Thoughts on Thursday: My Favorite Christmas Traditions!

Hi guys!! Welcome to another Thoughts on Thursday! Thanks for joining Kristi and I for December's topic: Your Favorite Christmas Traditions!

I love Christmas! It really is the most wonderful time of the year. There is so much going on all around the city and the state and the Internet and everything!

I know in our family we always do Christmas in a big way. One reason: my grandmother was born on Christmas Eve and we have her birthday party every year on that day. We do it themed and have the best time.

One year we did the Grinch!

We also have our Elf, Sparkle. She has a pet reindeer, Ginger. And graphic tees. 
We've had Sparkle for about 7 years now. She comes each Thanksgiving and hangs out with us. 

Another family tradition is the purchase of our Hallmark Keepsake ornament for the year. This year it's bittersweet because it's the final ornament in the Santa's Sweet Ride series. We started this when Carly was six and this is the tenth and final one. 

Carly and I watch movies starting Thanksgiving day. Sometimes sooner. Okay a lot of times sooner!!
Hot chocolate and movie time!! That's our favorite things to do!

In the classroom I love to decorate for Christmas!! I know that not all of my kiddos celebrate Christmas, but we can still have fun with the themes and activities!!



We even have a classroom scout elf!! 


This year I'm doing it with my sixth graders. They love it, too! It's just something fun and new for them. And they are only 11 years old!! 

Though one of them did touch Gatsby and he was sick. They wrote him get well soon notes!! 

He brought stickers!! 

And of course we love playing all sorts of Christmas themed games!! My favorite, any math game that let's us have fun and celebrate the season!!
These are from my Addition and Subtraction shortcuts centers. These centers help with Mental Math. They are helpful for reinforcing mental shortcuts like adding and subtracting 10 or 20 and doubles and doubles plus 1.  


And because I love Christmas and you so much, here's a little Christmas present!! Here is a FREE center for place value sorting. 


Well thank you so much for stopping by and reading up on my Christmas traditions, both in and out of the classroom!

Make sure to check out the linkup below to read about other Christmas traditions from my teacher friends! 

Join us for the next Thoughts on Thursday: January 5th!

Happy Holidays!

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Happy Birthday to The Primary Punchbowl! #LetsCelebrate

Oh my goodness you guys! I cannot believe that my Punchie buddies and I have been blogging together for a whole year! The Primary Punchbowl is turning 1!

It is so exciting to share our celebration with you. I am so incredibly fortunate to know each and every one of the amazing Punchbowl ladies. They inspire me all the time and I am always in constant awe of the fabulous-ness of their lives!

So in honor of our celebration we are giving you cause for celebration as well with TpT stores on sale, a blog hop to gather some freebies, AND a rafflecopter to enter for a chance to win some more goodies!

My entire store is on sale for 20% for three days. Enjoy!


How do you celebrate exciting things in the classroom? I love to give kiddos a special treat such as line leader for the day or a giant pixi stik or a bag of candy loot. They love just to have happy birthday sung to them by the whole class! It's a policy of the school that we don't do cupcakes or actual parties so acknowledging them first thing in the morning makes for a great big smile on some faces!!

I used to give the birthday boy or girl a sticker "ribbon" to wear all day but you know stickers, they get un-sticky after being put on shirts, sweatshirts, pants, taken off, placed on books and binders, etc. and they were getting a little expensive at my local teacher store. I've also tried brag tags and birthday bags and birthday buttons. But I thought I'd try something different.

So I made some Birthday Bracelets!


So simple. I just print them out and tape them around a little wrist. They are perfect for helping to make a child's day a little more special! These are wider than most paper bracelets - they remind me of slap bracelets! I will print them out on card stock, cut apart, and keep them on hand for birthday days!


So here's your freebie! It's the Birthday Bracelets - but they're EDITABLE! And black and white! The black and white ones not only save ink, but could be given to the special kiddo so they can color it in and make it theirs! Maybe print out a blank one and they can write their own name, too!

Click {HERE} to make a copy for your Google Drive so you can start editing and making it your own. You will need to be signed in to your Google account (it's free!) to access and edit it.

Thank you so much for celebrating with us!

Hop on over to visit Elisabeth at Literacy and Lattes to continue this fabulous celebration! Make sure to visit the Punchbowl to enter the Rafflecopter and Happy Celebrating!

