Holiday Gifts for Students

Teaching is always busy, and December is no exception. Does anyone else feel like the year is flying by and you’re just trying to catch your breath?  Despite my ever growing checklist I absolutely love December, absolutely love Christmas, and absolutely love the gift of giving.

Each year, my goal is to give my students a heartfelt gift before sending them off for the holidays. Here is a top 10 collection of tried and true holiday gift ideas that your students are sure to love. 

1 - Snowman Soup

This is one of my favorite go-to gift ideas from Ashley Schroeder. You put together hot cocoa, marshmallows, chocolate chips, and a candy cane (the stirring stick - so cute right?), plus an adorable note she includes for free! (Click here for your copy.) Snowman soup has been done a ton of different ways and easily adapts to fit your budget. 

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#Bestyearever Back to School Giveaway!

Looking to build community and start your school year off on the right foot? I've teamed up with six other wonderful teachers to bring you some amazing back to school resources for FREE! We want to help you have the #BestSchoolYearEver! Simply follow the rafflecopter link below, for each "follow" you will get one entry towards winning this fabulous package!

What's will you win?! Click each image to see more!

Build classroom community daily with Cait's Cool School's Question of the Day!

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End of Year Tips & Gift Card Giveaway!

The end of the school year can be h-e-c-t-i-c! Here are some fun ideas to keep you sane and happy!

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Earth Day Ideas!

Earth Day is officially tomorrow, April 22^nd, and we’ve been celebrating all week. J Read alouds, experiments, craftivities…!
Here’s what we’ve been up to! 

(free ideas, favorite books and resources)

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Flexible Seating

THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY ENTIRE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT FOR MORE DETAILS.

The Why

As soon as I heard about flexible seating I knew I wanted to give it a try! I’m thrilled that you’re here and interested in improving your students’ learning via flexible seating! This has been a game-changer in my classroom and I can’t wait for it to transform your room too. It can be intimating and a bit overwhelming to consider, but you won’t regret it! 

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Why We Ate Insects During Writing

Why We ATE INSECTS During Writing!

Last year my co-worker and I noticed a need for substantial and meaningful opinion writing topics. We were tired of reading cats vs dogs, the battle of school uniforms, or that there should be longer lunches. Sound familiar?

Here’s how we're keeping it fun and exciting. 

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Class Egg Hunt

Class Egg Hunt

 

Y’all…this is one of my most successful and fun review activities that we do each year! Remember the excitement of hunting for eggs in your home? Well we’re bringing that fun to school!

Here’s how I set up my class egg hunt!

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March Madness Trashketball

Looking for a fun way to review math this March? Is March Madness taking over your classroom? 

Roll with it! Play March Madness Trashketball!

Trashketball is a class favorite this year. Here's how to play:

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St. Patrick's Day Celebration!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you and yours! 

I hope you have a fun day planned, here’s a sneak peek into our class activities today…

Reading: While reading Fiona’s Luck (amazing March read aloud!) students will snack on these gold Oreo coins! Check out how to make them below. You can grab the cute teacher notes here for free.

We just started learning about the differences between drama, poetry, and prose. Since we’re reading a prose today I created this freebie to go along with it. Click the picture to download a copy!

Together we’ll go through each element of prose:

-theme

-point of view

-dialogue

-characters

-setting
-mood

-plot

After discussing the elements and story we’re going to create 3 sided shamrock decorations that review theme, plot (summary), and the characters. We’ll hang them around the doors and bulletin board up front!

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Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

I don't know if y'all love this week as much as me, but I am nothing but smiles when it comes to Read Across America Week. Crazy hair day, dressing up, special treats for the kids, and a major focus on READING. YES, please! 

  Today we celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday by dressing us as characters from a book. We had volunteer Cat in the Hats come read us Dr. Seuss stories while we enjoyed some themed treats! They were super easy to make and the kids went crazy for them. Check out the recipes below!

Truffula Tree Cupcakes: 

-Regular vanilla cupcake recipe-Buttercream frosting with green food dye-Colored fun toothpicks from party city-Twisty marshmallows from Walmart

One Fish Two Fish Cupcakes:

-Regular chocolate cupcake recipe

-Buttercream frosting  with blue food die-Colored Goldfish crackers from Walmart
-Sprinkles from Walmart

Green Eggs:                                              

 -Vanilla pudding          
 -Green food dye                                         

 -Added vanilla wafer cookie right before serving

One of my students from last year stopped by to show me her costume!

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. SEUSS! 

How did your class celebrate?

P.S. Are you looking for ways to cultivate a culture of kindness in your classroom? Eliminate disruptive behaviors? Help your students with social-emotional learning? I've got your answer! Check out this totally free teacher right here. 

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