Engaging Christmas Activities Guaranteed to Engage Your Students!

As winter break inches closer, we all know how challenging it can be to keep our little ones engaged and focused!

But I have some super engaging resources that I can guarantee will definitely keep them engaged! And that I can PROMISE!! Also...I've added "Build a Tree" to my Task Mats Bundle shown above!! Go redownload to get this new addition!!

Santa LOVES cookies! Students practice sight words as they feed the cookies to Santa! The magnetic spatula make this resource more engaging than most! Just tape the Santa to a magnetic wand and place a small paperclip to the cards to make them magnetic.

Your students can also practice sight words by leaving Santa some cookies and milk with this fun one!

If you're working on matching upper and lowercase letters, these next few activities are sure to please and increase student engagement!

Feed Rudolph! Another fun one for matching upper and lowercase letters! Your students will be fully engaged while feeding carrots to Rudolph!

Your students will love helping the elf load the sleigh with this one while practicing letter matching!

Working on rhyming words?! Bring some holiday spirit to your classroom with this one!

Students love these puzzles so much, they ask to do them during recess!! Students match and paste pictures to reveal a fun picture! 

Working on counting syllables? Grab this freebie!

CVC Word Activities! Your students will love feeding hot cocoa to Mrs. Claus while practicing CVC words!

Get their minds focused with CVC and CVCe scrambled words!

Every one loves a fun Playdoh Smash Game and especially if you're working on medial middle sounds!

Santa Word Families!! Kids love anything that involves Santa...am I right and they'll have fun building word families with these cute Santas!

Flip a Sentence is a huge crowd pleaser any time of year!!!

Brand new!!! Just posted today!! These are jam packed with engaging learning opportunities! Your students can practice beginning, medial, and final sounds...plus spell and write CVC words!

And if they're ready for reading....here you go! These fluency pyramids are your ticket!

And don't forget about MATH!! These Spin and Add Addition Mats are so fun, your students will ask to do them!

Baking up Numbers! 100% Guaranteed Engagement with this fun counting activity! I mean who doesn't love baking cookies! :)

Ten frame addition and subtraction! Who can resist these cute gnomes and it's a great way for your students to gain fluency with ten frames while learning to add and subtract!

More practice with ten frames, but without adding and subtracting!

Making a ten!! This activity also includes twenty frames too and students love a fun Smash Game!

Here comes Santa again!! Keep building that ten frame fluency with this engaging addition and subtraction activity!

Another ten frame addition activity if you're looking for a way to use those mini erasers you've been collecting.

If you're still working on basic counting skills, check out this one and my new "Roll and Count" Bundle below! 

These Roll and Count Activities are a big favorite and offer so many learning opportunities! Check out the seasonal bundle here and see a video to see them in action! 

Now you can relax!! You have a little prep ahead of you, but your students will be so highly engaged next week, they won't even be thinking about Christmas break....but I know you will be!

Happy Holidays!! I hope you have a fabulous Christmas break!! :)

Educational BUT FUN Christmas Activities

If you're looking for some fun Christmas activities that will keep your students or children engaged and learning throughout December, these activities will do just that! 

Pictured above are my Feed the Gift Christmas Themed Beginning Sounds, Christmas Number and Counting Practice, Elf Emotions, and Gingerbread Gumdrop Cover for CVC words. 

My new "Feed the" activities have been a huge crowd pleaser and spark high interest and engagement...especially for this time of the year when our students are getting a little squirrely! 

You can check out all of my new "Feed the" activities here. 

Rudolph Sight Words is a fun way to practice sight words and it's FREE HERE!

 Christmas Ten Frame Addition is another engaging activity and a fun way to practice addition, and comes in two levels! 

Playdoh is always fun! Download this fun counting freebie here. And if you need some fun last minute gift ideas, check out my gift tag bundle here! I've just added these new Playdoh tags to the bundle.

I hope you enjoy these resources, I know your students and children will! Have fun!! :)

Ugly Sweater Christmas Project

I've got a fun Christmas project for you that I'm super excited about! Decorate a Christmas Sweater is a fun family project to get your families involved during this holiday season! Plus, it keeps the mess and glitter at home...(inserts wink, lol)!

But seriously, this project is going to be a lot of fun and will make a nice bulletin board or door display once done. 

Children get to choose from 10 sweater templates. Print them on cardstock and send home with students. A note to the family with directions is included on each one along with material suggestions. 

Just add the date you'd like them to be returned and send home! It's going to be fun seeing all of the unique designs. 