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Thoughts on Thursday: Celebrating Fall in the Classroom! {Freebies}

Hi guys! Has your fall so far been going by in a very busy blur of pumpkin flavored everything and stuff to do? Mine has and it's insane and awesome! I'm so happy to be back today with my #bloggybestie Kristi from Pelicans and Pipsqueaks for Thoughts on Thursday for this month. 

We are talking about Fall in the Classroom today! Why? Because, pumpkins of course. 

There are so many way to celebrate fall in the classroom. You can do pumpkin things, turkey things, bat things, leaf things, coffee things-ok, maybe not so much that last one. But you get the idea. I wanted to share with you my favorite ways to celebrate this special time of year!




I love to read books about all things fall. A few of my faves include: 
The Biggest Pumpkin Ever, by Steven Kroll
How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara
Apples and Pumpkins, by Anne Rockwell
From Seed to Pumpkin, by Wendy Pfeffer
Scaredy Cat, Splat, by Rob Scotten
Pumpkin Hill, by Elizabeth Spurr

and my FAVORITE
Spookley the Square Pumpkin! by Joe Troiano

This book is so fun and teaches such an important lesson: We're all different on the outside and that's what makes us special and unique!



We read the story and make our own square shaped pumpkins. 

Around this time of year, we are learning how to balance equations. So I made this little activity so the kids could decorate with a fall theme while practicing a great skill. 

You can read all about this and grab it for free HERE.

We also do a ton of addition and subtraction review with tens frames. How cute are these ice trays from Dollar Tree? 


This fun little larger than life whole group and center activity can be found in my TpT Store for free also!
Who doesn't love candy?? Especially Halloween candy because it comes out in like August and it's everywhere you go so you might as well eat it, right? 

Here is a simple, Fun Friday activity for you! 
Fall Bingo!

Simply print it out, cut out the call cards, pass out the bingo cards and some candy for markers, and you're set! The kids get to play a game and eat candy. What could be better? This is such an easy thing to put together and play on a rainy day for recess, or as an end of the day reward and it fits the season without Halloween concerns. 

Download this for yourself HERE and then head to Dollar Tree to get some candy!



It's not really a secret that my favorite flavor ever (until Christmastime) is pumpkin spice. Of course I want my classroom to smell just like the inside of Starbucks at this time of year. So I make sensory bins and it's amazingly simple!


I blogged about my sensory bins last fall when we launched The Primary Punchbowl (birthday is coming up soon! Stay tuned!) Read about how I made this!

Fabulousness!!

I use my Brimming with Blends onset and rime activity with these bins. It's fun! 



So fun, simple, engaging, and smells fabulous!

Well that is all I have to share with you today. I hope I gave you some ideas for celebrating this season in your classroom. Here is the line up for the rest of the year: 

Put us on your calendar and check back!

And please feel free to link up with us below! 



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When a Teacher has NO time: Freezer Meals!

Hi guys!! I am having such a fun October so far! Enjoying pumpkin spice and flavored everything.



And Hocus Pocus, of course. 




And the fact that Trader Joe's has everything you never knew you needed until you saw it there.



There is always so much to do this month. We've got homecomings and hay mazes and birthdays and trainings and all sorts of things so tha means, there's pretty much no time for anything else. 

So I've also been freezer meal prepping! I made about 12 meals in 4 hours and when I posted the pic I got so many requests for the recipes that I decided to write a post. Here goes!

These are the ones I made: (I linked to the original recipes)

I also precooked ground beef and seasonings. 

I did do some tweaking to a few recipes to make them freezeable or healthier. Even though I am well aware that Velveeta is not at all healthy. Ever. Not even a little. But it's really good!!

I also make homemade cream of chicken soup because it is sooooooooo easy and sooooooooo good. (see below)

Crockpot Pizza
Label the bag: Cook on low 3 hours. Add biscuits when 30 minutes left.
Place in bag: 
1 Pound of cooked Ground Beef
6 oz pepperoni
1 Green Pepper Chopped
1 Onion Chopped
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
1 Clove of Garlic Minced
1 Teaspoon of Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
24 oz pizza sauce
2 Tablespoon Tomato Paste

Cut regular size biscuits into quarters. Place in separate bag. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp. Italian Seasoning mix. Freeze. 

