5 Fun and Easy Prep Printable Activities for Christmas

I just adore Christmas and making fun learning activities to celebrate. I picked 5 of my favorite to share with you today just in case you need to set up some easy-to-prep engaging learning opportunities for your little ones.


1. A Very Busy Christmas
This packet has 30 fun projects to keep your little ones busy and develop their fine motor control and coordination.


2. Color Create Motivate 
Design a poster or color one of my designs to provide a growth-mindset style message during the festive season!


3. Race and Trace
Revise and consolidate spelling sight words with these differentiated Race and Trace worksheets!


4. Christmas Card Templates
Hop back through some of my archived blog posts to find some super cute Christmas cards for your little ones to make for their friends and family.





5.  'One Page Craft' 
Paper Craft is something that is creative for your students to complete and involves a combination of planning, coordination and fine motor skills. 

They can be completed in a single session and provide for a sense of achievement for students through completing a project.


I hope that has helped you with a few ideas for the next few weeks and that your little ones are as excited for Christmas as we are!

Have a great day.

Mel x

SALE Coming Soon


Build your wishlist because a TpT site wide sale is coming very soon.

All items in my store will be 20% off and TpT will give you a bonus 5% off also. 

It is the perfect time to save BIG by securing bundles !

Aussie friends, the advertised dates reflect the USA timezones so for us it will be more like 27.5th - 28.5th of November.


Head over to my Facebook page to enter a gift card giveaway too.

I'm so excited for this TpT sale - I have so much on my wishlist - I hope you are too!

- Mel x

Scribble Rainbow Heart Wallpaper

You know by now how much I love making pretty patterns to turn into screen wallpapers for my home teacher office each week. Having a freshly inspired workspace helps me feel relaxed and focused to kick off the week.

I love sharing these wallpapers with you too. Simply download the images from google drive from the links below. Store them on your camera roll and choose them for your screen saver and/or wallpaper!

This week I've added a heart detail twist to a favorite - the scribble rainbow polka dots - for some eye popping color before I get into some winter and Christmas themed designs over the next few  weeks.



Find the computer image  HERE
and the phone image HERE


{These are for your personal use only and cannot be redistributed or shared}


I've also just listed in my TpT store a growing bundle of printable pennant banners, printable patterned papers and binder covers to match these weekly screen wallpapers.

If you love adding coordinating pretty accents to your workspace or classroom - this decorative collection is for you!


I've added the pennant to my office and I have the binder cover in my Day Planner (changeable insert) already! 





I've listed the growing bundle and you will access 17 of my previous designs to get started!

I am off to catch the last few special moments of Sunday with my family!

Have a lovely day sweet friends.

- Mel x

End of School Year Teacher to Student Gift

If you are in Australia, your end-of-school-year coincides with Christmas. It is both a busy and wonderful time.

It can also be an expensive time. I wanted to share with you a little way you could give a gift to your students for Christmas and to commemorate the school year. Best yet, it won't break the bank.


Simply print these little poem trees out, laminate if you wish and attach to a fun-size box of Smarties. I picked up 11 boxes today on sale at Woolworths for $3. 

As students eat each different shade of Smartie they can think of a memory from the school year.

End of year student Christmas gift

And they look very cute lined up as a field of Christmas trees (hint - pop a little sticky tape on the base if you want them to stand tall).

I've included a backline version of the tree as well, so you can print on green paper as an alternative to color printing.

Find the printable in Google Drive HERE

Now, get back to your weekend and relax!

Mel x

Free Easy Christmas Card

Hop back to this blog post for some free Christmas Card ideas! Making a Christmas Card is an ideal December activity for children. They can:
  • be creative
  • practice some fine motor skills
  • make something
  • think about other people
  • write a simple message with purpose 
Here is a craft card that we love - it's available for printing from our TPT store

Christmas Card

Christmas Card

Christmas Cards

Have fun making beautiful Christmas cards with your children!

You may also like:

Snowman Coloring Page

Mel From the Pond

Children love snowmen! I have only had the chance to build one in my life but it is a memory that will stay with me forever.

I made a snowman coloring page today that your little learners may like to color and display in the classroom. Usually we just use pencil or crayon but today added some watercolor too. As I am typing this I am considering getting the glitter out too. I never learn my lesson.
Snowman Coloring Page


Download our new snowman coloring page from google drive HERE

Did you know that we also have a Coloring Club? It is FREE and I pop a new page in most weeks after doing a sketch or two. I'd love to have you join, hop over to our blog to find out more.

