The Primary Peach: December 2015

Saturday, December 12, 2015

1st Day of Christmas-One Seasonal Holiday Craft

The last day before holiday break CAN BE chaos, so let me help you bring a bit of good drama and fun into the holiday party. Do you have plans for a holiday party in your classroom? Do you freak out every year because you have to figure out what to do during that hour of "fun"? Maybe you are the teacher and room parent rolled into one. Are you are the parent to a fabulous kiddo and search for more fun during the holiday? Anyone of any age can create memories and traditions with today's freebie on the Primary Peach's Twelve Freebie Themed Days.

On the first day of Christmas, the Primary Peach gave to me,

Hey y'all, this is Valerie from Georgia Grown Kiddos. Today I have my MOST FAVORITE holiday craft for the kiddos to enjoy creating.

My favorite seasonal activity is Sleepy Potion. Every teacher needs that special something to give their students during the holiday season. This helpful and inexpensive activity will keep you in the children’s hearts for years to come!

This activity can be completed in a few minutes at the holiday party, is a unique gift you can give to the kiddos, and with enough drama mixed into the potion, it will help the children fall asleep on the night before Christmas! Simply follow the recipe and add LOTS of drama! Adults know it as hot chocolate, but the kids will revel in the excitement of the special magic that can only be seen by those who still believe!

I hope you have a restful and relaxing holiday. Unplug and be in the moment. Merry Christmas and we at the Primary Peach wish you happy new year!

For more ideas from the Primary Peach, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Blessings y'all,

Valerie

Thursday, December 10, 2015

3rd Day of Winter - Writing Activities

Aren't you just loving all these wintery freebies? I feel like it's Christmas all month long!

Brrrr! It's winter. Hope you're keeping warm where you are. It's Gary from ScrappyGuy Designs. I am joining up with two other amazing Peaches to bring you some fun Writing Activities to help you weather the final days before Winter Break.

Today I present to you TACKY, the Penguin. If you have not encountered these fantastic tales from Helen Lester you are definitely in for a treat. I use it with my Fourth Graders and they always get a chuckle out of this character.

Tacky is an 'odd bird' who is nothing like his counterparts on the ice floe. The others all have perfect singing voices, walk perfectly in tune together, and all look perfectly the same. Well, not Tacky. Tacky favors loud Hawaiian shirts and slapping people on the back while belting out, "What's Happening?"

For some fun writing activities, you could have the students:
* do a character map on Tacky
* gather adjectives to describe Tacky
* create a venn diagram comparing him to Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect
* write about what other special talents Tacky could have other than the cannonball
* put Tacky in different situations and see how he would solve them
* rewrite the ending of the book
* create a sequence of events that happen as the hunters arrive
* use some of the great sentences in the book as Mentor Sentences
      * Quotations
      *   Apostrophes
      *   Commas

But my favorite idea I found on the internet was to have a Tacky Day where the students all get to dress up as Tacky the Penguin.

Then you can have them dress a Tacky cut out for a bulletin board and call it "Odd Birds Unite!"

I love teaching Tacky books because they help build great community as we learn that everyone has something to add to the group. Even if someone dresses or looks a little funny, they could be a very important part of a team.

Oops, before I go. Here's a little freebie from me to you! Happy Holidays.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_ZStSfotwLiTkFmYTZBM1NlNUk/view?usp=sharing

Have your students write about why Santa should hire them to be his newest elf! You can use this with just about ANY holiday book! Check out these suggestions here!

We love the holidays in Kindergarten and gingerbread activities are among our favorites. There are so many writing opportunities during this time of year, but I found one that I absolutely love. It’s called a Wall Story and you can use it with any book. Each student creates an illustration and writes text for a certain part of the story. Then they are put in order and displayed on a wall. The awesome teacher from Kindergarten is a Fun Place To Be posted these pictures on her blog. The Wall Story is a great way to write collaboratively in the classroom. Click on the image below to read her post.

Check out this Gingerbread writing freebie!

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

4th Day of Winter: 4 Science and Social Studies Activities

Ready for some more great ideas?

The Primary Peach gave to meeeeee...

It's Jivey and Valerie, from Georgia Grown Kiddos, here to bring you some science and social studies FUN! First up, Jivey is going to share some things you can do in the upper grades.

SCIENCE: If you teach the weather cycle, this freebie will be great for you! Already taught it? No worries! It will be a great review, and you'll get in some awesome test prep, too. Your kids will be amazed at how snowflakes form and how different each one is, as well as how "Snowflake Bentley" was able to capture these unique crystals on film! Although it's geared for 4th-8th, 3rd-grade teachers, you could do this with some scaffolding and assistance in small groups very easily! You can read more about using this set of paired texts in this post!

SOCIAL STUDIES: Do you love teaching about the American Revolution as much as I do? Then you will LOVE this book! When Washington Crossed the Delaware is a very different kind of Christmas story, as Washington and his men crossed the icy Delaware River to surprise the Hessians:

It has beautiful pictures, as well as real quotes from some of the famous men of the time. You can also provide a little comic relief with this silly Sesame Street skit:

YES EVEN THE BIG KIDS LOVE SESAME STREET! My kids died laughing every year when I showed this!

Now, Valerie is going to share some science and social studies excitement for the young ones!

Hi y'all! Thanks Jivey for the intro and sharing the day with me! I have a super exciting activity for anyone, but especially the young ones! I warn you; I love to make a mess and let the children play with it and get everything they can from the activity. I saw this yesterday, and it pretty much sums up my approach to the day.

Now, on to the fun!

SCIENCE: I am inspired by Growing A Jeweled Rose to make this "learning experience". It is Santa Toothpaste. Children can see and feel what happens when 2 or more solutions are combined.

To make Santa toothpaste you will need the following items. Make sure you read through to the *tips list.

1 cup 6% or higher Hydrogen Peroxide*
1 squeeze dish soap*
desired amount green or red food coloring
desired amount peppermint extract
desired amount glitter, sparkles, fun add-ins
3 Tablespoons yeast*
6 Tablespoons warm water
empty water or similar bottle

*Tips:

Dish soap- use a light colored liquid if possible, so the food coloring shows more true color.
6% Hydrogen peroxide is sold in beauty supply stores and pharmacy stores
Using regular hydrogen peroxide will work, but it will not be as dramatic of a reaction. (that is what I used)
Use fresh yeast packs. It will take 3 small packs to make 3 tablespoons
Complete the activity somewhere you can spray off (we did ours on the driveway) or can get messy.

Directions:
Combine the following in the water bottle, careful not to shake the bottle,

6% or higher Hydrogen Peroxide*
dish soap*
green or red food coloring
peppermint extract
glitter, sparkles, fun add-ins

Once you have combined the solution, gently swirl the ingredients together.

In a separate container, add the warm water and yeast together and mix until there are no lumps in the solution.

Add the yeast solution quickly to the bottle of the first solution.

The reaction is quick so be ready!

SOCIAL STUDIES: Santa needs help!! You need social studies skill review. Here is a solution for you both! Santa is lost and will need the children's help to travel around the world. This social studies freebie uses the continents and oceans as a way to help Santa find his way around the world. Click on the image below to link to the download.

Make sure to come back tomorrow for three MORE ideas- this time for seasonal writing!

PIN FOR LATER:

For even more ideas from The Primary Peach, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the latest news and updates!

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

5th day of Winter: 5 ELA Centers {FREEBIES!!!}

I hope you are enjoying our 12 Days of Winter Series and the Freebies and Tips that we have been sharing! Hopefully it is helping you make it through the craziness of December!