Christmas Tree Geometry

I did this a couple years ago and thought this turned out really cute. It was a good way integrate math into our Christmas decor. I plan on doing it again this year; once I get back from Thanksgiving break.

I had my students take different nets; cubes, cylinders, pyramids, etc. and they made Christmas tree ornaments.

First, they got to decorate the nets however they wanted, then they folded and taped/glued them together, and then we hung them on our tree!

~I found my printable nets here~

I will come back and post a picture when we're done. You'll notice there are many different types of polyhedra, which could be available for your students who need a challenge.

I'm so excited to start getting ready for Christmas. Check back here for lots of cute holiday classroom ideas!

Holiday Book Exchange

This year I am doing a Holiday Book Exchange.  Each child can bring in a book wrapped in lovely Christmas wrapping paper.  I haven't decided how we will actually do the exchange once the students bring their books in, but I'm really excited. I want to get my students even MORE excited about BOOKS and READING!  And let me tell you...they already love books and reading...so this will add more love into their hearts!  I made this letter to tell the parents about it. Once we exchange the books, of course we will read them together! The students can find books at:

• Local bookstore (Borders or Barnes and Noble)
• Local Thrift Stores (DI, Savers, Salvation Army)
• Gently used book from home
• And of COURSE our Scholastic Book Club. I just so happen to attach 3 catalogs with my book exchange note :)

 Here is a download of the note!

If you have any ideas on how to actually exchange the books when we get them all...Please leave a comment!  Happy Reading!

I couldn't help it!

I know today is Thanksgiving and school is out...but just take note for next year! I did these cute pilgrims with my students and they turned out GREAT. I got the idea from my favorite 1st grade blog, The First Grade Parade. We learned about the hard times that the English Colonists went through. Look how cute our paper plate pilgrims turned out!

Yes! This is one of my students' work. She is a fabulous artist.

This student said. I have toys but the pilgrims did not.

How would you modify this to fit your grade level?

Student Birthdays!

When a student in my classroom has a birthday we like to celebrate!  Besides getting a birthday necklace to wear, they also get a birthday balloon like this:

I order the medium sized Pixy Stix and my team and I divide them up and split the cost.

I also send home a "Birthday Bag" to the birthday student.  They get to take the bag home with them and read the book, Happy Birthday To You by Dr. Seuss.  Then, there is a class book that they will add a page to.  The student will write about something they wished for on their birthday and draw a picture to match. The next day, that student returns the bag and gets the chance to read their page they wrote to the class.

Birthday Book Downloads {click each one to download}:

Birthday Book
Birthday Necklace
Birthday Balloon

 While we are on the subject of birthdays...What do I do with the students who have birthdays while we are off track (year round school), on the weekend, or during the summer?  Well, we have an UN-BIRTHDAY PARTY, of course!  Basically we celebrate everyone's birthday all in one day (or one hour)!  I buy a cake, we exchange gifts (we draw names and each student brings a gift for whoever they drew for), and we play party games.  Oh yes, we also watch Alice in Wonderland (not my favorite movie, but it goes with the "un-birthday" theme).  Who doesn't love parties? It's so fun and perfect for the end of the year!  Click HERE to find out more!

What do you do for birthdays in  your classroom?

Clipart and/or fonts by Diane J. Hook and used with permission by djinkers.com