Snowmen Galore

Bowling Pin Snowman…totally cute!

…I thought I'd share with you what we did in class this year for out parent gifts.  I've been making these cutie patooties for well over 14 years and they are a hit.  Keep this in mind for next year because it's worth the effort!

This year we made well over 60 snowmen because we included our 3rd grade buddy class.  …can you imaging 200+ cotton balls per snowman…holy guacamole batman!!  Believe it or not, the kids did a fantastic job!  They were neat and didn't even get glue up to their elbows as I expected.  They followed directions and loved every minute of it.  Here's the how to and the materials needed:

-one bowling pin per student

-200-300 cotton balls per student (they come in bags of 100, 200 & 300)

-LOTS of white glue

-one scarf per student (cut from fleece)

-one sock per student (tied and cut at the top…don't forget to shake it out to remove extra lint)

-one orange nose (made from 1/3 length of reg. pipe cleaner)

-one black mouth (made from 1/2 length of reg. pipe cleaner)

-3 jingle bells per student

-2 goggly eyes per student

1)  Get a parent volunteer to scout around to your local bowling alley and ask for any donations of their old pins.  Some years we have had to pay $1.00 a pin but his year, our volunteer hit the timing just right since they were switching out old pins for new pins and got over 100 pins donated for FREE!!!!!  

This is only half…the remaining half is in our buddy room.

2)  Have students bring in 200+ cotton balls and store them until your ready for the big gluing day(s).  We did this over a two week period.  The first time we just got started and the second meeting, we met for an hour to finish all the gluing.

3) As you have your kids begin gluing, make sure that they start at the bottom and glue one row at a time.  I gave the kids a paper plate with a puddle of glue to share…then dip and glue, dip and glue, etc...

First day results

Second day results…a week later

The (un)finished snowman…200+ cotton balls :)

4)  Now is the fun part.  I went out and purchased (each kiddo donated $1.00 - $2.00) about 2 1/2 yards of wintery fleece (cut into 2 1/2 strips), jingle bells (3 each), black & orange pipe cleaners, and lots of large googly eyes.  We pre-made the mouths, hats (made from a "no-show sock-tied and cut at the top) and the noses (cut an orange pipe cleaner into 1/3 and then wrap it around the pointy end of a pencil…this makes the perfect spiral nose).  Remember to show the kids one thing/detail to glue at a time.  We started with the hat & scarf then moved on to the mouth, jingle bells, and eyes.  We placed the nose on last and then let our snowmen take a nap while we went to lunch.  Adorable!!!

Don't they look so cute? 

5)  Finally, the last thing to do is wrap them up so your kiddos can put them under their trees...but this year, to save time…Boomer our Elf got a little busy!  If you could have seen their faces when they walked in to our room the last day -priceless!  We found Boomer wrapped up a little as well.  Thanks Boomer!  

I really think you would love making these with your kiddos next year or even in January to celebrate Winter.  :) 

Holly Bloggy Christmas Exchange

Merry Christmas!

 

I was so happy to participate in my first Holly Bloggy Christmas Exchange.  I can't tell you how happy I was to get my package in the mail…who doesn't like a package arriving on their doorstep?

So here's what I sent my new bloggy friend Kaci Hoffer over at

Favorite things I sent to Kaci… Candy Cane lip gloss …I love the game and I LOVE any kind of yummy flavored lip gloss.
Kit Kat Bars …Really nothing I can say about these except that I purr when I eat them.
Gumby & Pokey …I grew up watching the cuties on TV and the put a smile on my face.
SSS …Skin So Soft hand cream.  This is probably the best I have ever found!
Awesome stamp …Just because Awesome is what I love to say and tell my kiddos.
Mr. Snowman …I made an extra one this year just for my Bloggy Buddy Exchange.
I hope she liked her goodies.  I know I did from my secret buddy Amy over at  Look at the fun things I received…btw, I can't wait to wear my socks Christmas morning…

LOVE… <3…LOVE !!
Thank YOU Amy!!!

UnStuff your Wallet Linky…Cha Ching

Hi Everyone, I hope you are recovering well from your Turkey day comas and from your shopping.  Personally speaking, the only shopping I'm doing is online and from my TpT wish list and from my favorite clip art shops.  

Shuna at A Pocket Full of Kinders is having a linky party {CLICK} and what better way to get a peek into what we all are stuffing in our carts.  Jump on over to her blog and join the party.  But for now, here's a look into my top three things…oh boy, I can't wait. 

Here's my first grab of the day come Monday…I just adore anything Gingerbread.  Jennifer over at Herding Kats in Kindergarten has this fantastic unit.  I know the kids will have so much fun learning with this…well me too!  Here's the link {HERE}

Next up is...

Deanna Jump's Reindeer Unit…Who can resist this during the month of December?  Not me!  It's in the cart.  Click {HERE} to add it to your cart too.

And finally last up is... 

Mel D's Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations Elf creation.  OMWord…I'm already planning on what to do each day…I can hardly wait to start this Tuesday! I'm already picturing their faces.

{HERE} is the link for her ADORABLE Elf unit

Have fun hitting the "check out" button come Monday…and Tuesday.