I like to party, party!

This year the holiday party and gift exchange was the best ever. We had just enough parents to help out and it showed. A special thanks to those who helped decorate in my last minute scramble. Everything turned out great and I couldn't have asked for things to run more smoothly.



 We had a table set up with the gifts (boys brought a boy gift and girls brought a girl gift) but the teachers did the present handing out to cut back on chaos.










I had a wonderful parent supervising the food table while we sent children a few at a time to fix their plates.










Once everyone was done eating we formed a circle on the floor. The gifts were handed to the children and the rules laid out. A few adults were armed with markers to put names on gifts as soon as they were opened. (The rules included staying on their bottoms and not opening boxes/packages, along with a few others)

When every one had their gift opened and labeled we gave the children the gift from the teachers which included a super cute scarf, pink for girls and blue for boys (of course).

And at the end the parents were given their gifts. A gingerbread boy or girl with their child's head in place of the gingerbread kid's and some homemade cinnamon ornaments in the reindeer gift bag. What a HUGE success. I'm still in awe of how well the party went!

Deck the halls?

Well surely you have to build them first! It is a tradition in my class that we build "gingerbread houses" out of good ole' graham crackers and frosting.This activity is not for the meek at heart, it takes perseverance and practice and repetition because the integrity of the structures aren't always the best. This year instead of eating them as soon as they were finished the children took them home to share with their families.

Whew!! I'm back.

So it's been a little crazy in my life lately and I haven't been able to do a lot of things that I have wanted to (like blog of course). Now that I'm back from my vacation and in the swing of things maybe we can catch up.

We set up our fabulous Dramatic Play area fully equipped with a fireplace, armchair and Christmas tree which has decorations to take off and put on. 

I tried my kids at an "ABC" pattern and most of them got it!The Pattern was Red, Green, White and we made a chain to hang on our Handprint tree. It turned out great...pics to come. 

We made some wonderfully delightful  

Cinnamon ornaments and finally painted them today. 

And what is the holiday without a festive Wreath?! 

Our school is also taking the time to show appreciation to the teachers with the 5 Days of Giving. I love seeing all the things our parents (and kids) come up with but I really enjoy the chance to show my son's teacher how much we appreciate her.

And here is our gift for tomorrow....

Of course he gets in on the action.

Marshmallow Snowmen!!!!