SNOW Close and a Frosty Giveaway!

We are SNOW close to Winter Break! Tomorrow, our winter wishes will come true!! Two whole weeks of sleeping in holiday bliss! Squeal!

This week, we've really spent time just enjoying our time together. The events of last week have reminded us to really take every moment, beyond standards and test scores, to enjoy them...Our heart still aches, and we know it will for a very long time to come, but as teachers we feel we owe it to our own students and those precious angels who lost their lives to keep going. To do what we know to do. To teach. To inspire. To move forward. For the kids. For the teachers. Kids have an incredible way of making the world feel right again, even when it is not. They keep us smiling. Keep us laughing. Keep us moving forward. They help our hearts, and we needed that more than ever from them this week.

So, while savoring every moment, we've been like a regular 'ol Santa's Workshop cranking out the Winter Wares! 

We put the finishing touches on our family gifts...Shhh...Don't tell them...

Here's How We Did It...

They designed their own wrapping paper on an 11x17 piece of white copy paper. We discussed options for small repeated pictures on the paper, but really it's their wrapping paper, so have at it! Some drew candy canes, hearts, snowflakes, swirls, dots, dashes...you get the picture. Sooo wish we had pics, but our camera decided it was on Winter Break a day early... 

Tomorrow, they will walk in to find a gift of their own from their teachers.

Yes, it's B.Y.O.B in our class...

Build Your Own Bag!

Check out the modest snowman on the right. :) 

The same day we painted our finger, we whipped out our own gift bags too!

We fill them with a bunch of goodies like little books, new crayons, pencils, erasers, 

and our personal favorite Snowman Playing Cards!

These make us SNOW happy!!!

We got them {HERE}

We print out game cards for their gift bags with directions to play "Snowman Top-It" (basically "War", but you know, we can't use the "W" word at school), then we make them all pinkie promise they will love these at least half as much as their Christmas presents. Some agree...One says one quarter as much! This one keeps us on our toes.

We do enjoy them...

Now that we've shared our class Winter Wares, we wanted to share something frosty with you too!

It's time for a GIVEAWAY!! Squeal!!

Enter for a chance to win our "Frosty in First Grade: Common Core Math and Literacy Activities for the Season" Unit and kick up your feet all Winter Break long!! 

This Megapack includes centers for the entire winter season and will keep your class busy well past the New Year!  We'll be using them during our Workshop (centers) time when we return.

We'll be giving this unit away to 5 Frosty Friends, so head down to the Rafflecopter below and enter now! 

Giveaway ends Sunday at midnight, Pacific time...unless there's a polar shift tomorrow as the Mayans have predicted...in that case, please check back after the end of the World...

Winners will be announced here on the blog and on Facebook this coming Monday. 
**We'll also have a surprise for you, so be sure to check back!** 

Good luck!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway