Santa-Tizer! A Quick and Easy Gift To Make For Christmas!

Here is a quick and easy idea you can easily make for a last minute gift. I made these this year as teacher/staff gifts and I'm making a few more to put under the tree for those "just in case" gifts. I think next year, I'll experiment a little more with them and add some white fur embellishments around the top and
bottom, and possibly think about laminating the outside label.

Initially, I made 2 to see how they would come out before purchasing all the bottles of hand sanitizer I would need. When I bought the bulk, I didn't realize the bottles were curved (ergonomically to fit the hand, I suppose). Be sure to closely check the shape of the bottles!

I printed the words "Santa-tizer" on red paper and glued it onto the bottle to cover the label. Make sure to match your suit label size to cover the packaging label completely.

I added a thin black strip of paper around the bottle for a belt. Use glue and ultra-fine craft glitter to make a buckle.

The friends and staff I made these for loved them!


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Trash To Christmas Treasure

We tend to use a lot of recycled materials in our class. We have two bins of lids that we use in our math center for sorting, classifying and patterning. Often, these lids make their way to other centers for various uses, like tracing shapes in art center. We cut out a tree shape out of previously used bulletin board paper and attached some of the colorful lids we came across to decorate it. Each day, the kids brought in small items they've rescued from the trash. As the days progressed, the tree began to fill up.

Our school chef, Ms. Christie saved us some of the tin foil to use as garland. 

We even have a few recycled Christmas bows for added bling! 

This little tree has brought a lot of color and cheer to our room and helped us turn some of our trash to a real Christmas treasure!



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Deck The Halls With Holiday Ornaments

Looking for a few ideas for holiday ornaments? I've got just the thing! Our preschool puts a large Christmas tree in the lobby every year and each class makes ornaments to decorate it. Here are a few of the cute ornaments adorning our tree this year:

School Glue Snowmen
These started out as those adorable "melted snowmen" I've seen all over Pinterest. It turns out that our floor is not quite level and the first few of our "melted snowmen" just didn't work out. The glue spread far and wide and the decorations all spread to the outer edges. We thought we'd place a plastic lid under the plastic wrap to help them retain some of their shape. Well, as they spread, they took on the shape of the lid. Not quite what we'd set out to make, but they did turn out pretty cute!

Cute As A Button
This it cute and simple! Arrange craft sticks in a triangle and glue on some colorful buttons!

Holly Wreath Frame
 Paper holly leaves glued on a painted paper plate circle make a cute frame for a holiday photo. This is also cute with puzzle pieces painted green as the holly leaves.

Reindeer Kids
Use a photo of your child has the reindeer face and add handprint antlers! Don't forget the red nose!

Collage Christmas Trees
These are cute with whatever loose parts you have lying around. I've done them with confetti glitter, too.

 

Handprint Wreaths
  Green construction paper handprints make the greenery and red handprints make the bow on this wreath.

And in case you missed it or need a few more ideas, there are several more in my December  PreK+K Sharing post, 10 Easy Gifts Kids Can Make For Christmas.

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22 Days of Thankfulness: Catching Up

Since my last post in the "22 Days Of Thankfulness" series, I've been away in Atlanta at the 2012 NAEYC Conference! There has been much to be thankful for in the last week, but simply not enough hours in the day to write about them, so this post will hopefully bring me up to date. 

Day 6,  November 6, 2012

I am thankful for the occasional teacher workday. There is always so many things to catch up on, and with my trip to NAEYC, I needed the extra time for planning.


Day 7, November 7, 2012

I am thankful to arrive safely in Atlanta. This conference is such a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow as a teacher, plus a chance to meet and network with other teachers from all over the country.

Day 8, November 8, 2012

I am thankful for the opportunity to meet and hang out with some of the wonderful Early Education bloggers I've connected with since I've been blogging. In the morning, I met up with my friend Gerianne Linden of Rocky Hill Co-operative School and we attended a wonderfully informative session by Laura Balma Eldredge and Tressa Giordano of The Seeds Network. 

Gerianne, Laura, Me (Ayn) and Tressa at Laura and Tressa's session!

Later, several of us met for dinner at The Hard Rock Cafe and enjoyed a wonderful evening together!

Left to right:

Tressa Giordano and Laura Eldredge (The Seeds Network), Gerianne Linden (Rocky Hill Co-Operative School), Allen Clement, Debbie Clement (Rainbows Within Reach) Me (little illuminations) and Deborah Stewart (Teach Preschool)

Day 9, November 9, 2012

I am thankful for wonderful children's music that keeps my students moving and grooving. I attended sessions by The Learning Station, Ella Jenkins, Mr. Al, and Greg and Steve. I learned some new songs and danced to some of my favorites!

Don Monopoli of The Learning Station performing at the Frog Street Press booth.

 Ella Jenkins leading a song at her session.

Me and Mr.Al!

