Day 1 of My 12 Days of December:

Start & End the Month With This Question:

All of these CUTE graphics are from DJ Inkers and...

            they are having a huge SALE right now!  

                           CLICK HERE to see their sale.

Click the image above. 

 I start every unit with an opinion graph. Then, we end the unit with the same graph to see if your opinion changed.

My holiday unit starts with this question and I use these icons to create a class graph. Students add their photo or just their name on the graph. Here are the icons. The sign and the set of icons is only $1. 

CLICK HERE TO GRAB THIS SET.

This is also a GREAT way to get students to 

write an opinion piece. 

They get to explain WHY they chose that character. 

CLICK THE IMAGE to grab this writing set.

At the end of the unit, we also had them 

choose again 

and most students had changed their mind!

To make this even more fun, 

I have a reindeer antler headband,

a huge gingerbread man cut-out

(where they hold it up & look through the hole for the face),

an elf apron & cap, 

and a snowman cut-out.

So I was able to take their photo all dressed up and attach it to their writing. 

Which Would YOU Rather Be?

... a reindeer, an elf, a gingerbread man, or a snowman???

Here is a fun way to get your students to discuss their opinions, justify their answers, integrate the Common Core Practices into your lessons, and have FUN.  You can also use this as a springboard for an opinion writing assignment.

Here is the big question:

Would you rather be a reindeer, an elf, a gingerbread man, or a snowman???

Behind the children you can see the live webcam we watch each morning.
It's reindeercam.com and it's a live webcam on 2 of Santa's reindeer.
Santa shows up each morning at 8:00 AM (Pacific Time) and feeds the reindeer!

First, We Read:

Well, actually, I read books to the class about snowmen, reindeer, gingerbread men (and girls), and elves.  I might read only one book about reindeer and lots of books about gingerbread men, but by the time we are ready to discuss our opinions we have all been exposed to these fine characters.  :)

   

 (Click any of the books to see where to buy them.)

Second, We Discuss:

We talk about the pros and cons of being each character.  They have to justify their answers and tell why they would like or dislike being each character.  Yes, Common Core is alive and well in our classroom as we justify almost everything!  :)

Here are some of the things the children have told me in the past:

"Snowmen get to play in the snow, but they also have to stay outside all the time."

"Gingerbread men get to be covered with candy, but they can't cross rivers."

"Elves get to be with toys all day long, but they also have to work a lot."

"Reindeer get to fly!  :)  But they also have to work all night delivering presents."

Third, We Completed A Graph:

We used the cute icons that I offer on TPT to label our graph.  I have each child's photograph laminated on a piece of construction paper and I have attached a piece of sticky-back Velcro to the back of each photo and to the graph.  Students come up and attach their photo above the icon that represents snowmen, reindeer, gingerbread men, and elves to express their favorite. 

Click the image to see the link.

Fourth, We Write:

Kindergarten kids love to tell you about their opinions!  :)  Now, we encourage them to write about them!  I give them the prompt dotted on the master that reads:  I would rather be a...  Then, all they have to do is copy the word snowman, reindeer, gingerbread man, or elf.  Then, they tell me WHY they want to be that character and I either write it for them to copy or I let them try to sound-blend the words and write them with temporary spelling.  They love to illustrate their writing too.

You might like our writing prompts.Click the image to see the link.

This is just one of the writing templates that comes in this set!

Last, I Take Their Photograph (dressed like their favorite character):

These are sooooo cute!  You can use them on the graph or on their writing piece.  

Here are some examples of the costumes I use.  I made the snowman and gingerbread man out of construction paper and tag board.  

The nose lights up!

Complete with ears and a tiny hammer!

I made this out of tag board and construction paper.

Made from tag board and construction paper.
We use these to play "dress up" in the home center.
We turn the home into a gingerbread house.

By the way, every year, the reindeer always gets the most votes!  Since we discuss our opinions and justify them, it seems that getting to fly with Santa trumps all of the other positives like getting to play in the snow, being with toys, or getting covered with candy!  

You might also like:

The Gingerbread Man's Book of Settings:

Click the image to see the link.

The Gingerbread Man's Number Formation Book:

Click the image to see the link

Check us out:

 Facebook:  KFUNdamentals on Facebook

          Pinterest:  KFUNdamentals on Pinterest

          Teachers Pay Teachers:  KFUNdamentals on TPT

 See yo all tomorrow!

Palma :)

Remember This? (And a NEW gift for you)

This was a GREAT post from last year:

Here is a little preview:  

CLICK HERE TO SEE 

THE ORIGINAL POST

I have updated the Christmas gifts to you by putting these products on a 50% sale and there is a bonus gift further down!

A great theme to do in January!
Click the image

Great to do with the little ones who live with you or visit during the holiday season.