Snowman Coloring Page

If you'd love to do another creative snowman activity with your class, be sure to check out my new 'Word Snowman' printable paper craft in my TpT store! Students can create a tall snowman with the letters in their name, display with their classmates and compare the height of each snowman based on the letters used.

Snowman

I do hope your little ones have fun making a snowman or coloring one - tag us on social media so we can see them!

Gobble Gobble

November is well underway - although being thankful is important every day, in November we can use turkeys as a theme to help learn more about the holiday Thanksgiving.

Using themes and building an awareness of how people of the world celebrate can increase your students' engagement and hence knowledge and skills.

Below you will find some turkey themed resources that I have in my store. If you are a subscriber of my newsletter you would have received an exclusive free download yesterday with a turkey twist too.

Turkey Writing Topper

This turkey writing topper will make writing super fun! I've included 4 writing frames to give you some ideas.
Turkey Writing Activities For Second Grade

Turkey 100 Chart

There is a turkey 100 chart activity for November in my 100 Chart Puzzle Bundle! 


Turkey Shape Craft

A Turkey Shape Craft makes learning about 2D shapes interactive and creative.


Turkey Pre-writing Tracing Cards

Help your little learners master pen control and early handwriting skills with the turkey cards from my Tracing Lines Bundle!


Turkey Fact Banner

My turkey fact banner will help you make a cute and creative learning space - and your students ca contribute an interesting turkey fact for display.



I hope your students have a turkey-riffic time learning this week and please be sure to stop by my Instagram page to connect!
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Pretty Pastel Screen Wallpapers

pretty pastel wallpaper

I've added some pretty pastel wallpapers to my screens here on my desk. After the fun of the rainbow scribble and 'wild for pink' over the last weeks I needed something calm and soothing.
 
I'd love you to have them too!

Simply download the images from google drive from the links below. Store them on your camera roll and choose them for your screen saver and/or wallpaper!

Find the Computer Wallpaper HERE
and the Phone Wallpaper HERE

{These are for your personal use only and cannot be redistributed or shared}

Find more posts and goodies for your 'teacher space' HERE
Find more screen wallpapers HERE


I am off to catch the last few special moments of Sunday with my family!

Have a lovely day sweet friends.
- Mel x

One Page Craft Pack 4

We would love to give you a sneaky peek at a few of the projects in One Page Craft Pack 4.

Easy Craft for Kids

If you haven't seen these before, a one-page craft is a project your students can work on that is 'all on one page'. Your projects are simple to prep and lots of fun to make.

Winter Crafts For Kids

Christmas Tree Craft

I have included a winter tree (or a Christmas tree by including the star). Students can roll up little balls of crepe paper to make baubles or just color them in!

Christmas Tree Pack

Santa Craft

I've included a Santa - students can simply roll the strips up to give a curled effect.

santa scissor skills craft




Christmas Stocking Craft

For the Christmas stocking, students can just weave thin strips of fancy paper or coloured paper through the cut lines to make a nice grid of decoration or use the included 'plain' stocking to design their own.

stocking craft

Spinning Turkey Craft

A little search on Pinterest reveals thousands of samples of paper craft turkeys, so I thought a little 'spinning turkey' might give you something fun and new to try! You could add some words around the edge if you wish to to integrate it with a topic of study.

Turkey Craft

Reindeer Craft

A 3D reindeer is included. If you have Pack 3 of my crafts you might recall the 3D pumpkin. You roll paper scraps and put them inside before sealing it up around the edges. One cute little variation would be to add some twigs for antlers that the students find outside in the yard.

Rudolph Reindeer Craft

Penguin Craft

A penguin with some snow goggles{add some cellophane} will excite your little learners and

Penguin One Page Craft

they can make a stretchy snowman by concertina-folding a piece of fancy paper.

Snowman Craft

Free Scarecrow Craft

Take a peek back at this post to find a little scarecrow sample of my one page crafts. It is free to download!

scarecrow craft free

Writing papers accompany each of the crafts in this series which will help you turn a creative experience into a literacy session too!

Thanks for stopping by, and for all your messages and feedback - they inspire me to keep creating.

I love that these crafts have been helpful for you and that they've engaged in your little learners.

