A Little Holiday Cheer

As I sit and reflect on all of the learning, laughing, and loving that went on in our classroom last week, I am reminded of the gift that I have been given. Each day, I get to see the same 19 smiling faces rushing into my classroom excited and ready to learn something new. I thank the Lord that he has entrusted me with His beautiful children, all representing unique personalities, abilities, needs, and dreams! Not just today, but everyday, I am thankful for the opportunity to bless each and every one of these precious little lives. I am determined (now more than ever) to make each moment that we have together count. We always need to remember to count our blessings! I can't wait to spend time with just a few of those little blessings tomorrow! 

Last week, we really got into the holiday cheer. We finished up a big math unit on multiplication and division, and moved right on into geometry. I was thrilled about beginning this unit right around Christmas time, because I knew it had a lot to offer that would tie in perfectly with the holiday season. 

We began with a quick study of polygons. The students have to be able to name these shapes according to the number of sides. To practice these content words, we wrote a little version of the 12 Days of Christmas using shapes. This was actually their idea and they loved it. Plus, it had them naming these shapes zillions of times. Per-fect! Then, we had to create our very own Geome"tree". Loved how this turned out. The students each had shapes that they presented to the class, and we all sat around the tree for a little "family style" decorating. Can I keep this up all year?!? 

After our tree was complete, the students created some cute shape reindeer. Then, they wrote I spy poems to name each shape in their picture. 

These are just precious! I saw these cute little reindeer over at A Faithful Attempt, and knew they would be perfect for a shape study! The kids LOVED this activity!  

Last week, we also spent time brushing up on our persuasive writing skills. The students completed my Baby Face or Beard Unit. Their reactions to this little problem of Santa trying to figure out his best look were priceless. If you need a quick activity for this week, this is sure to be a favorite! You can check it out {HERE}. 

Check out that mustache...and the freckles! Love! :) 

Here is a look at one of the writing pieces. Our main focus was transitional words leading into a new paragraph. I was really pleased with our progress! Plus, their ideas were hysterical and of course, they had it all figured out for Santa! 

 Praying that you all have a blessed week! Happy Sunday, sweet friends!