1st Day of Christmas-One Seasonal Holiday Craft

The last day before holiday break CAN BE chaos, so let me help you bring a bit of good drama and fun into the holiday party.  Do you have plans for a holiday party in your classroom?  Do you freak out every year because you have to figure out what to do during that hour of "fun"?  Maybe you are the teacher and room parent rolled into one.  Are you are the parent to a fabulous kiddo and search for more fun during the holiday? Anyone of any age can create memories and traditions with today's freebie on the Primary Peach's Twelve Freebie Themed Days.

On the first day of Christmas, the Primary Peach gave to me,

 

Hey y'all, this is Valerie from Georgia Grown Kiddos.  Today I have my MOST FAVORITE holiday craft for the kiddos to enjoy creating.  

 

My favorite seasonal activity is Sleepy Potion.  Every teacher needs that special something to give their students during the holiday season. This helpful and inexpensive activity will keep you in the children’s hearts for years to come! 

This activity can be completed in a few minutes at the holiday party, is a unique gift you can give to the kiddos, and with enough drama mixed into the potion, it will help the children fall asleep on the night before Christmas! Simply follow the recipe and add LOTS of drama! Adults know it as hot chocolate, but the kids will revel in the excitement of the special magic that can only be seen by those who still believe!

 

I hope you have a restful and relaxing holiday.  Unplug and be in the moment.  Merry Christmas and we at the Primary Peach wish you happy new year!

For more ideas from the Primary Peach, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

 

Blessings y'all,

Valerie

4th Day of Winter: 4 Science and Social Studies Activities

Ready for some more great ideas?

The Primary Peach gave to meeeeee...

It's Jivey and Valerie, from Georgia Grown Kiddos, here to bring you some science and social studies FUN! First up, Jivey is going to share some things you can do in the upper grades.

SCIENCE: If you teach the weather cycle, this freebie will be great for you! Already taught it? No worries! It will be a great review, and you'll get in some awesome test prep, too. Your kids will be amazed at how snowflakes form and how different each one is, as well as how "Snowflake Bentley" was able to capture these unique crystals on film! Although it's geared for 4th-8th, 3rd-grade teachers, you could do this with some scaffolding and assistance in small groups very easily! You can read more about using this set of paired texts in this post!

SOCIAL STUDIES: Do you love teaching about the American Revolution as much as I do? Then you will LOVE this book! When Washington Crossed the Delaware is a very different kind of Christmas story, as Washington and his men crossed the icy Delaware River to surprise the Hessians:

It has beautiful pictures, as well as real quotes from some of the famous men of the time. You can also provide a little comic relief with this silly Sesame Street skit:

YES EVEN THE BIG KIDS LOVE SESAME STREET! My kids died laughing every year when I showed this!

Now, Valerie is going to share some science and social studies excitement for the young ones!

Hi y'all!  Thanks Jivey for the intro and sharing the day with me!  I have a super exciting activity for anyone, but especially the young ones!  I warn you; I love to make a mess and let the children play with it and get everything they can from the activity.  I saw this yesterday, and it pretty much sums up my approach to the day.

Now, on to the fun!

SCIENCE: I am inspired by Growing A Jeweled Rose to make this "learning experience".  It is Santa Toothpaste. Children can see and feel what happens when 2 or more solutions are combined.

To make Santa toothpaste you will need the following items.  Make sure you read through to the *tips list.

1 cup 6% or higher Hydrogen Peroxide*
1 squeeze dish soap*
desired amount green or red food coloring
desired amount peppermint extract
desired amount glitter, sparkles, fun add-ins
3 Tablespoons yeast*
6 Tablespoons warm water
empty water or similar bottle

*Tips:

• Dish soap- use a light colored liquid if possible, so the food coloring shows more true color.
• 6% Hydrogen peroxide is sold in beauty supply stores and pharmacy stores
• Using regular hydrogen peroxide will work, but it will not be as dramatic of a reaction.  (that is what I used)
• Use fresh yeast packs.  It will take 3 small packs to make 3 tablespoons
• Complete the activity somewhere you can spray off (we did ours on the driveway) or can get messy.

