Dear Santa,

There's no more perfect time for a letter writing unit than in December.

Who wouldn't want to learn how to write letters in order to send one to the jolliest man of all?!

 

After reading books with letters, bringing in examples, learning/labeling the important parts of a letter and writing some class examples together, it was time to write our very first "official" letter.

We talked about the importance of asking and not telling when we were brainstorming the sequence of our letter. In their letter they had to include 3 things: something nice to say, something they need, and something they want. They also had to tell why they needed/wanted what they were asking for.

We wrote our rough drafts on day 1 after brainstorming ideas above.

"This year I need underwear."

Awesome!

On day 2 we added our "because statements" and copied it onto our final draft.

Once all of our friends were finished, I put them inside this envelope and we sent them down to the office to be mailed out to the jolly old man.

And because Santa is such a jolly old guy, he will write letters back to each and every one of your kids!

This is the BEST part of the whole process.

The joy is unimaginable. I wish I could share pictures of their faces and comments from the past.

After they each get their letter, we sit in a circle and if they can read their letter they do, if not I help them out.

You can find my Letters to Santa pack in my TpT store by clicking on the product image below!

It includes 25 editable letters you can personalize to each student. 

The majority of the letters are typed...all you have to do is add each student's name!

Spread the joy and magic of Christmas to your students!

HELP! Santa's Stuck...

What would you do if Santa was stuck in your chimney?

 

 

After reading this cleverly funny book, my firsties couldn't wait to come up with an answer. 

What anxious problem solvers!

 

They also drew our mental image of what he would look like if he did get stuck in the chimney in their house.

"...get all of the presents from his bag."

{What a smart thinker!}

 

Check out this freebie from Nancy over at First Grade Wow. It includes several great activities including the reader's response above. 

Elfin' It Up

 

Nothing is more fun than the fun you can have with Christmas traditions!

One I started in my class 2 years ago was having an elf come visit. So I am more than excited to link up and share my elf ideas.

 

Our elf, Ollie, comes to visit each day {when the children are good of course}. He leaves us a note which reminds us about things we can easily forget this time of year such as manners, helping others, etc.

 

Here are some of his antics from last week:

He made his appearance encouraging us to be great readers!

We were so great the first day, he gave us a compliment and brownie point! 

He decided to get stuck in our "stuck on a word strategies" wall and literally needed help!

After spending the day stuck, he was awfully tired and napped all day long.

 

On Friday, he left us a surprise on our tree. What a mischievous little thing!

 

Don't forget to link up and share your elf ideas each Sunday!

 

*Five for a December Friday*

One Friday down.

Two more to go.

We started our unit on writing letters this week. We've been looking at samples, discussing who to write to, why we write them, and labeling the parts of a letter.

We decided to spread the Christmas cheer to each of our classmates by writing a nice note to them each day. Check out Susan's FREE Stocking Stuffer activity {HERE}.

There's no more RaNdOm time to teach seasons then....December!?!?

None the less we painted our season tress this week.

In honor of our classroom elf Ollie, we decided to "elf ourself" and fill out an application to see if we met the criteria to work for Santa himself!

Definitely saving the best for last!

I must say I have THE MOST amazing room mom. She spent 2 1/2 days decoing my door and our first grade hallway.

She is the bomb.com

Run, Run, as Fast as You Can!

Calling all gingerbread fans!

This post includes FOOD! If I don't have your attention now...then you must not be a theme crazed teacher or a total foodie like me. This week we are going ALL out with the goodness of gingerbread.

 

This is what Friday is pretty much going to look like!

YUM-O

After we've finished our week, we end it by decorating and eating cookies of course!

 

Sometimes the ending is the best part. But let's back up and I'll tell ya  how our week's planned out.

 

Each day we read a different version of the Gingerbread Man.

On the first day, we read the original and complete this reader's response.  

 

Here is the outside of the house and on the inside we completed a story map: character, setting, beginning/middle/end. 

 

 

A few of my other favorites are:

 

 

We use one of each of these pages to record our thinking after we read

 

 

 

These are from my Literacy Fun with Gingerbread unit.

It has much more than just reader response sheets and includes TONS of fun activities to do for a week long Gingerbread extravaganza!

 

  

After reading all the different versions, we compile all our schema into what I like to say is the biggest and best anchor chart of the year...it should definitely win an award! Just sayin...

I L.O.V.E making this chart more than any other. Turns out so dang cute!  

 

My kiddos are *bonkers* for science this year so we reviewed matter and completed sweet Abby's FREE gingerbread science experiment!

 

 

What fun activities do you do with gingerbread?

 

{The first 2 people to leave a comment answering the question will WIN my Literacy Fun with Gingerbread unit!!!}

Take Me Back Tuesday: Letter to Santa

What a GREAT time of year to bring back the "throwbacks"!

Here's one from last December about the MaGiC that happens when we wrote letters to Santa!

 

 

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We are so lucky to get to devote a whole day out of our last week before the break to The Polar Express! We all dress in our jammies, watch the movie, eat donuts and drink hot chocolate, and do fun activities and even get a special surprise!
**By far my most favorite day of the year.**

At the beginning of December, I had each student write a letter to Santa.  We mailed them off in an envelope mailed to the North Pole and sent it to the office to be picked up by the mailman.

 

 

After watching The Polar Express, our Principal's delivered a special package (still cold I might add) that was from the North Pole! Who could it be other than Santa himself!!

 

{Early that morning, we spray it with glitter, sprinkle water on the package, and stick it in the freezer!} 

 

Inside was a personalized letter addressed to each child, and a bell just like the bells the kids riding The Polar Express in the movie received. Pure madness broke out in my classroom. Kids were cheering, smiles aglow, nothing less than *true magic*!  They were most taken back by the fact that both their letters and bells were still cold!!!

 

Making this HUGE secret happen is pure teacher magic!

 Our entire 1st grade team writes and personalizes letters to each child in our class, types them up and prints them out on cute Christmas themed paper. Again, we spray them with glitter, sprinkle water, and freeze. With the help of our administrator's we pull off a little bit of, as the kids say, the BEST. DAY. EVER!

 

I have bundled together the 21 letters I wrote to my firsties.  They are editable and can be customized to fit each and every one of your students. It's up for sale in my  TPT store.  All you have to do is add your child's name and there you have it!

 

{Click on the picture below.}

 

 

 A little "Christmas magic" is always fun!

 

 

December Traditions and "The SALE"

EEEK! I thought my favorite month out of the year was November...until I remembered how down right F.U.N December is at school! I can't get enough of gingerbread, reindeer, and Santa galore! So before I go nuts, here's a peek at what went down over Thanksgiving break at my casa:

There's just something *magical* about this time of year.

I moved our tree around this year and fell in love with this picture after seeing how the crosses look behind it!

Happy birthday Jesus!

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Today was our first day back after a week off and this little guy showed his face! 

"An elf, an elf, an elf....."

I'm sure it could be heard echoing down the hall!

 

Last year I found this FAB unit on TpT to accompany "the elf phenomenon" from Teacher Bits and Bobs.

 

It includes activities and...best of all...daily notes from the elf. Each includes a little mini-lesson on simple things like giving, family, friendship, helping, and other skills littles may forget during this time of year.

 

Don't forget to head over to TpT for their big Cyber Monday AND Tuesday SALE!!!

Here are a few seasonal items you may want to check out!

 

 

 

 

 

Don't forget to enter the code CYBER!