Hi!
I have been super sick with a rotten cold all week, so I am just popping in with a quick post today! You would think after sleeping from 7:30 last night until 7:30 this morning that I would be all better, but sadly I am just about ready for another nap.
Parent gifts are a big topic of discussion this time of year, and if you are looking for a simple-but-cute idea, this post will show you a couple of things that I have done over the years! I really like making gifts with my students that require them to do as much of the work as possible – even if they may be less “perfect”, I feel that parents don’t really want a gift from me; they want a gift from their child!
I made this owl ornament with my students last year and the year before. It is a big hit and turns out really well! I get my students to flatten the dough, add the details, and fold it themselves. Once dry, I brought a cardboard box and some gold spray paint outside and we spray painted them right in the box. I suggest gluing the hanging ribbon to the back of the ornament with hot glue in addition to stringing it through the hole, as it does end up being rather heavy. Click on the picture below to see the full instructions:
The first year I did those, my students painted them themselves using liquid paint. They were cute, but it was harder to tell they were owls – ha! The spray paint allows for the details to still show through, and my students loved helping me with that part ;)
We used this kind of air-dry clay for them – I LOVE it! One tub was just enough for all 17 of my students.
We used that clay for this year’s ornament as well:
I have a few siblings of students I had taught when we made the owls, so wanted to do something a bit different this year. However, I love making clay ornaments! These snowmen ornaments are even simpler than the owls, but just as cute. We haven’t painted them yet, but I will definitely come back and add a picture this week so you can see how they turn out. We ended up having 2.5 snow days last week and I was out sick one day, so we are running a little behind!!
The other maternelle teacher at my school does clay ornaments, too. Her students use Christmas cookie cutters to make the shape they like, and then paint them. Another super simple but adorable idea!
Not parent-gift related but here is a little gift for you – have you seen this post from Lucy at forfrenchimmersion.com??
There are a whole bunch of free activities to help you get through this week – including my Christmas Coloriage par mots fréquents worksheets.
I’m sure I will be using them this week!!! If you want access to these free worksheets, all you have to do is CLICK HERE, enter your info, and I will send you the password to my FREE French resource library!
If you are still teaching this week – you can do it! Christmas break is so close :) I hope you enjoy every minute of your students’ wonder and excitement this week! <3
Merry Christmas!!!