Directions:
Combine the following in the water bottle, careful not to shake the bottle,

• 6% or higher Hydrogen Peroxide*
• dish soap*
• green or red food coloring
• peppermint extract
• glitter, sparkles, fun add-ins

Once you have combined the solution, gently swirl the ingredients together.  

In a separate container, add the warm water and yeast together and mix until there are no lumps in the solution.

Add the yeast solution quickly to the bottle of the first solution.  

The reaction is quick so be ready!

SOCIAL STUDIES: Santa needs help!!  You need social studies skill review.  Here is a solution for you both!  Santa is lost and will need the children's help to travel around the world.  This social studies freebie uses the continents and oceans as a way to help Santa find his way around the world. Click on the image below to link to the download.

Make sure to come back tomorrow for three MORE ideas- this time for seasonal writing!

PIN FOR LATER:

For even more ideas from The Primary Peach, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the latest news and updates!

Helpful Harvest: My Storymaker

Welcome back to the Primary Peach and our month-long harvest of great ideas for teachers!

Hi everyone, this is Valerie from Georgia Grown Kiddos.  I am super excited about a great find I get to share with you!!  

Today I have a fantabulous website to share with you to help your students create and enjoy their own online story.  

The site is My Storyline and students create stories by manipulating the characters and story details within the site.  Check out this short video to see it in action.

Isn't that amazing!!  I love how easy it is to add the characters and actions. You can type in the words too.  I think using it as a publishing tool would be super fun.  The kids can go through the writing process and when they are ready to publish, they can type it into the site and publish it when completed!  This would make for a fun and easy Work on Writing station for center time!!

I hope you utilize this awesome and FREE website.  There are tons of other fabulous tips and tricks to come this month in our Helpful Harvest theme this month.  For even more ideas from The Primary Peach, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the latest news and updates!”


Blessings y'all,
Valerie

Sneak Peek with a Peach Georgia Grown Kiddos

Hi y'all!  This is Valerie from Georgia Grown Kiddos.  Today I am sharing all about my favorite place in my classroom.  My SNEAK A PEAK WITH A PEACH is a bucket filling, spirit lifting, lesson planning time buster.  And what's best of all, you can easily implement it in your classroom!

There are years that are filled with so many memories and fun times that it is hard to recall all the details.  But for one group of kids, now high school graduates, the 2 years I was privileged to teach them were my absolute favorite.   I was in the "academic cottage" with them one year, so finding a favorite part of the room was hard.  We barely had enough room to get around.  There were 26 fourth graders and myself in this so-called classroom, and every day, every single day, my favorite part of the room was in the middle of the children.  It could have been the old wet floor, sharing work on the brown burlap looking walls, or the squeaky door we all tried to cram into when the rain feel like buckets dumping on our heads.  Wherever they were, there was my favorite place to be. I still get teary-eyed when I think of all of them.  I truly miss them, all of them, but that is for another day and another post on my blog.

Today and all this month the Primary Peach will share little peeks into our rooms, a show and tell of our favorite spaces.  My favorite physical space in my classroom was my "Wall of Love".  I had one in every classroom, right next to my desk.  It was filled with love notes and photos, stickers and "treasures" only a primary school child could find and make.  Having a place to display the children's notes and treasures made me smile on hard days, and the children were always proud when I hung up their notes and photos.  Here is what my last wall of love looked like.

Now I am sure you can think of a million other things to display and use in your room like my word wall below.  It was easy to change and add to since it was on my whiteboard.

And a place for sight words is always a plus.  I chose a unique way of displaying them, but I don't think the Fire marshall was happy with my decor choice. 

Info that is required, interactive spaces, and anchor charts are needed, but when you display a note from a child, one that is filled with love, it will boost your spirit and their's too. What type of wall of love do you have?  Do you keep them after you have run out of space? What is your most memorable love note or gift from a child?  Inspire and encourage others by leaving a comment below.  Until next time, you can find me on the porch with a sweet tea!

Come back tomorrow for And They All Fall Down's post about her favorite space in her room.  You're going to just love her!!