New Year's Resources

Aloha friends!  I am enjoying my vacation here in Phoenix with my family.  I am doing as little work as possible and really enjoying my time off!  I hope you are doing the same, but I do realize many of you are headed back to work next week!

I am joining up with the Primary Chalkboard for an end/beginning of the year sale.


My entire store will be on sale!!












Click on any of these pics to take you to my store.  Don't forget to stop by the Primary Chalkboard and link up with us if you are having a sale or want to see who else is having a sale.





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End Of The Year Plans

Aloha friends!! I hope you had a fabulous Christmas and were able enjoy spending time with family and friends.

A new year is upon us and I have been working on getting organized for 2015!  I have created some cute new personal planners for the new year.




I have 4 different covers to choose from.
They each include monthly calendars, a weekly planner page,
a year at a glance and a menu planner.  


You can check them all out in my TpT shop.

I am also running an end of the year special.


If you make a purchase over $5 I will send you your choice of calendars! Just email me after purchase and let me know which planner you would like.

I hope this helps you get organized and ready for a new year!



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So Close!

Aloha everyone!  One. More. Day!  We can do it!!


This doesn't quite fit me.  I need a palm tree on the top, instead of a snowflake.  I made this fun video this week.  It's the Hawaiian version of the 12 days of Christmas.  The original version has 10 cans of beer and 12 televisions.  Don't think that version is appropriate for the classroom.


I will be headed to colder weather soon.  We leave for Arizona on Monday to see my family.  My daughters are so excited and their cousins can't wait either.  The desert is very chilly in the winter, but very pretty.


We had a really busy week and some fun activities along the way.  The beginning of the week we made some cute Pop Art Stockings.



The kids really enjoyed making them and I thought they came out great!  Each year I stuff their stockings with a candy cane, a pencil, some stickers and a little card that I make.  It's an easy and inexpensive gift.

After lots of discussion, the second grade team decided to make puzzle piece ornaments.  They were really simple and the glitter and paint made them really pretty.



I also had my students do a home project created by Nicole Shelby.  They had to create a new suit for Santa since his old suit was ruined in the dryer.

I got some pretty fun suits returned to school.


This Santa has eyes all over to watch all the kids!


Cowboy Santa


Ninja Santa


Surfer Santa



This next one is my favorite.  The student's father is a tattoo artist.  It is just so funny!



Today was our last full day and we had a gift exchange, lots of sugary treats and we watched a Disney Christmas movie.

Tomorrow is our Winter Performance.  My class is singing "Run, Run, Rudolph" and "Somewhere Over The Rainbow".  We have a new music teacher this year and she put the whole production together!  Amazing!!  The upper grade classes wrote their own versions of popular tunes to fit our Hawaiian lifestyle.  Very cute.

So tomorrow afternoon I am going to kick back and enjoy my break, for 3 weeks!!  I have done most of my shopping online and sent all packages to my mom's house.  Santa even got a little something for me.



Very appropriate since I will be in the desert! 

I plan to also do a bit of after Christmas shopping.  There are so many stores on the Mainland that we just don't have here.  We head back to the islands on January 2nd.

Teacher's report back on the 9th and students return on the 13th!!  I am really looking forward to reenergizing and starting a brand new year!!

How was your last week?  Any exciting plans for the break?  I'd love to hear all about it!! 



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Wordless Wednesday




 What did your class make for gifts this year?



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Festive Poinsettias

Aloha friends!  This was a busy week at school and we had fun with the beginning of the month activities.

The kids LOVED the advent jar.  On Monday we started picking from the jar and the first thing they pulled out was "Sing Christmas Carols".

Well this lady is not a good singer and I decided to play some sing alongs from You Tube for them.









They loved it, and it was the perfect way to end the day!

On Thursday they picked No Homework and were overjoyed!!


On Friday I decided to make some poinsettias to decorate the classroom.  Poinsettias grow well here in Hawaii and they are in full bloom right now.  You can see them in many peoples yards.