Have a lovely week friends!



Wild for Pink Screen Wallpaper

Friends, I have a new pretty {with a touch of wild} wallpaper for your screens this week!


This one is called Wild for Pink - add it to your computer, iPads and iPhones for a fresh and fun new feel.


Have a wonderful day and thank you so much for stopping by - have a lovely weekend!

Scarecrow One Page Craft

I would love to share a scarecrow craft project with you today. It is a bonus project to supplement those in my One Page Craft packets.

A 'one page craft' is easy to prep, engaging and simple for your students! You will simply copy one page per student to complete this scarecrow craft. 




Students color or paint before cutting and assembling their scarecrow. 

Add crafty details - like raffia or wool straw for hair - if you choose, to make this a more complex activity for your students.

As an optional extension to the craft or art lesson I have included coordinating 'writing papers' so you can ask your students to complete a piece of writing that you may display with the craft. There are no words on each writing paper, which will allow you to create your own myriad of writing lessons!


This scarecrow project is in my TpT store HERE waiting for you. 

One page craft update


If you love the scarecrow craft you might like to check out Pack 3 of my One Page Craft series. 


This pack includes some lovely crafts for fall and autumn. The craft projects are:
  1. Apple Core - zig zag stretchy center
  2. 3D Pumpkin - students pad their pumpkin with paper scraps and seal with glue
  3. Autumn Leaf Branch - glue leaves to branch
  4. Acorn - students weave paper strips through the slits in the top
  5. Bat - use brads (split pins) to create swinging wings
  6. Fire Pup / Dog
  7. Haunted House
  8. Black Cat - spiral cut tail
  9. Poppy
  10. Sunflower (snip and flip petals)
  11. Taxi Cab
  12. Cake (3 tiers + candles)
  13. French Fries (pocket)
  14. King (add sequins and craft jewels)
  15. Fan (spin blades with a brad/split pin)
  16. Moon (with star hanging from string)
  17. Spider (legs attached with brads)
  18. Pineapple Man
  19. Lil' Bird (flip flap beak)
  20. Alligator Head (chomping mouth secured with brad) 




Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you love the scarecrow as much as we did!
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Owl Directed Drawing

I have a free printable Owl Directed Drawing art project with 4 activity variations over in my TpT store for you!


Simply print the project you would like to work on and supply crayons, pencils or paint to complete with your kiddos.


I love putting a project in a clear perspex display stand as an invitation for students to draw in their 'free' time too! Leave it in a drawing or writing center with paper and supplies. 



Check out my growing library of directed drawing packets if you would love to create more projects for your students and find more free samples here on my blog. 



Thank you so much for stopping by today - I appreciate you so much!

- Mel x

Rainbow Scribble Wallpaper

I wanted to add something bright, happy and energetic to my desk today. I hope my Rainbow Scribble screen wallpapers will help you do that too!

rainbow pattern

rainbow screen wallpaper

Changing simple accents, like my desk wallpaper, each week helps me to tap into fresh creative thoughts and feel inspired to do great new work.

Find the wallpaper over on our website!

It's for your personal use only and cannot be redistributed or shared.
I am off to catch the last few special moments of Sunday with my family!

Have a lovely day sweet friends.

- Mel x

Make a Drawing Book


Do your students love Directed Drawing activities? Aly from Just a Primary Girl and Erica from The Enthusiastic Class mentioned through the week using pages from my packets to create books for their students. Aly uses them in her 'work on writing' stations and Erica is making a gift for her students for Christmas. 



I thought it might be nice to offer a generic cover for a 'drawing book' in case this is something you might like to do for your little learners. Here is the book I made for Sam yesterday.

I added a 'My First Directed Drawing' packet to the series this week with my little man in mind and used the pages from this packet. It has 10 super simple pictures that students are often asked to draw.


I just printed the 'Big Draw' pages from the 4 project alternatives within my packets, as I wanted to give Sam plenty of room to draw. I also placed them side by side when I collated the pages so he can use the prompt page directly next to the drawing page. 

I've included 2 alternative covers for you and students can spend some time coloring and decorating them as well as writing their name as the 'artist'.



Find these covers as my gift to you, in Google Drive: Drawing Book Covers

The covers will work with any of the directed drawing titles in my store!




Thanks so much for stopping by, have a wonderful weekend!

- Mel x