Hello Everyone! I am hoping you all have had a wonderful weekend. We finally had some time to put up some Christmas decorations at the house. We are keeping it very simple this year as we focus on the JOY of Christmas rather than the overwhelming commercialism. It feels so good to have made the decision not feel like we have to keep up with the "Grizwalds!" :) Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loooooove decorating for the holidays, but there are more precious things on which I want to spend my time and resources this year! Creating "hand to head to heart" activities for my first graders is just one of those things. We had a blast talking about adjectives last week and using them in our writing. As a hands on activity, the kids made little Santa's with big, red, cherry noses! They turned out great! Patterns for these are in my Santa's Stuck unit. You'll find the link to the unit in last week's post! We also added a festive hat to our fun little monster!! Coming up soon is our Grinch Day! Wait! What am I talking about?! I mean Grinch week!! For the past several years, we have done a day or two of Grinchy learning! But I have added so much to the unit to cover what our curriculum says we should be teaching, that the unit is now comprehensive enough to take a week!! This year I added a section on digraphs, a candy cane heat energy science lesson, and more author's message ideas. (88 pages total!) Here are a few pics! Unit includes patterns for this cute little green guy and author's message!! Unit includes lots of math opportunities! I am so excited to share this fun learning opportunity with my kids! I know in the past I shared my Grinch unit with you, and then I was informed that I couldn't infringe on the name Grinch. But since I am not selling his name, just celebrating and provided a learning experience for young children, for which Dr. Seuss had such passion, I am going to re-offer the unit to you for download. I love Dr. Seuss and what he stood for so much. I know he would be so proud to know that we are still discovering and learning through his wonder-filled work! So many of you already have my old unit, so you are welcomed to re-download this new and improved one! I am trusting you will not sell it! :) Right??? :) CLICK HERE if you are interested in celebrating that green guy!! 10 more days until Christmas (Winter) break! I love this time of year with first graders! The wonder in their eyes and their sweet innocence are so contagious! I know it keeps me going, and I hope it does you as well! Till next time, have a fabulous week and enjoy each moment, and every grin!! Joyfully! Nancy