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I am back this week with another holiday book recommendation for you!  Have you read Merry Christmas, Old Armadillo by Larry Dane Brimner?   This book has been in my library for years (it was published in 1995) and it is a favorite of mine because of its sweet story of friendship and love during the holiday season. Lessons from the story... Compassion  The main character in this story is Old Armadillo. He lives alone, and on Christmas Eve his loneliness is very evident and so sad. This is a great place to stop and talk to your students about compassion for others. If students have neighbors or friends who are alone during the holidays this story might encourage them to do something special for others. I also think that this book provides a great discussion starter for focusing on kindness during the holiday season. I have included a simple activity that you could use with this book (or even on its own) to help students think about simple acts of kindn...

Holiday read alouds are the BEST! In the coming weeks I am planning on sharing some of my very favorites with you. First up is... The  Trees of the Dancing Goats  by Patricia Polacco. This is a touching book that really exemplifies the meaning of the holidays. I am a HUGE fan of Patricia Polacco.   Several of her books would make it on my Top 10 Favorites of all time list. This includes some of her holiday books, such as the one I will be sharing with you today.  This is a touching book about both Hanukkah and Christmas. I love how it celebrates and honors both holidays and their traditions in such a beautiful way.  This book is based on a childhood memory of Patricia Polacco's. The main character, Trisha, and her family are all set to celebrate Hanukkah when an epidemic hits their little town. Trisha is exposed to scarlet fever after a visit to the neighbors, and fortunately no one in her family becomes ill. Many of her neighbors are not so...

Happy December! Hope this holiday season finds you feeling joyful and blessed! Today I want to share an easy, fun, engaging holiday ornament project. Not only is this ornament easy to complete, but it is very inexpensive! Win-win! The process to complete this ornament is easy, and you can use ANY artwork you want for the students to trace- symbols from any holiday or season can be used. You can find 4 different designs for free HERE - or feel free to make your own. (*Note: The sizes for cutting the paper go along with the designs I have included- if you choose to use something else you will want to measure your design and cut accordingly.) Here are the supplies you will need: Supplies: *leftover scraps of laminating film (or use some fresh you have run through the laminator!) *designs to trace (remember you can find some HERE or create your own) *aluminum foil *tape (works better than glue for this project- DOUBLE-sided tape is the best if possible) *string, ya...

An elementary classroom in December is an exciting place to be! Kiddos are so full of energy and excitement- sometimes it is hard to contain it all! Educational games are a great way to keep kids engaged and learning all the way up to Winter Break. Your kids will love these Holiday Addition and Subtraction (with Regrouping) Math Card Games!   One game that my students have really enjoyed playing is a math game that I created (and is available in  my Teachers Pay Teachers store ) called  Holiday War .  There are 2 sets of cards, one set of addition with regrouping cards and one set of subtraction with regrouping cards. Some prep is required (copying and cutting), but the card games can be used over and over each year.  The game is played like a traditional "war" card game. Each student draws a card, adds or subtracts (depending on the version) and the player with the largest answer gets to keep both cards. The winner is the player that has the most car...

Creating projects with my kids is one of the things I enjoy most about teaching. The kids get so excited to incorporate crafts and art as a way of displaying their learning.  I wanted to do a holiday project with them this week so we created "Reading Reindeer".  Don't they make a cute display? The first thing the kids did was read a holiday themed book. I pulled out all of my holiday books that had a story- I tried to stay away from any that did not have an actual plot. For my struggling readers I used holiday books with characters they were familiar with... Froggy, Henry and Mudge, Arthur... for my readers that are more on grade level I pulled out several Patricia Polacco books, Cranberry Christmas, Berenstain Bears, Christmas in the Big Woods, etc.  After reading the books, the kiddos completed a "book" review. The books the reindeer are holding are the kids' book reviews. On the outside of the book review they decorated a book cover. Most chose to also do...