Five for Friday... Winter Break Style with a Freebie!

Winter Break is finally here!  Who else does this same thing...

We are linking up with Doodle Bug Teaching to share 5 highlights from our week!

1.  We had an ugly sweater contest at school.  Our new principal won with this awesome ensemble. Yes, that is a lady's sweater and he did wear it all day.  What's awesome is that our primary kiddos don't yet get the whole "ugly sweater" thing and they still LOVED his sweater! (One of my students asked about my sweater and when I said "Is it ugly?"  She said "Well... I don't want to be rude.") Our school trophy is much like the sweaters... tacky, cheap, and passed down from year to year!

2.  Isn't this just the CUTEST gift?  Stephanie got it from one of her students.  Hot chocolate mix with all of the trimmings!  I don't know if I would able be able to use it because it is so stinking cute!  I think I would want to keep it FOREVER!

3.  We had our annual Carol Sing today.  The whole school gets together to sing Christmas Carols and at the end we all sing Silent Night as we head back to our classrooms.  Our school is over 100 years old and this tradition has been going on for a long, long time... It is so awesome to teach with so many fun people who are willing to sing, dress up, and be silly to make Christmas fun for all of the students!

4.  Finally, we ended the day with a little elf on the shelf fun.  My kiddos leave on Fridays straight from P.E. which is across the street from our primary building.  Well, as we were waiting for busses to arrive, we saw our elf trying to make an escape to the North Pole to let Santa know how our class had behaved.  What was even better was when another elf from another classroom climbed out the same window and then ran back up.  His little legs got caught on the bricks and he was running up the side of the building.  All the busses were lined up and the kiddos all got to see one last elf-capade as they left school!  How fun are our little elf friends in the classroom?!

5.  And last, I leave you with a cute little freebie that you can download for winter.  We will be continuing to work on common, proper, and possessive nouns when we come back from break.  Seriously what teacher isn't already thinking about planning for after break... we shouldn't... but we do!  Click on the image below to go to Google Docs to download!

I also uploaded the newest version of my story problem printable books to my store!  Tons of ways to differentiate while teaching story problems!

Have a great break and check back for our Polar Express Day post!
Stephany

Five for Friday

We are linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share five random things from this past week.

The Teachers Pay Teachers sale this week was amazing.  I purchased some clipart for upcoming products.  I also purchased stations from Miss Kindergarten.  I just love her stations.  My students are already at work and learning in math stations daily.

My Donors Choose project was funded, shipped and delivered.  The kids were so excited to open the boxes.  Here are a few pictures of the literacy and math tubs that were delivered.

 

I know most of the midwest is snowed in today.  Just like all of you, we got a large amount of snow too.  This is a picture out our back deck.  It is still coming down!!

 

So now that I am snowed in, I have been working on a few school things.  I started by grading some assessments and recorded data in my teacher binder.  Then, I bundled my Daily Math Journals together after many requests.  I use these daily math journals in my classroom every day.  The kids enjoy them and they are excellent for spiral review.

Finally, I put out a few more Christmas decorations.  My favorite decorations are the ones created or hand-made with love.  The following pictures are from my boys.  Their handprints are the snowmen.  I am thinking of doing this for my nieces and nephews this year.  It is super easy and such a treasure to see year after year.

If you are snowed in... relax, drink some coffee or hot chocolate.  If you are at school... have an enjoyable weekend.

Endless Possibilities,
Stephanie

It's December Currently

It's that time again!  I can not believe that it is December.  We are linking up with Oh' Boy Fourth Grade to share Currently.  I enjoy this linky so much.

Listening:
I am listening to my little man snore as he is napping next to me.  He has been fighting a terrible cold the past few days.  He is sleeping so good, but the "junk" in his nose and throat are gurgling.  Poor thing...
Loving:
My husband and I finally invested in a larger vehicle.  With a new baby on the way (in 19 weeks) we will need something to drive our 5, 3 and newborn children in.  We bought a black Ford Expedition.  Everyone keeps telling me how much gas I will be buying, but I have to have something larger.  It has third row seating and will be nice when baby #3 arrives.
Thinking:
Cyber Monday might be the day that I decide to order my Christmas cards online.  We typically get the "kids' photo on the front of the postcard" type of card.  I always enjoy recieving those from friends and family.  I just need to get it done.  It is on the top of my to-do list.  (tomorrow)
Wanting:
The light in the laundry room went out a few days ago.  I can not see anything in there.  absolutely NOTHING!!  I had to take a flashlight to look for a pair of pants yesterday.  I normally would change it, but it is a weird florescent type of bulb.  My husband says he will get it done tonight.  (hopefully)
Needing:
I stopped at Kohl's after church today to get a couple more tops.  This baby bump is more than a bump!!  I feel huge!!  I need to buy some more pants soon!!
Tradition:
My husband and I hide the pickle ornament on the tree each year.  The niece or nephew who finds it first on Christmas gets a dollar.  I know it isn't much, but they love it.  When our own children get older they will enjoy the fun too.

Time to end this post with a freebie.  I have been working on this Polar Express Graphic Organizer pack for a few days.  Enjoy.

Endless Possibilities,
Stephanie