The Keeping Quilt Card and Quilt

In my 2/3 combo, we read The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco. I gave each student a large piece of 20" x 20" white fabric. Using pencils, I had the students draw something on the fabric that was important to them--something that they would want to share with their children and grandchildren. (Let me tell you, some of the drawings were quite interesting!) I also had the students pick out a piece of fabric that they liked. Shhh! The next part is a secret. My mom (Thank heavens for mothers) sewed togethe 28 quilts for me! I made a gift card with an original poem, The Keeping Quilt. On the back of the poem are care instructions for the quilt. The quilt will be a holiday gift from me and my family to the students.

Once the quilts were made, I started thinking how the quilt would also make a great Mother's Day gift or a Grandparents' Day gift.

Holiday Gift Boxes Samples

Holidays are just around the corner. A holiday gift box is the perfect way for the students (or you) to wrap up small gift items. The boxes are easily made and assembled--just need scissors and tape. Fill the box with small candies, a coupon, a class picture, etc. The gift boxes are also great to give a little something to your colleagues during the holiday season.

If you like this box, I have a complete packet of boxes available at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Included in the packet are patterns for two boxes--pyramid and cube. For the pyramid box, there are 3 different patterns (in color and black and white):  gingerbread man, holly berries, Kwanzaa. For the cube, there are 2 different patters (in color and black and white):  Hanukkah and holiday greetings in different languages. There are also blank patterns for students to decorate their own boxes using crayons, markers, stickers, or stamps.

Flat Stanley

I finally did it! I love the story, Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown and have always wanted to make a unit to go with this story. I gathered together the ideas that I have done over the years and compiled them into a HUGE packet!

Activity Pages for Making Words Grades 1-3

Do you use Making Words Grades 1-3 by Patricia Cunningham and Dorothy Hall with your students? Then this is a resource you need! There is an activity page for each lesson (warm-up lessons included) for a total of 161 activity pages! Each activity page includes columns for writing the words, a clipart showing the word that is made with all of the letters, and the needed letters at the bottom of the page--no more wasting time handing out letter cards or looking for missing letters! This is a great resource for the classroom teacher!