch crayons to highlight the sight words you want your littles to focus on.
I'm going to work on seeing if I can coax my Kinder-daughter to read through this book for you on video so that you can hear how each page goes...but until then, here is where you can find it:
Build a Snowman Emergent Reader

Now pair that emergent reader with a fun snowman craft! Don't forget to stock up on some paint.

Or try this one, which is my absolute favorite. Especially when you line them all up as decor outside your classroom in the hallway.

If you're looking for snowman ornament ideas, here are two I found on Pinterest that I'm considering doing this year. My own personal kids made this first one for me with their first grade teacher.

I love, love, love this next idea. I mean, who can resist whimsical snowmen?!

Let's stop a minute and get you another FREE DOWNLOAD!

I know this is December, but chances are you'll be planning for January soon, if you haven't started already. This download offers five printouts that you can sample of a much bigger curriculum that was made for Kindergarteners with the Kinder Common Core ELA & Math standards in mind.

Download it here:

January Common Curriculum Everyday

Ok, so we've covered some snowmen craft ideas, but what about snow itself? Or snowflakes?

Here are some ideas you can try out.

This pine branch snowflake printing is one I love to do every year. I've searched online for where this picture came from, but cannot figure it out for the life of me. Just know it wasn't my original idea! It sure makes beautiful snowflakes though - and the kids absolutely love using pine branches to make them.

This one from Lisa's Craft Blog gives a tutorial on how to make not only this adorable puzzle piece snowflake, but a evergreen tree as well!

You can also have fun ripping paper while making a beautiful snowy scene in this next one:

This next one is really cool. And another of my favorites!

So that about wraps it up for this time. I think I've shown you plenty enough for today!

Before I sign off though, I want to show you this December Holidays MEGA Pack that's full of all kinds of themes and activities. I know how crazy the holiday season gets, especially for teachers. This MEGA pack will save you time, time, and more time! (You'll need time for all the above crafts you're going to do, remember?!) So let me show you real quick and then I'll let you go...

Themes included are Polar Express, Gingerbread Man, Christmas Carols (with a Sight Words focus), Common Core aligned ELA & Math daily work and Quick Print activity sheets (that practice a wide variety of skills), Mrs. Claus, the Nativity, and more!

Here are what just a few of the pages look like...there are over 550 of them! Wow!
I would have to say my favorite pack in this bundle is the Christmas Carols one. Students practice high frequency words with Christmas Carols. Love it!