Winter Break Recap & A Currently

Can you believe it is time for another currently already?!?!?! Time flies when you're finishing classroom crafts, throwing those last few assessments, wrapping presents, shopping like a maniac, driving all over the state having fun!

In all honesty, this last month has been oh so busy but also oh so fun! I had a very California Christmas with my family in Central Coast and snapped this picture on Christmas day.



As I have crisscrossed the entire state of California over the last week or two, I am continually reminded of how blessed I am to be surrounded by good people and have a job that I love! I am also so blessed to have a two week break so that I am able to visit my family and friends and celebrate the holidays with the ones I love the most!

Oh and I need to pick your brain for ideas! My mom gave me  Cricut for Christmas! I am so excited to start using it! I have been out of town so much that I haven't really had a chance to play with it yet but I am planning to carve out some time tomorrow to make a few new things for the classroom.

 Do you have a Cricut?

 How do you use it for classroom stuff??? 

Any must have accessories? Favorite cartridges?

I need ideas! 

Without further ado...my currently: 

If you haven't done it already, go link up with Farley and join the currently party! 

Wishing you all a happy & healthy 2013!

3 more days....

but who's counting?  :)

I picked up some goodies during the Cyber Monday Sale and I have final had a chance to use them this week.

First up, this fun Christmas Around the World pack form Christina.  

This pack is adorable!! It comes with mini books about the traditions in different countries. I bought the bundled pack which includes a powerpoint for each country as well. I am so glad I found this pack. It saved me so much time and energy since I didn't actually need to do any research myself.

I made some quick reading comp questions to go with these fun little books and a couple of writing prompts so that I can hit a few standards before we leave for the break and review some test taking strategies before the break.Gotta keep my principal happy. And the kids haven't complained about the questions once since they are having so much fun with learning about each country.  Great fun way to practice comprehension skills

We will also be using Larura Candlers's December Activity pack later this week.


I can't wait to make the cute little sugar cone Christmas trees!

On Friday, we will also be making a variation of these little guys:

(SOURCE)

These last three days are going to FLY by! I will be napping by the fire by Friday! Can't wait. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week, too!

Happy ChristmaHanaKwanazaa!

Last week we started gearing up for the winter holidays. As a class we researched Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. We spent a lot of time reading informational text which is a BIG standard in California for 5th grade and obviously important with Common Core, too! (Getting ready for our school's official switch next year!:) )

Here are some fun resources we used to find out about the history, symbols and traditions of each holiday.

Love, love, love this book! 

I just picked up this book and the photographs are amazing! 

Okay so my kids are a little old for Elmo's world but sometimes he does a better job at explaining things then I can. We watched a clip about Hanukkah from Elmo's holiday special. It really helps to have the students wee children actually celebrating each holiday. 

As we read and researched, the kids practiced taking notes. They looked for connections between the holidays we studies. 

We turned those notes into these quick little foldables.

 Each holiday foldable was divided in to four sections: history, symbols, traditions and  connections to other holidays. 

             

I had originally wanted to add a larger writing component to this mini unit but the week just went by too quickly. Plus, I think the kids really enjoyed being able to show their understanding of the content without having a formal writing assessment.

 How do you teach about different holidays in the classroom?