Image Map

Friday, December 18, 2015

Grinch Week Recap

Hello friends - I don't know about you but I've officially made it to Christmas break!  We had an early release today and about 12:20 my principal came over the intercom and told us that all the K-4 kiddos had left so we could too.  It was a mass exit to the parking lot!  We have a nice, long 3-week track-out and return to campus January 11th. 
But, before we could make it to track-out we had a week full of activities all about your favorite Mr. Grinch!  
My kids arrived Monday morning to the beginning of our Grinch/Elf shenanigans
Each morning we did some sort of comprehension activity to go along with the book - comprehension questions, moral of the story, retell - and then Grinch themed centers.  My kiddos are used to 3 rounds (total of 45 minutes) for Daily 5 centers each day, and we did 4 rotations this week, so I was pleasantly surprised with how well they worked on their centers - mostly focused and relatively quiet!  
Centers were a review of skills including Common/Proper Noun sort, ABC order, cause/effect, syllable sort, and more.  We even added in a center Tuesday and Wednesday of making and wrapping our presents for parents - handprinted wooden ornaments - turned out great, forgot to take pictures!
When I came up with the idea originally of having Grinch Day a couple years ago, I had wanted to also incorporate Random Acts of Kindness for adults in our school who don't always get thanked for what they do, let alone get Christmas gifts from kiddos like teachers do.  Last year, it just didn't happen and looking back, I wish I had done it because it turned out to be a great lesson.
Tuesday and Wednesday this week during our intervention block, which is right after lunch, we made Christmas cards for a total of 8 individuals or groups of adults in our school.  We attached their cards to a box of Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes and then delivered them. 
The looks on my kiddos faces when we returned from delivering the treats was priceless - they felt so happy to have done something for someone else - what Christmas is about!


Who did we thank?  Our...
school secretary
nurse
maintenance guys (3)
custodian
TA who organizes hot lunch and carpool
2nd grade interventionist
technology guys (2)
security officer
Thursday finally rolled around which was Grinch Day.  Our kiddos wore green shirts, jeans and Santa hats - they usually wear uniforms so this was a treat!
After going at it all week, they finally became friends and sat down to read a book - the Grinch's favorite :)
The day seemed to fly by...
We watched the movie
Ate our Whobiliation Snack
"Roast Beast" sandwiches - Kings Hawaiian Rolls, ham, and cheese

"Who Hash" - Bo Rounds, or big tater tots, from Bojangles - should have gotten more of these, they were the crowd favorite!

Cucumbers and Green Grapes

Green Kool-Aid Jammers
No sugar crash happening for this teacher - less sugar makes for a happy teacher.  After lunch and eating cupcakes was a different story though!
Made Grinch Dust (1/4 cup sugar, 2 drops of yellow and 2 drops of blue food coloring)




We also added some green glitter that I found in my closet after everyone's sugar had turned green.
Watched some more of the movie
Worked on a directed drawing of the Grinch
Went to PE, Art, had lunch and watched some more of the movie
Did our quarterly and Class Dojo awards
Had our holiday book exchange
Finished our Grinch directed drawings
Finished up the movie while they colored their Grinch!
The kids had a blast and I was exhausted when I got home!
Throughout the day my kiddos (and I) added all kinds of Christmas and Grinch goodies to their personalized Grinch bags.  I set these up around my room and they make it so much easier for them to keep track of things like their Grinch Dust, gifts for parents, and more!  I added leftover candy, Christmas pencils, a Christmas Break Reading Challenge from Swimming Into Second, and few other goodies throughout the day.
What a wonderful Grinchy week we had!
Does your school do Grinch Day?