Grab the sweater templates here. Tag "The Bender Bunch" on Instagram and Facebook so I can see all of your students' sweaters! :)

The Advent Calendar Starts Tomorrow!

If you've been following my blog or social media for a while, then you know that every year in December I host a countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar with a new treat revealed every day! 

That's right! Starting tomorrow, Dec. 1st, I'll be revealing a prize, offer, or giveaway every.single.day from now until Christmas Day!

The Advent Calendar will be hosted on my Facebook page. Every day as we countdown to Christmas Day, the Advent Calendar will be posted revealing a new treat for the day! Be sure you're following and receiving notifications from my page so you don't miss out!

They'll be BOGOFs, flash freebies and sales, giftcard giveaways, shopping spree giveaways, and merchandise giveaways of some of my favorite things!

Here's how you can make sure you don't miss a single day of the event! 

Day 1 STARTS HERE!

Pin it to win it!!

$25 TpT Gift Card

1. Pin my pin below by clicking here.

2. Comment below with your pin URL (not on FB) and your email so I can easily contact you. (Your comment will show up upon my approval due to the large amount of spam comments I receive daily. I will be approving comments all throughout the day if you want to check back to make sure yours is here.)

3. Winner will be chosen Sunday evening (12/1)  just in time for the TpT Cyber Monday Sale!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

25 days of Giveaways Advent Calendar!

Goodbye November! Hello December!

December...ahhh, Christmas...short month...winter break...time with family...Christmas cookies! We all love December! 

But something else to love about December is...

The Bender Bunch Advent Calendar

EVERY. SINGLE. DAY from December 1st to Christmas Day I'll be hosting a giveaway, prize, or offer. Yes, that's 25 days straight of giveaways and deals! (winners announced every evening)

There will be chances to win velcro, t-shirts, classroom tools, classroom resources, gift cards, and much more!

So count down the days 'til Christmas with me on my FB page and enter to win a daily prize! 

A new giveaway, prize, or offer will be posted daily beginning tomorrow through Christmas Day! All entries will be made through TBB FB page! So, if you don't already follow TBB on FB, you can follow here so you don't miss out: https://www.facebook.com/TheBenderBunch

Merry Christmas!

Daily Advent Calendar Giveaway!!!

Have you been following The Bender Bunch Advent Calendar?? Count down the days 'til Christmas with me with a new offer, prize, or giveaway EVERY SINGLE DAY from now 'til Christmas!! 

Here's what you've missed out on so far!

There are some great prizes, offers, and giveaways coming your way, so don't miss a day! To take part in these daily deals and count down the days 'til Christmas with The Bender Bunch, stay tuned to The Bender Bunch Facebook page! All giveaways will be hosted there!

Happy Holidays from The Bender Bunch!

Let Your Aides Take the Lead!

From time to time, my aides will show me an idea they found for a craft, science experiment, or class recipe. I usually just say, "Oh I love it!" Or "What a great idea!" But I never do anything with it. Let me add that I have the BEST paras EVER!!!! 

Then, last month one of them showed me a couple pictures of some Christmas crafts she had found that she thought the kids would love. I was super busy and probably didn't show much interest. I felt bad about it later and decided to take a look and then I saw the pictures in the trash can. I went home that evening feeling really bad about it! 

I thought about how much I, myself, love doing crafts and planning fun activities for my students. How fun it is to stalk pinterest and the Internet for fun ideas....and how especially fun this is during the holidays! 

And I thought, they obviously love it too!!! Of course, it's fun! 

I came in the next morning and asked them if they would be interested in each taking a day to be responsible for a Christmas craft the following week. They would plan it, purchase the materials, and carry it out with the students. They were no doubt super excited and answered yes without hesitation! 

And I must say they both came up with some fabulous ideas and I could tell they both had so much fun!!! :) And so did the kids of course, and I really enjoyed being able to just sit back and enjoy!

Para #1 did a little science with the kids. You all know how crazy we are for science!
Their sparkling water and cotton candy science ended with a fruity raspberry drink!  

She also made friendship tea with the kids from scratch....and they got to make a batch for a family gift as well!

Para #2 did this!

They glued peppermints to their initial and then ribbon was added to make a Christmas ornament.

I have already designated them a day next week to plan a winter craft. I'm so happy I did this! They love it, it's fun for them, and now I only have to plan 3 activities instead of 5!!!

I can't wait to see what they come up with next week!! :)

Give it a try with your paras!

....And be sure to scroll down to the next post to check out my giveaway that ends tonight at midnight PST! 

Thanks a Bunch,