Oh, Holidays!

I cannot even believe that I haven't blogged in weeks! It's that time of year- yup, the down-to-the-wire, kick-it-in-high-gear time of year! The year is literally F.L.Y.I.N.G by- seriously! Where did the time go? Is February already almost halfway over?! The end of the year will be here before you know it!

My kiddos and I are in full review swing!  We are digging deeper with all the wonderful things we have learned about the different genres. I love this time of the year because things really start to click and our conversations become so much deeper. Love!

To give us a break from all of that hard work, we have to throw in a bit of fun! I can never pass up a good holiday so you can bet we did it up big for the February holidays- Martin Luther King Day, Groundhog Day, and 100th Day!

If you can believe it, I only took TWO pictures on MLK Day. I know, I've already grieved over it. It was such a wonderful day! We read the book Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King- well, by "we" I mean one of my students- that was the day I lost my voice completely! We made a character web describing him, listened to the most famous part of his speech, and wrote about our own dreams and how we can make them a reality. The kids were adorable with their goals. I am dying that I don't have more pictures to show! Arrrggg!!!!

For Groundhog Day, we used  this amazing unit from Teacher's Clubhouse. It came packed with great resources, including a fabulous PowerPoint that gave the kids an introduction to Punxsutawney Phil, explained how the tradition of Groundhog Day started, and provided lots of great facts. You didn't think they would go a day without having to learn something, did you?! The unit also came with a fact book about groundhogs. The kids loved being able to make their own book and then read it. Such a simple idea, but in third grade, we never really do those types of things. After seeing their reaction to it and how excited they were to read their books, I think I'm going to have to find a way to make some of my own for other activities! This picture below shows the fact book- you have to look close, but it's there!

The kids recorded the things they learned about groundhogs and Groundhog Day and as a special snack, they were given their very own "groundhogs" just appearing from their burrows! I found this adorable idea at The Domesticated Lady Blog.

The next fun day was 100th Day! Now, I have to admit that as a third grade teacher, I have never really celebrated the 100th day of school. This year, we celebrated and we had a blast! I used resources from Jessica Travis'  100th Day Packet of Fun and the kids loved them!

To kick it off, I gave my kids a challenge- to create 100 different words from the letters in the phrase 'One Hundredth Day.' Several of my kids successfully completed the challenge! They had such a blast and actually stayed busy for quite a while! They were determined to make it to 100 words- and it was a such a great way to practice spelling rules! 

I then gave the kids a large pretend $100 bill and they wrote about what they would buy with $100. Of course, we had to have a heart-to-heart about what was reasonable and unreasonable to buy with that amount of money. Some of the kiddos were heartbroken when they realized they would not be able to buy a new game system or a dirt bike with $100! However, those sweet ones sure did wow me with their ideas of giving some to charity or buying gifs for others. They know how to make a teacher smile! For those who couldn't think of anything they wanted to buy, I gave them a copy of an old book order and they made their list of items they would buy if they could go on a book "shopping spree." What's better than books?! 

                    

After that, we discussed what a googol is- 10 raised to the 100th power- yes- that's 10 followed by 100 zeros! I gave the kids lots of paper and they made their googol. They were shocked to see just how big it is and our discussion about what you could actually make or have a googol of was quite interesting! We taped our googols to a popsicle stick so they were easy to roll up. 

To give ourselves a mental break, we calculated how many times we could complete certain activities in 100 seconds. The kids were surprised to realize that 100 seconds really is quite a long time! We estimated first how many times we thought we complete an activity and then we recorded our actual results. We analyzed which activities we were able to do the most and the least. I was cracking up! When the kids were singing their ABC's- I just about died! It was too cute!! I found this wonderful activity for free 

HERE! Lots of thanks to Jill @ Mrs. T's First Grade Class for the fantastic idea!

We ended our day thinking about ourselves as 100 year-olds. I shared what I hoped that I will have accomplished by the time I am 100- and yes, I got a little emotional thinking about what my life will hopefully be like after all of those years- the kids I will have watched grow and learn, how my own family and kids (someday!) will be as adults. It was a great moment! The kids then wrote about what they hope to accomplish by the time they are 100 and drew themselves as 100 years old. Such a cliche activity- but it was wonderful!! 

I was so busy in all the action that I forgot to take pictures. This one kind of captures most of what we did. You can see the $100 bill, the writing activity, the googol wrapped up, and a sweet treat I gave the kids at the end of the day- Smarties in a bag with a tag that said, "Congratulations! You're a 100th Day Smarty!" 

Now, don't get the wrong idea. Along with all of this fun, we are working hard!!! We have mock state testing coming up in a few weeks, so we will be puttin' the petal to the metal! 