Complete your school year with these cute calendar templates.

A great graph to complete with your students after the holidays are over.

Now, give yourself a gift:

Save yourself over 400 hours testing students and get the added bonus of amazing data, individualized intervention, and parent letters here at ESGI.  You can try it out for 60 days FREE and you can get $40 off of your first year by using my code:  KFUN:

Use either code above for your discount and enjoy saving 400 hours per year!

Attend one of these winter conferences and rejuvenate yourself:

The PK1 Conference in Santa Clara, CA Jan. 16-18.I'll be presenting at their pre-conference, their regular conference, and I'll be one of the bloggers at their Blogger Fiesta!

The So CA Kindergarten ConferenceI'll be presenting two sessions and I'll be one of the bloggers at the Blogger Bash.

 Thanks for stopping by and Happy Holidays to your all!

Perfect For Our Rainy Day...

Gingerbread Cookie Fun:

I found this gingerbread cookie dough at Trader Joe's.  We used only 1/4 of the dough portioned out for one cookie to make our gingerbread boys and girls. 

One package is enough for 48 mini cookies.

I used this cute cookie maker, but you can flatten or roll out the dough and cut it with small cookie cutters.

We didn't decorate them, but we did create a graph that showed which part we ate first; the head, an arm, or a leg.  

I made a diagram of the tray (at left of photo) to identify who made each cookie.

The kids LOVED getting to taste real gingerbread.

I placed each cookie on white construction paper labeled with each name.

Then we wrapped up the ceramic gingerbread ornaments we made out of clay. 

We are lucky to have a kiln at our school, but you can also make ornaments out of air dry clay.

You might like:

Click the image.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Run, Run, As Fast As You Can... (Includes a FREEBIE)

You Can't Have Too Much Fun With The Gingerbread Man!

From tracing numerals with colored glue...

to re-telling the story of the Gingerbread Man... 

There is just soooooo much FUN you can have learning with the Gingerbread Man!

We started by making a book:

Click on the image.

The students illustrated 4 major events from the story as I read the rhyming text to them:

Students traded the dotted font and illustrated the scene.

On the next page, they traced the giant numerals with colored glue.  Just add food coloring to bottles of white glue and shake!  You will want to use glue bottles that are not full so you have room to shake the glue around.

This is what a glue tracing page looks like.

Tracing the numbers slowly with colored glue really helps them to understand the formation
of the numeral.  When the glue dries, it creates a raised font which is tactile and colorful.

You might like:  

The Gingerbread Man Number Formation Book:

Or the Gingerbread Man Book of Settings Class Book Cover:  IT'S FREE!

Your students create a setting on the computer and glue a paper gingerbread man to their scene to create a class book.

We followed up by making character puppets and a setting envelope:

We colored and cut out the main characters and glued them to popsicle sticks.

Students re-telling the Gingerbread Man story with their setting envelopes.

Then, we made a setting envelope by drawing the inside of the house and the oven on the front of the construction paper envelope and the river on the back of the envelope.  The setting envelope was the perfect place to store our characters.  You can see the blue setting envelope in the photo below.

Developing oral language as we "turn and talk" asking questions about the story.

And Check Out This Cute Descriptive Song About The Gingerbread Man:

Click the image 

This is a cute descriptive song about the gingerbread man by my friend, Dan Colquhoun.  He lives in Australia and writes the cutest songs for kids.  This one is a great one to use when you are preparing for descriptive writing. You can hear his song and watch the animated gingerbread man by clicking HERE.

We also made gingerbread ornaments out of clay:

We cut them out with a cookie cutter and the children decorated them by using the tip of a pencil to create a face, buttons, and icing lines.  If you don't have a kiln at your school, consider using air-drying clay.

After we glazed them with clear glaze, we added pretend rhinestone sticky-back eyes and a ribbon.

We wrapped them up in a laced envelope and sent them home as gifts for our families.

Grab This Gingerbread Man Play:

Check out this cute Gingerbread Man play from my friend, Heidi, from Heidi's Songs.  It's a fabulous Gingerbread Man play! You can get more info by clicking HERE.

Click the image

Gingerbread Cookie Graph:

I give each child a tiny gingerbread cookie (Trader Joe's has great ones) and we graph which part they ate first; the head, arm, or leg.  

Last, we added a gingerbread costume to our playhouse:

I also used this gingerbread cut-out to take their pictures.  I also have a snowman cut-out, reindeer antlers & a red nose, and an elf hat complete with pointy ears.  I asks the students if they would rather be a gingerbread man, a snowman, a reindeer, or an elf and then I take their picture dressed up as their favorite character to post on our class graph.

      

You can grab the graph sign and icons HERE:

Click the image.

I hope you like these FUN gingerbread ideas.  Let me know about the ones you do with your class.