Christmas Fun!

We are up to our elbows in icing and elves!  

I decided to give my kids an exercise in cooperation and group work.  I was in Costco the other day and I was INSPIRED by a box of giant gingerbread men (4 to a box!) complete with decorations and icing.  It was SUCH a bargain at $8.99.  These guys were about a foot tall! I knew I couldn't hand the groups a cookie and icing and let them go for it, so I gave it a "dry run" with paper gingerbread men and scrap paper.  I didn't tell them the real thing was to come!  We talked about what went well during their paper decorating, how they got along, how to share an idea, how to solve problems, be heard, disagree, etc... Later that afternoon, I had my mom and teenage daughter bring in the gingerbread men on trays with candy and frosting.  You would have thought I had given my class new cars.  Thrilled.  They got along PERFECTLY (only because of the practice run we did.)   It was a BLAST and a perfect Friday.  

"Ta-daaa!"

We make elves every year using the kids' pictures and handmade paper clothes.  They hang from our ceiling in the hallway until the Christmas break and then we send it all home.  Last year we took pictures of the kids and printed them out in black and white, and saved all that color ink. We did the same this year. First, I cut all of the heads out (leaving the shoulders. which will be covered up with elf costume.)  I was afraid they would cut their heads off if I didn't do that part!  It didn't take very long to scissor around the outlines of their heads. 

Step1:  Cut head and shoulders out of pictures.

Step 2:  Cut out some clothes for your elf.  None of them look the same, all creative and hilariously darling. My only requirement was that they make them around 8 inches tall to fit with the head (which is about 2" tall).  

I did this one for an absent student and as a model for the other kids.  I literally put a half sheet of construction paper over the shoulders and drew and cut out the clothes. We punched out holes with punches for polka dots, and added pointy feet, stripes, hats, etc...

Step 3:  Glue the clothes on the elf.  You will have to have them trim up the edges of the picture that are showing.  They turn out super cute and I think it's because there is no pattern for the clothes.  I had to really work with some of them to make them big enough.  Some wanted to do really tiny clothes, so we worked on the proportion a bit.

Our Texas-themed Christmas hallway, and the elves hang from the ceiling!


Have a great weekend!