He's Making A List, and Checking It Twice . . .

Evening folks!  Lindsay here . . .

Ahhhh . . .it feels good to be at the computer in my fat pants sipping some delicous coffee and catching up with y'all! 

Last week was a rough one for the Messyhair familly. I came down with a terrible cold and felt as though I had been hit by a bus . . . We're talking "mommy-is-too-sick-to-shower-today-and-we-are-having-grilled-cheese-for-dinner-again" kind of sick.  Luckily, I have one amazing husband.  He stepped up and did the grocery shopping, let me sleep in, ran errands, cleaned the house . . . UNTIL . . .

He got sick too.  Dangit.  That moment was too good to be true. ;)

And then, of course, Baby Jack got sick too.  So there we were . . . three snotty, irritable sickies all sipping tea in our fat pants. 

Well not really, but you get the idea.

But now, I am happy to say I am feeling quite better - and I am excited to share with you all what the Mighty Mites in Room 17 have been up to lately . . .

First off, we did some writing for Christmas.  Rather than having my kiddos write what they wanted for Christmas, I had them write a letter to Santa explaining WHY they had either been A: naughty, or B: nice, this year.

(Of course, they ALL assured Santa they had been very, very nice!)

Adorable, right?  This student gives lots of high fives to her friends . . .

 

 

A few more reasons to be on the "nice" list: kissing and hugging mom, eating his vegetables, and going to the grocery store with her mom. 

 

 

(If you'd like a copy of this Naughty or Nice template, click the Santa below)

 

 

 

So, of course to go along with our letters to Santa, we also had to make some adorable Santas . . .  I changed up my Santa from last year and had my kiddos rip loooooooong white pieces for a wilder, blowing-in-the-breeze kind of beard, and I love how they turned out! 

 

 

 

 



The dimensions for "breezy beard Santa" are as follows:

9x6 peach for face (horizontal)
1x2 red for nose
2x4 pink for cheeks (makes two - fold and make two circles)
3x3 white for hat poof
9x7 red for hat (fold and cut triangle from bottom corners in to the top at the fold)
9x2 white for hat trim (make oval)
12x18 green for background
And each student needs one 9x12 white piece to start ripping for the beard, although more white will probably be needed!! :)

I used our Santa letters and art for our December Kindergarten hallway bulletin board and it turned out so cute!  And a great reminder to my kidlets that Santa is making a list . . AND HE IS WATCHING!!!!!!!

Along with getting ready for Santa, my kiddos have also been having fun with my Merry & Bright Holiday Math and Literacy Centers (click cover image to check out the whole unit in my TPT store):

 

 

 

 

My kids really enjoyed the Sweet Treat Sound Count - segmenting and counting sounds in words!

They also practiced their number sequencing skills to 20 with Feliz Navidad Find the Number:

This week my kiddos will be busy with more Merry and Bright goodness, including graphing, a medial vowel sort, and patterns!

Well, thats about it for now . . . just one more picture to share with you all.  We got our tree recently (before the whole family got sick) and Jack had the BEST time!  Even though we didn't get the $100 tree.  Sorry bud!

Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season with your families as well!  Goodnight!



Lindsay

Fun At the Zoo and More Mother's Day Madness!

Happy Tuesday my blogger buddies!  Lindsay here .  . .

Gonna keep it short and sweet tonight because I am TIRED!!!  This morning I hit the snooze on my alarm and fell back asleep for AN HOUR.  As in sixty minutes.  Yowzers.  Can you say sleep deprived??!!

 I am so completely exhausted that I don't even think I will be able to keep my eyes open and watch the Biggest Loser Finale . . .gasp!  PLEASE don't go blogging about how great the winner looked, etc., etc.  No spoilers people!!

Anyway, in Room 17 we have been working hard getting ready for Mother's Day.  Today my kidlets were using thier graphic organizers and writing sentences about why they love their mom.  Here are some of the finished products . . .

"I love my mom because she goes to work." (Tear.)

This one was super cute. Last sentence = "My mom helps in the computer lab."  (Gotta love those helper moms!)

I have also been busy interviewing my kidlets one-on-one and helping to fill in their mother questionnaire that will be part of their Mother's Day Card at our Muffins With Mom celebration. 

This kiddo had some exceptionally great responses . . . Mom likes to wear - princess outfits. (Classic!) I wish Mom - could do a headstand.  (Don't we all wish that?)

Its not too late to pick up your own My Cup Of Tea Mother's Day pack at my TPT store.  Click the flower below to check it out!



Also this week (Z week here in Kindergartenland) we have been doing a Zoo theme - and my kids LOVE it!  All of our activities are from my brand new Fun At The Zoo Math and Literacy Centers Pack . . .

Take me to the zoo! This colorful unit contains three math and three literacy centers your students will love, including:

1. More and Less With Mr. Alligator (comparing numbers using < and >)
2. Six Little Monkeys Make Numbers (how many ways to make the numbers 0-5, such as 1+1, 2+0, etc.)
3. Roar, Stomp, Nibble Number Cover Up (addition dice game mats and directions)
4. Hullaballoo At The Zoo reader (counting sight word mini reader with blanks for students to fill in and a surprise ending!)
5. Making Hearty Hippo Words (using the letters in the word "hippopotamus" to build words)
6. Zookeeper ABC order (putting words in ABC order and writing a juicy sentence!)

And for all y'all, a little freebie (score!) - a printable Mr. Alligator comparing numbers poster.  Just click the image below to access and print the file.  This little visual aide and rhyme will be sure to help your lil kidlets remember which way that pesky greater than/less than symbol is supposed to go!

These Fun At The Zoo Centers activities are all engaging, hands-on centers your kidlets will LOVE and that are ready be printed and used!  So scadaddle on over and get yours today!  Click on the lil zebra below to go check it out in my TPT store.

Well, that's it for now folks!  I am off to bed!  Tomorrow my little kinder kidlets are singing at the Spring Music Show and will be performing a song called "Soap and Water" to the tune of Beyonce's "Single Ladies".  No, I did not invent it, and yes, it is just as amazing as it sounds.   More to come later this week . . .