I feel like a Grinch when it comes to this time of year in the classroom. I still ask my kiddos to do work and try to avoid the fluffier activities. I also don't like to have holiday parties. They don't need all that extra junk and we always have so much leftover food which is not only wasteful-- I'm afraid it will attract critters!
So this year I decided to do something different. I invited my parents to come in and set up rotations at each table. (I made the mistake of walking into Lakeshore at the time of year where you stop counting how much you've spent). I left everything very open-ended-they could paint their hands and make it into whatever they wanted. They made a snowman snack, decorated picture frames, decorated Gingerbread Boys/Girls, used watercolors, designed polar bear puppets and made designs using colored pasta.
The ultimate best part was seeing the parents roll up their sleeves and paint right alongside their kiddos! One of my kids summed it up for us "this is the best day ever Miss Trayers!"
Here are some examples of what they made:
My room looked like a craft store exploded!!!1
My favorite one-how creative-that's her handprint!
A pasta power ranger!
I'm so glad I decided to forego the usual tradition and try something new this year! I think I will make it our new class tradition! :)
Lots of creative fun. That's probably not something parents make time to do with their kids. They must have loved it for sure.
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