Steve, Me and Greg from Greg & Steve

Day 10, November 10, 2012

I am thankful for the FABULOUS experience of NAEYC!!!! I made the most out of every moment of my time and really stepped out of my comfort zone to try new things. I even danced on stage with The Learning Station and Greg & Steve in the closing session/ grand finale of the conference in front of thousands of people!

Day 11, November 11, 2012

I'm thankful for lazy Sundays, so that I can catch up on lesson plans and get ready for a new work week.

I'm also VERY thankful for all the service men and women who work so very hard and sacrifice so very much so that I may live in safety and freedom. Thank you, thank you to those who serve and their families, too! 

Look for a post coming soon with more about the NAEYC Conference!

What are you thankful for in your school or blogging life?

I'd love to start a trend! If you'd like to join in the fun and share your "Days of Thankfulness", be sure to leave a link here so others can be inspired! 


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Election Day in Pre-K

Tomorrow is ELECTION DAY here in the U.S.! Politicians will be campaigning, citizens will be voting. The children will have the day off, as most of the schools in our area are voting precincts. By Wednesday, we will know who will lead our country for the next four years. I've already voted, as I planned to be at NAEYC and away from my voting precinct. I wanted my vote to be counted. I won't tell you who I voted for---that's personal, and quirky as it may be, I don't even share that with my husband or children. It's serious business, much too serious for kids. Or is it? While many of the political issues may be WAY over their heads, many will stand at their parents' side as ballots are cast. Children are curious about what is going on. 

Today, we had a discussion about politics. We talked about the reason we vote, and how that is our chance as a citizen to let our voice be heard. I related it to the children's jobs at school, and how different people might do a job differently, using simple terms in a way they might understand. We vote on a variety of things in preschool, so they got the basic idea. Eventually, one of the kids said, "My dad's voting for so-and-so." Then, "well, my mom is voting for them, too!" During the informal conversation, it seemed that most of the kids thought Romney would be the winner.

Just for fun, we set up a voting booth so the children could vote on who they thought would win the election. 

We converted our puppet theater, using shoe boxes, pictures of the candidates, and index cards with a big sticker for the ballot. (No hanging chads here! ;) 

The children went into the booth, away from where the other waiting children could see, and "cast their ballot". 

After voting, they even received a sticker to show they had voted!

When all the ballots were cast, we counted and re-counted the votes together, which made for a fantastic little math lesson. 

Interesting~ when we discussed the candidates early on, the definitely leaned toward Romney, but the finally tally showed Obama a clear winner! Now, we'll see how accurate their predictions are when the final count is in tomorrow!

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My American Privilege Day 5 of 22 Days of Thankfulness

I am thankful that I have both fulfilled my American duty and taught my students a little about the process! I'm thankful I was able to vote early, as I'm headed off to Atlanta to the 2012 NAEYC Annual Conference, and I wanted to make sure my vote was cast. (You knew I'd have to work that in there, didn't you?) Our class talked a little about the democratic process and participated in a little vote of our own. 
What are you thankful for in your school or blogging life?

I'd love to start a trend! If you'd like to join in the fun and share your "Days of Thankfulness", be sure to leave a link here so others can be inspired! 


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Friends! Day 4 of 22 Days of Thankfulness

One of the things in my life that I'm most thankful for is friendships.  Over the years, I've come to really value those few true friends. I have one special friend, Becky, that shares my love of preschool teaching. We share thoughts, ideas and great times together. I'm am so thankful that I have someone who gets as excited as I do about teaching early childhood. Whether it is Conscious Discipline, the Twilight Saga (she made me read it ;) or the wonderful, crazy things that go on in our days, we can talk for hours. If it weren't for her, I'd probably drive my husband bonkers! I love her for so many reasons and am so very grateful to have her in my life. 

I am also very fortunate that by the very nature of my job, I get to witness young children's friendships form and flourish. Every year, I have the opportunity and the privilege to help foster these friendships in Pre-K with a new group of "friends". One of the advantages to teaching Pre-K in a child care center is that often, I get to know some of the students and families years before they come to me in Pre-K. There is a very special friendship between two sweet little girls that won't come to Pre-K for a couple of years, yet. I visit them for a few minutes in the morning and get a few hugs and it starts my day off on a great note. I call them my "breakfast club". 

Two of the little girls are the very best of friends. Their families are friends and they've been together forever. They usually arrive within a few minutes of each other. The first to arrive always eagerly awaits the other, often getting special toys out and ready for  them to play together. This special friendship is so amazing to watch, it brings tears to my eyes just thinking of how special their friendship really is. I am so thankful that I get to start my workday almost every day by getting even a small glimpse of this little, but very deep friendship grow!

What are you thankful for in your school or blogging life?

I'd love to start a trend! If you'd like to join in the fun and share your "Days of Thankfulness", be sure to leave a link here so others can be inspired! 



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