Christmas Is Almost Here~Time to Slow Down!



Link to Bead Crochet Pattern

December 16th—where oh where has the month gone? In fact, where has 2013 gone? Nowadays, time certainly does seem to move faster for all of us, young and not-so-young. With busy schedules, many commitments, and the often self-imposed pressure to be all and do all, there is often little time to merely sit down, relax, and do a bit of nothing.

This year I decided, with a bit of coaxing from a coworker, to spend time doing some activities that seem to make time slow down. In other words, after a nearly 3 year break, I picked up my crochet hook and dragged my sewing tools out from the back of my closet.

Just as we adults often feel overwhelmed this time of year, the little ones in your lives probably feel the same way. As Christmas is just around the corner, one of the best gifts you can present to your children is the gift of time. Slow down and spend a few hours each day doing something that is slow-paced and relaxing. Watch some holiday shows. Read a few picture books. Play family games. The activity is irrelevant. The time you spend together is what matters most.

If you do decide to watch some holiday shows as an activity, why not help yourself relax and unwind even more by picking up your own crochet hook and knitting needles? Both have been known to lower blood pressure as well as lower the resting heart rate—a gift you can definitely offer to yourself this Christmas season.

The image at the top of this post will take you to a link to a pattern I created several years ago for a local newspaper. The link will take you to Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood’s blog where the pdf of the pattern is stored. The child-size purse takes about 2-3 hours to complete while the doll-sized purse can be whipped up in a little over an hour, about the time it will take to watch Rudolph, The Grinch, and A Charlie Brown Christmas-three of my favorite Christmas classics.

This post will be my last post for 2013. I hope to SPRING back into blogging action by mid-January.

 

Needle Felted Snowman Creation Based on Vintage Christmas Card...I LOVE snow!

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Merry Christmas, Everyone! Thank you for reading my blog this year.

Last Minute Christmas Tree Craftivity & Mathtivity

The holiday break is almost here. Whether you are counting down the days until winter break or you are counting down the days to Christmas, practically everyone is counting down to something this time of year.

In this mad rush to finish the shopping, trim the tree, grade the papers, and find something to do for the kiddos in your life, the last thing you need is yet another thing to add to your list. ~Unless, of course, it is a quick, inexpensive, and easy craftivity sprinkled with a math lesson that will keep the kiddos busy while you are finishing the shopping, trimming, and grading papers.

This Christmas packet from Rainbows to Snowflakes includes an easy-to-make tree craft created with ribbon and pony beads. Also included are two math worksheets to use either as a follow-up to the craft project or as homework.

Skills addressed:

Fine motor skills

Counting with a 1-to-1 correspondence

Duplicating a pattern

Creating and solving addition sentences with answers less than 20

So put on some holiday music and have fun crafting and mathing with the kiddos.

Merry Christmas, everyone! 

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ONE Snowflake Among Billions

How do you pay tribute to the ones that you have loved and lost? From Thanksgiving through the end of December, people everywhere pay tribute in many ways. In the United States we remember those that risked everything to settle our country by welcoming loved ones to share a meal at our dining table. In December, we celebrate the birth of Jesus by donating our time and money to help those less fortunate than us. We present gifts to loved ones to remember the ultimate gift that Jesus presented to us. There are countless ways to honor others and help out the community at the same time.

Before Thanksgiving, readers of this blog participated in a memorial project that encouraged remembrance and selfless giving. This project was in memory of a man that none of the readers nor I had ever met--Roger Mulder from West Michigan. The participants in this project, both young and old, remained anonymous, only providing their first names and states in which they reside. True gratitude and caring was evidenced by the readers’ willingness to help shine the light on a kind and caring man that helped many many children have a brighter Christmas for 10 years.

The blog readers and their children selected toys were donated to the Salvation Army Angel Tree in Virginia and Michigan memory of Roger Mulder.

The blog readers and their children created or selected a very special angel to photograph for this project.

The blog readers helped continue Roger Mulder’s generosity.

I am certain that many readers wonder about the significance of this blog’s title--Rainbows to Snowflakes. Both rainbows and snowflakes are amazing examples of God’s gifts to us. When we take the time to study and admire the beauty of something as small and insignificant as a drop of water that becomes a snowflake-ONE among billions, our eyes and hearts are opened wide enough to allow us to see the splendor of a rainbow, the combination of billions of drops of water. Roger Mulder was ONE of those beautiful and amazing drops that formed a snowflake. When the readers of this blog paused long enough to take note of this man’s great acts of generosity, I am certain that their own personal rainbows became brighter.

The blog readers gave selflessly by participating in this project. And, a selfless act is the most precious gift we can present to ourselves.

Thank you to the many people that took time to snap a photo of an angel, create an angel, or select a very special angel and shine the light on an angel in Heaven--Roger Mulder.

Please take a moment to view the photos that are the conclusion of this project—each image ONE droplet, ONE snowflake of the beautiful rainbow of humanity.

 

 These toys were donated in memory of Roger Mulder:

 

 

 

 

The 15 Ducks of Christmas & a Snowman or 2, TOO!

