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Sunday, November 25, 2012

We’ve Got Christmas Covered! {Plus, a Christmas Reader FREEBIE!}


So perhaps you’ve heard there’s a little HUGE sale coming up…

cyber monday button

Adorable button courtesy of Ashley at The School Supply Addict

I am so excited.

It’s the most wonderful of the time of the year.

My cart is stocked and ready to go come Cyber Monday.

And I sure am hoping someone hosts one of those linkies where we all brag about those good deals we found!

And…if you’re looking for good {Holiday-Themed} deals, we’ve got you covered.

I’ve been battling a cold all Thanksgiving weekend, but I somehow managed to put the finishing touches on a few holiday units.  I am so excited about them.  Maybe you’ve seen them on TpT, because while I’ve managed to post to our store, I haven’t gotten around to showing them off yet.

Won’t you please allow me to do that now?

Thank you. 

I promise there’s a reward at the bottom.

Here’s what we’ll be working on starting Monday:{Click cover pages of all units to head to TpT}

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We’ll start off by reading one of my most favorite Christmas books ever, “Olive, the Other Reindeer”.

Then, we’ll brainstorm other animals that could guide Santa’s sleigh {you know, in an emergency}

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After a good brainstorming sesh, we’ll get started on our bulletin board display, and write why our animal is the best pick for Santa.  I am so excited to see how this turns out!

I must have high hopes for Monday, because we’ll also be starting our classroom Secret Santa.

No, not that kind of Secret Santa.  We won’t be buying presents for our friends.  We’ll just be giving them a huge case of the “Warm and Fuzzies”.

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See, once a week, leading up to Christmas Break, we’ll be sending secret messages to our friends and classmates, letting them know just how special they are!

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They’ll be using a different prompt card every week.  I cannot wait to see how they do with this.  I’m predicting spontaneous smiles from ear to ear over the next few weeks!
We’ll also be starting our new holiday math centers.  This is the first time I’ve made math centers, but I’ve been dying try my hand at them, and all that adorable Christmas clip art out there provided the perfect opportunity!

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I created centers for place value, odd and even numbers, arrays, number stories, number sense, and addition/subtraction.  I’m about halfway through cutting them, hoping my student teacher will help me with the rest!

Last, but certainly not least, Jenna and I teamed up on a “Holidays Around the World” unit. 

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This one is a biggie.  My frustration with teaching Christmas around the world was always the lack of literature and children’s books centered around the subject.  I used the book, Christmas Around the World by Mary D. Lankford in the past, and although it was very informative, it was just a page per country with one illustration, and it didn’t really hold my kiddos’ attention.

So, I had a lightbulb moment!  Create books for each country!

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Our Holidays Around the World unit has an interactive reader for each holiday/country taught.  Many of the pages are interactive {ex: draw the presents Ana might receive under the tree} to keep students engaged.

mexico

There are simple extension activities for each country, as well as airline tickets, a passport book, itineraries, maps…everything you need to take a trip around the world!

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Countries and Holidays Covered in Our Unit:
Christmas in Scandinavia {Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland}
Christmas in Germany
Christmas in Italy
Christmas in France
Christmas in Australia
Christmas in Africa
Las Posadas in Mexico
Christmas in the USA
Kwanzaa in the USA
Hanukah in the USA
Christmas in The North Pole


We are really hoping our students get a whole lot more out of our Holidays Around the World unit this year.  We know we will!

As a reward for scrolling down to the bottom of reading this post, we’re offering up one of our interactive readers for FREE :)

It’s our North Pole Reader.  Its included in our unit, but its here FREE for you today :)

north pole freebie
Click the picture to grab it!

Thanks for reading friends!

Now get shopping :)

~Halle

5 comments:

  1. Looks like I'll be adding MORE things to my wish list for tomorrow's sale :) Love the Christmas around the world idea!

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  2. Your Christmas Around the World unit looks amazing!!! I was going to jazz mine up this year, but perhaps I'll use yours instead :)

    Kate
    EduKate and Inspire

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  4. Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I mentioned your Secret Santa activity and your 'Tis the Season for Holiday Math Centers in my latest blog post!

    Lori
    The Reinspired Teacher

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  5. Hi!! I love your Holidays around the world unit and the freebie!! thank you..
    question... I have to do one country in our Christmas around the world unit.. since you have done a bit on a few ;-) is there a country that you might suggest.. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.. the Netherlands and Italy, Mexico and Israel are taken.. I am supposed to do a presentation, story and craft.... Thanks any input would be helpful!!!
    Karen
    tommysmom0206@yahoo.com

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