Creamy Ranch Chicken and Potatoes
Label bag: Cook on low 8-9 hours. 

I used the recipe to the T, except I made homemade cream of chicken soup (I use Pinch of Yum's recipe) and used the Whole 30 Ranch Dressing spices recipe. 

Chicken Alfredo Lasagna
This one is a bit different. I mix the sauce and spices and freeze that. Can't really freeze the pasta and cheese. 
Label bag: "Mix cheese blend with Ricotta. Layer in crockpot - 1 pasta, 2 sauce, 3 cheese. Repeat; top with mozzarella; cook on low for 3-4 hours"

Put in bag: 
2 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 jars alfredo sauce (I use Trader Joe's, but Ragu makes a yummy one!)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. minced garlic

Other for cooking day:
2 cups Italian cheese blend
15 oz ricotta
9-12 lasagna noodles
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Chicken Alfredo Tortellini
Label bag: "Cook on high 6-8 hours. Shred chicken. Add tortellini 15 min before serving."
Place in bag:
1.5 lbs frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3½ cups Alfredo sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
½ tsp black pepper
For day of:
4 cups refrigerated three cheese tortellini
Pot Roast and Potatoes
Label bag: "Pot Roast and Potatoes: Add water to cover roast. Cook on low 6-8 hours."
I sometimes have to use two bags, one for the meat, one for the veggies. 

Place roast and veggies in bag. Mix stock, water, and seasonings. pour over roast in bag.
2 to 3 lbs Chuck Roast
5 Potatoes cut into chunks
1 Onion cut into chunks
4 Carrots
2 cups Beef Stock or broth
2 cups Water
½ tsp Garlic Powder
½ tsp Onion Powder
½ tsp Italian Seasoning
¼ tsp Real Salt to taste
¼ tsp Pepper to taste

Cheeseburger Soup
Label the bag: "Cheeseburger Soup: Cook on low 6-8 hours; Add roux and cheese 30-45 min before serving." 

Place in bag: 
4 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small white or yellow onion, chopped
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
3 cups chicken broth
COOKED 1 pound ground beef

In a smaller bag I premade the roux
3 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 (16 oz.) package Velveeta processed cheese, cubed OR 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Bacon Wrapped Chicken
I labeled the bag: "Bacon Wrapped Chicken: Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove chicken, beat sauce with whisk and pour over chicken."
4-8 bacon slices (I use turkey bacon)
4-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp garlic powder
½ cup flour

Instructions
Wrap bacon around each chicken and place in bag. Blend soup, sour cream, garlic powder and flour and mix with wire whisk to blend. Spoon over chicken. Lay flat to freeze.

Sausage and Peppers
Label bag: "Cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve with french bread or noodles."

Put in bag: 
Sliced bell peppers, all colors
Sliced turkey sausage
1 can Italian diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

Italian Chicken
Label bag: "Italian Chicken: Place in crockpot, top with 1 cup Parm cheese. Cook on low 6-8 hours."

Place in bag:
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
16 Ounce Bottle of Italian Dressing (I used non fat)
Italian Seasoning
4-6 Potatoes scrubbed cut in half or wedges (you can peel if want)
1/2 bag of mini carrots

For day of: 
1 Cup of Parmesan Cheese

Chicken Fajitas
Label bag: "Chicken fajitas: Cook on low 6-8 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Mix honey and lime juice and add to crockpot with shredded chicken. Toss and serve."

Place in bag:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 red, orange and green bell pepper, julienned
1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
For day of cooking:
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp honey

And serving:
Flour tortillas, sour cream, cilantro, salsa, guacamole, Monterrey jack or cheddar cheese

Honey Dijon Pulled Pork
Label bag: "Place in crockpot. Add 1/2 cup water. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred pork. Serve with rice."

Put in bag:
Pork loin
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (or whole grain mustard)
2 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme

Pizza Muffins
These are just so quick and simple and yummy. I'll make a double batch and freeze them in gallon bags. Pull out, reheat, and serve with pizza sauce. Delicious!


And that's it. One very busy day of shopping and prepping and baking, but it makes life easier during the month. We eat on these for a few nights and have leftovers for lunch. 


I pin a lot of my meals on my Crock Pot Board on Pinterest. You can find and follow it HERE.

Thanks for reading!!
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