Poinsettias are native to Mexico and we talked about what that meant.  I then read them this story from Tomie dePaola.



I love reading it to my students and talking about the story and what a legend is.  Since my family is from Mexico, it also adds a personal touch, which students love to hear about.

I made poinsettias before and they turned out really cute.  We just used construction paper and they tore and pasted them all on. Then they colored in the white areas with green crayon.



This year I decided to try something new, since we didn't have tons of time in the afternoon to finish.



We used construction paper again and I had them trace the petals and leaves.  We had 8 red petals and 4 green petals for each flower.  I used the same tracer that we used for turkey feathers last month!
Click on the picture above to grab the template for the leaves and pot.



With the leftover green scraps they made a stem. Then they traced a pot and I gave them a piece of gold ribbon to glue on.  They came out really cute!



It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our classroom!!

This week we will be practicing for out Winter Program and on Friday we will be making our gifts for parents.  I will make sure to bring my good camera and take lots of pictures!

Hope you have a great week!



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Advent Fun

Aloha Monday and the first Day of December.  Just a few quick things to share with you today!

First up is something that I am starting in class today.  My Advent Jar!


 I used an empty pickle jar and just added a pretty bow and a tag that says "Joy".  I filled it with these little "treats" for my class.


Each day of this month we will pick a "treat" and take 10 minutes at the end of each 
day to have our treat.  I am pretty sure my class is going to LOVE it!

Click HERE to download this Freebie.


Happy Monday and have a wonderful week!!


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Cyber Monday and Tuesday, Advent and Pictures

Aloha friends! Who's ready for some Cyber Monday sales!!!


My store will be on sale Monday and Tuesday, so stock up and be Merry!

Tomorrow is also December 1st so stop by the Primary Chalkboard for some Advent Calendar fun!!


We will have a little surprise for you each day!  Make sure you stop by everyday as they will only be available then!

One more fun thing that starts tomorrow is a my Instagram Picture party.


I'd love for you to share your holiday pictures and link up with hashtag #instacheer14.
I can't wait to see all of your festive pics!

Are you ready for a fast and furious month!!! Ready, Set, Go!!!


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Easy and Cute Craft Ideas for Christmas

Aloha everyone!  It's officially here...


December 1st is Monday and the Countdown Begins!  Our school has a Winter Program so the students will be getting ready for that along with lots of other Christmas activities I have planned.

I am going to make an Advent Calendar for my students.  I found this cute idea at MessForLess.com.
Make a festive jar and write on popsicle sticks.  I am going to add fun ideas that we can do in the class each day like Brain Breaks, Class Picks for a Story, Extra 5 minutes at recess, Class Game, Drawing Time, Dance Party.  Anything fun that will only take a few minutes at the end of the day.


We will also be making paper stockings like we do every year, but will be adding a twist. 


I was so inspired by Art With Jenny K's Pop Art activities.


I am going to have my students decorate their stockings using this Pop Art technique!  I can't wait to see how they turn out!

We will also be Elfing ourselves.


These always come out so cute!  I laminate them and they make adorable ornaments.


Now the hard part is deciding what I want my students to make for their parents for Christmas!  I jumped on to Google and found some cute ideas.



Handprint Calendar from The Sharpened Pencil



ModgePodge Pictures From PositivelySplendid.com

This fingerprint light picture frame is just adorable, but I couldn't find a link!

This Cute Crayon Picture Frame from Mrs. Terhune's First Grade

These adorable ornaments from Tonya's Treats For Teachers

Love these precious Hand Print Jars from All Kids Crafts


Reindeer Ornaments from Mom vs The Boys

A cute twist on Popsicle Stick Frames from eighteen25

I love these simple and cute ornaments from A Teeny Tiny Teacher

Maybe I can add a tropical feel by adding sand and shells in with the their pictures.

I have 1 week to decide what to do.  So many choices!! I think it will all depend on what I find at the local craft store and how much it will cost for 21 kiddos!

What do you do each year for Christmas gifts? I am always looking for new ideas!


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