Not-So Silent Night Christmas Card

Not a Kindergarten post but I wanted to share our hilariously sad Christmas card this year...

As parents of a spirited 2 year old and a teething baby, we deal with our fair share of tantrums, crying, and not-so silent nights. :) Wouldn't change it for the world though! Feel free to also use this idea for your family who has not-so silent nights. 

Milk Carton Gingerbread Houses

I love to read gingerbread books and make Gingerbread houses with my Kinders during the holiday season. Many people give me a face when I tell them I plan to do Gingerbread houses. It's not as scary as people say it is! 

Here is how I ensure a relatively easygoing process:

1.       Ask for help!

I ask families to donate graham crackers, frosting, and candy – I also ask for volunteers for the actual creation day. 

2.    Milk Cartons

 Save and reuse milk cartons. Rinse them out and dry overnight. I use tacky glue to close the carton and clothespins to hold it shut over night. You could also staple! J

3.    Ice Cream Buckets

I ask families to bring an ice cream bucket to make sure the students get their creation home safely.

4.    Aluminum Foil

I line the lid of the bucket with aluminum foil to hold their frosting messes. J I then glue the milk carton in the center of the foil.

5.     Graham Crackers

Cut apart the graham crackers. I use 4 squares, 2 rectangle halves, and two triangles.

-      use a plastic knife to carve an edge between and then break apart with your own hands. If you try to saw the whole thing, it will usually crumble and break.

Set all of these things inside the ice cream bucket.

With all these steps I’m starting to sound insane… Again, get someone to help! I wasn’t able to rally enough volunteers this year, as many families are busy, so I put my own family to work. Glad to have a supportive husband!

I then set out the candy in bowls. The students begin by frosting their milk carton and adding their graham crackers. In small groups I have students bring up their actual bucket part of the ice cream bucket and have them fill it with candy they want to snack on or use in their creation.

The students can use plastic knives or Popsicle sticks for spreaders. I have students share tubs of frosting. Encourage the students to cover all parts of the milk carton with frosting to create a more authentic look. 

We love our Gingerbread Houses! Simply place bucket on TOP of the lid for the bus ride home. Carry the upside down buckets with two hands -- for extra caution: tape the lid! 

Clip Art Adventure!

Happy Sunday!

It has been a quiet, cozy day at my house! Trygve is napping in his swing and Penny is napping in my bed. There is a lot of natural, bright light coming in from outside. We have a roast in the crockpot… Life is calm, life is good!

On this quiet afternoon, I have been working on creating some Clip Art – for the first time! I have always been a little bit of an artist, because of my artist dad, but I have never created anything digitally!

I used PowerPoint to create the shapes and Sketchbook to add color. Here is a cute little Turkey in honor of Thanksgiving approaching.

I have also created some cute little friends to use in some of my own products. You can grab them in my TpT store.

I hope to get more out soon – and obviously improve the quality. Watch out for a Christmas set hopefully coming soon! J

xoxokindergarten

Liebster Award

Hi Everyone!

Happy November Blizzard…

School was closed for us today do to the storm. I spent the day cozying with my two littles, relaxing on the couch, organizing a bit, finishing some school projects, and playing outside in the snow!

It has been a busy day – when I went to check my email tonight I saw that Brittany from Tickled Pink in Primary had nominated me for The Liebster Award! I am just TICKLED that she even noticed me! J

 The Liebster Award is given to new bloggers with less than 200 followers. It's a great way to meet new bloggers that have great content, but just haven't been noticed yet! As part of the award, I get to answer 11 questions for you to get to know me better. Then I get to nominate 11 more blog that I love! Here we go...

1. Why and how long ago did you start blogging?

I started blogging at the start of the 2014-2015 school year. I am a relatively new teacher and wanted to connect with other teachers: newbies, veteran, and everywhere in between! J

2. What one word sums up the heart of your blog and why?

Learning! I am constantly trying to figure out all things techy. The Internet is awesome though – I love that if I don’t know how to do something, I can Google it and have a YouTube tutorial in 2 seconds! (I do this A LOT…)

3. Is there something you learned late in your blog journey you wished you knew before?

It is all still so new! I wish I knew lots of things right now – but it will come J …

4. What is your favorite past time other than blogging?

Oh my goodness… This is my first year at a new school, I am newly blogging, I have a toddler and a baby, and a hard working hubby. We have very limited “free” time, and when we do, we are almost too tired to do anything. When we do have energy, we love to go exploring with our new camera. We also love to stay up late and binge watch Netflix after our kids go to sleep. We (I) love: Orange is the New Black, Revenge, Breaking Bad, and Call the Midwife!

5. How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog?

It depends! I have been working on TpT products as I need them in my classroom. I have been trying to post some of my own resources but also some fun seasonal items to get my name out there. I probably spend 5 hours on my blog per week – sometimes way more. J

6. What category of blog posts do you enjoy the most?

I have learned SO MUCH from other bloggers. I work with really great people but we don’t often just get the chance to sit down and REALLY look into each other’s classroom. With great blog posts, I feel as if I really am visiting a classroom!

I also love seeing great ideas for the home, organizational ideas, DIY projects, etc. It is also fun to get to know these virtual people and pretend like they are my friends – hopefully someday they will be! J

7. Where does your blog inspiration come from?

When I got my first teaching job out of college, I had the most amazing mentor who had started blogging and selling her resources on TpT. I luckily got to inherit some of her resources and thought how fun – maybe I could try this! So after 2 years of mulling it over, I finally got the courage/urge to try! I have always been an artistic/creative gal and this is just such a fun & useful outlet.
I also love to follow the bloggers we all love to follow: the ones who kind of set the path: Kindergarten Smiles, Miss Kindergarten, Kinder-Craze, The Moffatt Girls, The First Grade Parage, etc!

8. Which post that you've written are you most proud of?

I have been creating homework calendars for my Kindergarten families. In my Halloween Post you can read all about it – PS they are freebies!

9. Is there any post you have been planning to do, but have postponing it for a while now?

Haha like 100 different posts… We’ll get there someday when I get my 78723jkjasdf together.

10. What is your favorite aspect of blogging?

Connecting with others, educating myself and others, and using my creative outlet on something productive!

11. Which recipe, project, or idea on my blog would you most likely to try yourself?

Brittany from Tickled in Pink has these great Fluency and Fitness – movement paired with learning. The product looks great. I will have to check it out! J

Here are my nominees for the Liebster Award:

I know you all mostly because I instal-stalk you! :)

1. Gluesticks ‘N Giggles

2. Principal Principles

3. Blissfully Ms Bruck

4. Firstie Favorites

5. Buzz into Kinder

6. Glitter Glue Giggles

7. The Kindergarten Connection

8. Loving Teaching Inspiring

9.  Kayla in the Classroom

10. The Kinder Life

11. First Grade A to Z

To those nominated, here are the rules:

1. In your post, link back to the blogger who nominated you as a thank you and "shout out."

2. Answer the 11 questions given to you (the ones I answered above).

3. Nominate 11 blogs of your choice that each have less than 200 followers. Provide them with 11 questions to answer or have them answer the questions above.

4. Let your nominees know that they've been nominated and provide them with a link to your post so that they can accept.

5. Send your nominator a link to your post so that s/he can learn more about you as well! (You can just put your post link in the comments below!)