Christmas Snowman Ornament

Every year the 4th graders at Oak Grove make these super cute ornaments to take home. It usually only takes one day to make these. I work in small groups to get this done. While I am working in the small groups, I have a movie playing. We usually watch The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe because I read the book to my class every December.  

Supplies Needed: 

Clear Craft Ornament 

White acrylic paint

Sharpies of assorted colors

Clear Glitter Paint Squeeze bottle 

String/Ribbon (optional) 

1) I call a small group of about 4 students to the back table. Each student gets an ornament that I have already written their name and the year on the back. I place the ornaments on a thin piece of construction paper that is stapled to itself. (Like in a construction paper chain, but only one.) 

2) The students put their index finger in the white paint and make 3 snowmen on their ornament. 

3) I send the students to wash their finger and call another group back. I repeat step 1 and 2 until all of the students have an ornament with 3 snowmen and the paint is dry. (This doesn't take long.)

4) I pull back small groups again and show them how to draw the face, scarf, hat, and arms onto the snow man. I emphasize that less is more. (My students always want to draw all kinds of craziness on one snowman.) 

5) Next, I let the students add clear glitter paint around the ornament to represent snowflakes. Again less is more. If they glob it on, it will never dry. 

6) Then, we let it dry again. The glitter glue takes a while to dry so you may want to keep it over night. 

7) I send these home in a Christmas themed chinese take out box. The kids think they are cute and it keeps the ornament safe until they get home. I get mine at Michael's.  

Tid Bits: 

When painting the snowman, you can use a baby wipe to clean up the edges, or wipe off any mistakes.

You can also use baby wipes to clean the finger used to paint.  

If you do these yearly, like I do, buy the chinese boxes at after Christmas sales, and store them for the next year. 

Thanksgiving Turkey Cookies

Hey guys! Today I want to share with you a cute activity I do with my students every year at Thanksgiving. We make Thanksgiving cookies. I originally got the idea from Betty Crocker, but tweaked it to fit my needs. It can be a little expensive to make, but the students loved it! It cost me $15-20 dollars to get all of the supplies. It can also be a little difficult for the students to squeeze out the icing, but even if it's messy it still tastes good!

Supplies Needed
Sugar Cookies (I usually get these from the bakery because it's softer than packaged cookies)
White & Orange or Yellow Icing- Squeeze kind
Mini M&M's - one large bag
Candy Corn - 6 pieces per cookie

(It's best to buy these materials, especially the candy corn and orange icing, at Halloween and hang on to it until this craft.)

I call the students back in groups of 4. Each student gets a cookie, 6 candy corns, and 2 M&M's. I put a strip of white icing on 1/3 of the outer edge of the cookie. The students then place the candy corn on the icing as feathers. I also put two white dots under the feathers and the students put the M&M's on the for eyes. Okay so here is the hard part. I let the students use the orange or yellow icing to draw on the beak and feet. I show them a completed example for a reference. The beak is the shape of a V under the eyes and the feet are like a peace sign with out the circle. After everyone is finished I let them eat the cookies! You could also let them make two cookies, one to eat and one to take home!