Thursday, December 8, 2016

Oriental Trading and the Holiday Season

WOW has time flown by! It seems like just yesterday my little bunch of Kindergartners walked through the classroom door for the first time. Now we are in full on holiday mode which is SUPER exciting.

I teach in a public school, so we cover all of the holiday celebrations. We are about to start our "holiday's around the world" passport project-- which is a favorite of mine. The kids always LOVE it and they learn so much!

We also have a very special friend watching over us throughout December! When we came back from Thanksgiving break, he was waiting for us on the ActivBoard! He even brought us the Elf on the Shelf book to read! After we read the book, we colored small pictures of an elf and voted on a name. It was a close call, but Sparkles was the winning name!

Each morning when they come into class, the kids find Sparkles in his new spot and write about it in their Elf journal. He usually leaves us a special message for the day. Sometimes, he brings us SURPRISES!

What has Sparkles left us?? This brings me to... Oriental Trading! I absolutely love EVERYTHING about this company... they have such great holiday products for very reasonable prices! You can check out their Christmas landing page  to find lots of neat stuff. I especially love all of their crafts! You can check them out directly by clicking here!

Here are some of the holiday treats that I grabbed for my little ones!


Prancing Reindeer Ornament Craft (4.99): I love to teach with themes ALL year, but I especially love them in December.

This little craft was perfect for our Reindeer week! During that week, we read all about Reindeer and then do a nonfiction report on Reindeer. This little ornament is a great craft to end our Reindeer week with! I also figured it would make a cute parent gift!

It is super easy to put together-- each of the pieces is self-adhesive and they come in little packages that are so easy to hand out! If you are looking for an easy craft, this is a must!

Gingerbread Doorknob Hanger Kit (7.99): The Elf is going to be dropping off these little kits at the end of our gingerbread week. We will be reading The Gingerbread Boy by Paul Galdone. The kids will do their gingerbread writing activity and do gingerbread themed math and reading centers. The week will end with this adorable little craft! It is super easy for the kids to put together-- they come out so cute!

Snowman Ornament Craft (5.99) I LOVE all of the December holiday themes that I have built around read aloud books, but reading Snowmen at Night is my favorite! We spent this week reading the book and writing all about what we would do if we were a snowman at night! I wanted to end the week with a take home craft, since these snowman writing activities are going to be hung up until winter break! Oriental trading had a perfect, simple, and ADORABLE snowman craft stick activity for us to use! Of course, Sprinkles will deliver the craft! The kits include everything you need for the craft-- it is super easy to pass everything out! I can't wait for the kids to make them and bring them home!




Goldtone Jingle Bell Necklaces: (5.99)  The day before winter break, we have our Polar Express party! The kids wear their PJs to school, get their golden tickets, and we read the Polar Express book, then watch the movie! It is such a fun and memorable day for my little Kinders that I wanted to do something extra special this year. These necklaces will be given out with a "believe" tag as a take home keepsake for them! I saw the idea on Pinterest last year but it was too last minute to get it together! I am ready to go for this year! I will post pictures as soon as they are made. :)

Mini Holly Jolly Prisms (5.99): These cute little prizes were given out by our Elf when the kids had an extra great day. My little ones were so surprised when they came into the classroom to find them on their desks! I let them look through them to find their sight words when they choose the "write the room" activity at the word work center! So much fun!


Color Your Own Santa's Workshop (24.99): I saw this and I KNEW I HAD to have it. It is being delivered by our Elf and I am busting it out next week during our Gingerbread week! I am planning to have the kids decorate it with water color paint when they get to that center. When it is all done, the workshop will stay in our classroom library for kids to read in until winter break! I am so excited to see their faces when the open this box!





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