Christmas themed homemade wrapping paper craft for toddlers

So have you finished all your shopping yet?  Baking? Decorating? How about wrapping?  There are so many things to do for Christmas that sometimes I forget to just slow down and soak it all in! 

I have been trying to include the kiddos in as many things as I can but that just means everything goes a lot slower and WHOLE lot messier, but it's all about creating memories and having fun!  The kiddos love to help me wrap presents.  In fact yesterday we went thru 5 rolls of tape!!  I have a feeling I might have to hand out scissors Christmas morning to get thru the layers of tape. The kids love to be a part of the gift giving and one of the easiest ways to involve them is to have them make their own homemade wrapping paper.  

We roll out some newsprint or use the back of some cheaper wrapping paper, and paint Christmas designs to create our own wrapping paper.  You can use stamps or hand prints or just let the kids go for it!  Grandparents especially love receiving gifts in homemade wrap!  Have fun!

Dear Santa...

Every year the kids leave Santa a snack which consists of a plate with cookies, a carrot for Rudolf, and a cup of chocolate milk.  We always put it in the same spot, in the corner on an end table.  And every year when the kids wake up they check to see if the snack is gone.  It is the first thing they do!  Even last year when Santa left two bikes sitting in front of the tree they didn't even notice because they were too worried about examining the plate for left-over crumbs!  Well this year J decided to leave a note for Santa.  He put it right where we leave the snack.  It's been there now for about 3 weeks.  Do you think someone is a little excited??  I don't know how he is going to make it all the way to Christmas!

Does your family leave cookies for Santa?  How about Rudolf, do you leave anything for him?

Creative way to make printing practice fun

I am always looking for creative ways to make printing practice fun for kids.  I truly believe it is a skill that needs to be taught and practiced, so whenever I can I try to change it up so that it is not just paper and pencil tasks.  The kids tend to be more engaged and practice longer when it is not with a pencil.  My printing bags are used for just this purpose and my students love to use them.  Not to mention they are super easy to make.

Materials you will need:

• Resealable bag (I used Ziplock brand)
• Strong Packing tape or Duct tape
• Paint or hair gel
• Q-tips (optional)

To make the printing bags, I fill resealable baggies with paint or hair gel, usually just a couple squirts worth.  Then I tape the top closed so the kids can not open the bags (open bags=big mess).  The bags are then ready to use.   Kids can use Q-tips or their fingers to draw on top of the bag.  I like using the Q-tips because it helps build up those fine motor muscles as well.

I use these bags all the time with my class, especially during guided reading sessions or center activities.  It's something I can pull out quick and the kids love them.  We use them to practice pre-printing shapes, letters, sight words, spelling words you name it!  


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