Gingerbread Houses: Yummy Architecture!

HAPPY WEEKEND! 

Are you looking for a family project for the holidays? 

One that is certain to please both architects and literature aficionados? 

Look no further for inspiration. 

BEHOLD. 

I give you Gingerbread houses! 

These beauties were created in a Floridian preschool.

A Kindergarten Christmas: Seasonal Crafts

It's a KINDERGARTEN CHRISTMAS! 

Happy birthday to me! I'm still celebrating! 

If I'm still downloading pictures, that means the celebration can continue, right? Could there be a better plan than orchestrating a school author-illustrator visit to 150 of my closest Kinder-friends: On.My.BIRTHDAY? I think not! 

This is the week that I'm bunking in with my WonderPeeps in oh-so-freezing Ohio. We've been long in conversation about my official school visit to the WonderKinderTwinzees elementary. They have been patiently awaiting my return flight. Whooop! Whooop! 

So what you're about to 'see' are the various projects that were underway and hanging in anticipation of Christmas around the corner. Let's get started with this simple and so clever 'gift wrapping' from the Christmas box here in the basement. 

This simple snowman gift wrap was saved with the keepsakes from earlier years. 

This is actually WonderBoy's Christmas project from a couple of years back. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again: "Simple always works!" 

How can you go wrong with handprints at this time of year. 

Here's a bulletin board featuring the proverbial Reindeer antler handprints. 

Handprints can also be painted to create Christmas trees! 

The stars are affixed and awaiting their photograph adornment. 

Candy Canes afford the opportunity to think about patterns! 

Think of all the fine motor work involved in creating these gems. 

Here are some ornaments, with buttons drying. 

These will hang on Christmas trees for years to come! 

Here's a little peek at our all kinder-fun-concert! 

Getting this party started! 

I was fortunate to have our daughter in attendance to act as photographer. 

I just adore seeing the rapt attention of the crowd -- 

after the fact! 

And here are my two dignitaries helping out on the BIG stage. That's Mr. Eyelashes holding my original 'quilt' (that I designed and sewed) as one of the illustrations within my picture book version, of 

"You're Wonderful." 

Little Red is holding the traditional hardback picture book, so that the crowd can compare the two to one another. Gotta be my favorite part of every show! 

A GREAT time was had by all!

Last week I shared this angel keepsake tutorial. 

These were made in Preschool, but would also be a delight for Kinders. 

Click back to see them in all their glory! 

I also had an article recently with Christmas bulletin Boards and Decorated Classroom Door Ideas. 

Click either image to go back to that earlier article. 

It's still my lucky birthday weekend! 

I've put my entire TpT store on sale at 20% off through today and tomorrow..... 

Now's the time to get some new music for the new year ahead! 

By all means, I appreciate your pins. 

That's the kindest way to bring some visibility to my travels. 

And we conclude the weekend with one more sharing of this image I created to honor those at Sandy Hook Elementary. I took the photo in Indy at Union Station, in the midst of my SDE presentation last week. Even at that moment I knew I wanted to create an uplifting montage. 

Please feel free to share it in your social networking circles. 

Happy Resilient Birthday to MOI!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

It has been an incredible year! 

This was my GOLDEN year.
All last year? I was 56 and born in '56! YIPPEE!!!

So now we're on into the uncharted territory BEYOND Gold! 

What comes next? 

This has been an amazing year! 

Certainly VEGAS was a professional highlight. 

Getting to meet so many of my cyber friends --

all at the same time? 

PRICELESS! 

My all time favorite YouTube video, FAVE of all time, was captured in Vegas. 
A special thanks to Piggy 5 @ #JonCanDance for the BIG ending! 

{{{and this my friends is why you need to get on Twitter

and join Monday night, 9 P.M. twitter chat on the hashtag: 

#Kinderchat

so that your world expands!}}}

This has been a year of many firsts!

This was the year when every child in kindergarten received a copy of my second picture book, 
"Tall Giraffe." 

Yes. I felt like Santa-Oprah! 
It was an incredible feeling to hand every child my book:
To. Keep. For. EVER! 
Special thanks to #HeatherPulledThatRabbitOuttaHerHat!
You MUST see the incredible artwork created 
in anticipation of my arrival. 

It was also the year I got my own little mini-me! 

Thanks to #Nancy'sGotMadSkills

I can see from my Pinterest analytics that this next image is apparently THE most pinned image from all of my school visits of the last year.

Many thanks to Amber of KindergartenRocks for the most instantaneous school visit ever
created as I'm driving through a new area code! 

Next time the pie-is-on-me! 

And this image is the most 'seasonal' pin-worthy apparently. 



Running neck-and-neck with this anchor chart. 

Alas. My birthday reflection and celebration is directly in the midst of the anniversary tomorrow for the observation of the unthinkable at Sandy Hook Elementary. How fast a year travels in that regard. There are indeed angels in heaven -- all too prematurely. There are many in the blogging community ~~ and the world at large, who are gathered around the concept of doing acts of kindness this weekend in honor of those same angels. 

What holiday cheer could you spread in your community -- and dedicate your efforts to the fallen children and their amazing teachers and the educators who stepped up to protect the innocent? Each good deed adds to the collection of light being spread in their honor. 

I promise to get back here and add the links. 

Right now we're running out the door. 

Time for my Kinder-appearance for the WonderTwins and their 150 best friends! 

Happy birthday to me! 

Pay it forward, folks. 

Christmas Wreaths for Kids on Paper Plates!

WREATHS! Christmas wreaths by little hands.

Wreaths with tissue paper build on paper plate foundations! Here's another 'no-fail' family project sure to please. The wreaths above are hanging on a classroom tree, decorating the space for everyone! 

The images below are the hands of my WonderPeeps at work! I just flew into oh-so-freezing Ohio last night and I thought this would be a  fitting activity to replicate while we waited for the school bus to afternoon kindergarten.  

We had suitable materials on hand: 

GLITTER glue pens -- that we finished off with this effort. 

Tissue paper, glue..... 

and the requisite paper plate foundation. 

"Dot, dot -- not a lot!" 

I'm back up here in the frozen tundra for another SDE Kindergarten conference. 

This week it was a return to my Hoosier roots. 

What a triumphant way to get to the conference center: 

LIMO FOR A DIVA!!!

This week it was a different slate of presenters. 

From l-to-r: Kim Adsit, moi and Shari Sloane. 

Here we are in a quick huddle, right before my keynote. 

Here's a quick peek at the involvement of the participants during my keynote. 

They are in the midst of singing and signing, 

"Red, White and Blue." 

This event was held in downtown Indy

in the midst of the historic Union Station, site of previous train operations. 

My breakout space was in the midst of all the historic beauty. 

I was absolutely fascinated with these incredible stained glass windows. 

There were a pair -- like bookends at either end of the rotunda. 

Since my room was up on the 2nd floor, I could walk right up to see the windows! 

Here's a final parting thought. 

A teacher 'quote' of sorts. 

I found the words in a Google search of teacher quotation images. 

There was no source given for the concept. 

In the process of attempting to juggle WonderTwins and write this article, my computer got shut down. Now how did that happen? I went back to search for the site where the above concept originated. Alas. I couldn't find it. I think it was called Happy something. Happy people? Happy teachers? No such luck as of yet.

In any case, while I was looking through various images, I found the following quote from Allan Bloom. and decided to go back and make a second choice of uplifting images. Which is your favorite?