 

CLICK HERE TO GET A FREE PDF OF THESE IDEAS FROM TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS

What do silly rubber ducks and Christmas have in common? They both provide a wonderful and fun avenue for learning important skills. Today’s post is all about having fun and learning at the same time. And, what better way to do it than with Christmas-themed rubber duckies? While you can easily print and use the images I am posting below, you can definitely add to the fun by getting a set of ducks for your math tubs. I found mine on Amazon. So, let’s get quackin’ and have some rubber duck fun.

The best way to begin is by adding new lyrics to an old familiar song-The 12 Ducks of Christmas is sung to the tune of The 12 Days of Christmas, with the same ole’ dragging out of the words.

 

After you practice the song with your little ones, why not add to the excitement by using either the printable or your own rubber ducks to practice using positional words. In fact, where else can a duck go—in a stocking, under a present, etc?

What would Christmas be without a little silly duck humor?

 

 

As a reminder that winter is almost upon us, another changing of the seasons, I am reposting (by request) my Seasonal Snowman poem.

 

Happy Holidays, everyone!

 

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MINTY MATH FOR KINDERGARTEN & FIRST GRADE

Welcome to December—the eternally busy month where it seems as if there are never enough hours in the day, enough hands to do the work, and enough dollars to do it with.

As refreshing as a peppermint, the posts this month will provide activities and ideas for those that are somewhat busy, those that are very busy, and those that are—Are you kidding? When will I ever find the time to do that?! busy. If you are too busy to read this blog, don’t worry— these posts will still be here in January when the whirlwind of December is behind all of us.

If, however, you fit into the first category, take the time to drop a peppermint into your cup of cocoa and check out these ideas to use that winter-fresh candy with the little ones in your life.

Whether they are the real starlight mints and candy canes or the printable versions, these sweet treats provide wonderful opportunities to practice many math skills.

Included below are printables and suggestions for practicing math skills that include counting, single-digit addition, identifying shapes, sorting, non-standard measurement, comparing numbers of objects, sequencing, and more. Created by Rainbows to Snowflakes, this candy cane and starlight mint themed resource will provide ideas and materials to use in math centers, as warm-up activities, and small group practice for kindergarten and first grade.

 

 

 

 

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TOO EARLY FOR SNOW? ~NOT THIS TYPE!

Click Here for a FREE PDF of These Ideas

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and, as the song implies, we need snow on the ground to be able to go over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house. In fact, last week our area received the first forecast predicting snow. Today, however, the bees are buzzin’, the glads are peeking from the ground, and all signs point to spring. Usually, this is the time of year when we go from light jackets and sneakers to winter coats and boots—not from boots back to flip-flops. I had planned on adding this post next week, but with the first true snowfall delayed, I thought I’d add the alternatives to snow post a bit early.

Today’s post is all about creating a wonderful snow day sans actual snow. Many of these ideas for creating snow day fun are well known to moms, dads, and teachers. However, I am combining the ideas in one handy-dandy post.

So…even if the bees are still buzzin’ in your yard and summer shoes replace winter shoes, you and your little ones can have a frosty fun day with the following ideas.

1. You can create a simple and frosty cool version of snow with merely a box of baking soda and a can of shaving cream. 

 

2. You can easily create your own snowballs from yarn and a cardboard form.

3. Send the kids on a scavenger hunt to find household items and toys that look like a snowball. Use these collected items for some fun hands-on learning. 

4. Marshmallows and pom poms make perfect substitutions for snow. 

5. After a fun day of playing with snow that isn’t really snow, read this story to discover another way to create a snowstorm. Sometimes Snow Falls in the Summer is a read-aloud that takes a little girl and her grandmother on a journey into the land of imagination. This story was inspired by my years spent in Michigan, where the Lake Effect Snow Machine rarely broke down during the winter and the summers provided many more brilliant snowstorms thanks to nature’s creativity.



AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM

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PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAPS WITH HANDS-ON LEARNING

Today is all about my favorite veteran, my sailor husband. I am thankful for the time and devotion that so many who have proudly served our country gave to protect our freedoms and our loved ones.

Therefore, my post today is an early rendition of Thanksgiving leftovers. I am reposting an earlier post for preschool through first grade with a link to a free printable PDF.

THANK YOU TO ALL THAT HAVE SERVED OUR COUNTRY.

In a time when budgets are trimmed, dollars are stretched, and educators are forever expected to do more with less, sometimes it helps to tap into free resources to add to your curriculum materials.

Today’s post is not actually an activity—the post is how to use a FREE resource to teach and reinforce many concepts in your classroom. With a little help from your students, you can quickly fill a tub with these handy dandy manipulatives and therefore have the materials necessary for countless center ideas.

This resource of simple lids saved from common household objects can be used to teach many concepts at the preschool and primary levels. These activities can be used in a guided lesson or as a center activity.

MATERIALS:

Assorted plastic caps in multiple colors and sizes

Printout shown (optional)

 



LINK TO FREE PDF ON TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS



INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prior to using the tub of caps, assign your students the task of collecting clean plastic lids from home.

2. Create printouts of image provided to accompany the tub of caps.

3. Put on your own thinking cap and see how many ways you can use this FREE resource with your children. Here are just a few of the possibilities:

COLOR SORTING

COMPARING BY SIZE

ORDERING BY SIZE

IDENTIFYING ORDINALS

CREATING AND EXTENDING PATTERNS

CREATING NUMBER SENTENCES

PRACTICING FINE MOTOR SKILLS

SORTING BY SHAPE

What concepts can you teach with this resource?

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