Hope you had a wonderful Monday! Valentine's Day is just days away- enjoy!!! 

Holiday Week Recap

 We made it to Christmas break!!! I cannot believe how fast this year is flying by. It's hard to believe we are already halfway through the year.

Last week was a whirlwind of activities in our classroom. After three days of testing, we ended the week with a little bit of holiday fun! 

I have to start off by saying how much I appreciate the blog world and Pinterest. It was around Thanksgiving last year when I first discovered both and my world was completely expanded by all the wonderful and creative ideas floating around. I appreciate the teachers who are willing to share their ideas with everyone else via the web. I have many people to thank for our holiday activities! 

The Grinch visited our classroom Wednesday afternoon and stirred up some trouble from the very beginning. (Please ignore the drawn-on feet. I couldn't find them, so I had to draw them on!) He mixed up some of our words! The kids had to work to unscramble words that we frequently use. They loved it! Some of those words were really tricky! 

Once the kiddos restored order in our room by figuring out the words, we read the story How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It doesn't matter how many times they have heard it before, it is always a hit. Of course, now that they are in third grade, we focused on how the Grinch changed and grew as a character. Gotta fit in those character traits! We made a chart with adjectives that described him at the beginning of the story and the end. We discussed the turning point of the story and why the Grinch changed. Thanks to Cara Carroll at The First Grade Parade for the idea!

The kids then made their own little organizer of how the Grinch changed. On the left side of the paper, they described the Grinch at the beginning of the story, on the right they described him at the end, and at the bottom they wrote a sentence explaining why his heart grew three sizes. The bottom is cut off in the picture below, but the student wrote "The Grinch's heart grew three sizes because he learned that Christmas is not all about gifts and all, but it is about being with your family and friends." Perfect! 

 

We then talked about how all of us sometimes get in a "grinchy" mood. The kids wrote ideas of how to make a Grinch grin. I got the idea from Deanna Jump's Grinch unit, but I ended up drawing my own face, which is why it looks the way it does! Ha! This is why I am a teacher and not an artist! The kiddos drew their own hats and cut them out. Too cute! 

On Thursday it was all about gingerbread! I LOVE gingerbread stories and I love reading to my kiddos, so gingerbread day is my absolute favorite! 

To begin our day, I introduced the class to Gingy, our gingerbread friend who was visiting our classroom. The kids loved him immediately and he became an exciting conversation starter. 

We started by reading three different versions of gingerbread stories, The Gingerbread Man, The Gingerbread Cowboy, and The Gingerbread Girl. After reading each version, we filled in a chart that compared the characters, the settings, the refrains, and the endings. I had one large chart on the board and the kids had their own chart to fill in as well. Another thank you to Deanna Jump for this idea! 

 

After reading all of the stories, we took a restroom break. When we returned, Gingy was gone! He had disappeared and left a clue in his place. He explained that he didn't want to be a treat, so he left! The kids immediately decided we had to go out and search for him. So, we followed the clues he left for us around the school, and we ended up back in the classroom where Gingy had decided he belonged. He had also left us some yummy treats! A big thank you to Jodi at Fun in First for the scavenger hunt clues and to my wonderful instructional coach, Mrs. Carroll, who helped make this wonderful surprise happen!! 

After the kids enjoyed their treats, they interviewed each other to see which of the gingerbread stories was the class favorite. It was no surprise that the wise Gingerbread Girl was the winner! 

To wrap up the day, the kids designed their own ginger person and wrote a descriptive paragraph describing them just in case they decided to run away! 

I had so much fun watching the kids during these activities. It was a nice break from the usual hustle and bustle of hard work and testing! 

Another special element in our classroom this year was our holiday village. My amazing mother collected these beautiful pieces throughout her career as a special education teacher, and when she retired she passed her collection down to me. Together we set up the village after school one day and the kids were so surprised when they walked in and saw it! 

The village is made up of several ceramic buildings that were designed for kids to enjoy. The pieces are a part of Department 56's North Pole Collection and include a Play Doh house, a Barbie house, a Crayola house, and several other pieces with child-like themes. The pieces are beautiful and they all light up. Several have moving parts which the kids were fascinated by! Seeing the expressions on the kids' faces when they saw the village for the first time was priceless! I let them oooh and awww to their heart's content. Thank you, mom, for allowing me to continue this magical tradition with my kiddos! It is sure to be a favorite for years to come! 

Our party on Friday was a huge success. Of course, being the absent-minded person I am, I didn't take a single picture! It was a flurry of ornament-making, gift-giving, and pizza-eating! 

Now to enjoy a nice long break and rejuvenate before the hectic spring semester! 

I hope everyone has a truly relaxing break, a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!!!!