Goodbye 2018, Hello 2019...ideas for the New Year {also including Weekly Wrap-Up - Week 16}

Happy new year!

I hope you all had a wonderful break and a great start to 2019!!!

I must apologize for not writing the Weekly Wrap-Up for Week 16 a couple of weeks back when school actually finished for the break....truth is, I took a much needed BREAK!!! Yes, I have enjoyed every minute of the past 2 weeks with my family and friends and finally sat down yesterday to plan for the weeks ahead.

So what's to come? I'm thinking of starting off the week discussing the brand new year. Here are some ideas if you are planning ahead too!

Happy New Year Poem

I have this poem ready to go (also prepped it in my Pocket Chart Centre for students to rebuild using the word cards)

New Year Goals

I have various learners in the classroom - some are independently writing and others are still using pictures to communicate their thoughts. I did this activity with them last year and they all turned out so cute so put them on our classroom door! We brainstormed goals as a class (i.e. get better at hockey, learn to cook, write my name).

Write the Room - New Year

I set up a Write the Room activity every few weeks and they are always such a hit with the students! I've included many different worksheets for you to choose from (the one in the picture below requires students to find the word and fill in the missing letter).

You can find my Write the Room - Happy New Year activity here.

Print and Go - Happy New Year Activities

I have had many requests over the years to make simple print and go activities. Here's one pack to celebrate the new year!

There are 14 activities included! Here's a close up of a few of my favourites!

You can find all of these print & go activities in my Happy New Year! Ready to Use Math & Literacy Centers Pack on TpT.

January QR Read-Aloud Listening Center

I'm printing my January QR Code Listening Center as I write this post. Have you tried setting up a listening centre like this? I actually don't have a working CD player (or even many books on CD as they can be pricey!) so I created a listening centre where students can scan the QR code with the iPad and the read aloud comes to life on the screen. You don't even need a book!

*Note: I upload all videos on SafeShare so that no ads pop up while students are using the device.

Scan below to try these books for January!

You can find these books (and lots more!) in my Listening Center QR Code Read-Alouds - January pack on TpT.

Here's my Weekly Wrap-Up -> Dec. 17-21 ... again, so sorry it's late but perhaps you can use some of these ideas for next Christmas!

Christmas Loose Parts Play

I have been using more and more loose parts throughout the classroom. We set up this tabletop activity for students to create a winter scene/story. A lot of the pieces are from Dollarama.

Nativity Felt Board

I set out the felt pieces for students to retell the story of the 1st Christmas.

Poinsettia Drawing

To wrap up the week, we set out this beautiful poinsettia at the Science and Discovery Centre for students to look closely at and draw.

Decorate the Gingerbread Man

Using loose parts once again, we had students decorate the Gingerbread Man. They can take a picture of their finished work with the iPad or draw it.

Bethlehem Directed Drawing

This idea came from my teaching partner in the class down the hall, Mrs. Caruso. It is a directed drawing of Bethlehem! I showed the students how to use simple shapes (rectangle, circle, square) to add buildings and features to their picture. I love how they all came out so different! Even the Year 1 (JK) students were able to do it!

Elf Traps

After reading the book Can You Catch an Elf, we had students make traps for our elf!

Find Santa! (Math Game)

Instead of starting on a new math unit, I wanted the students to have fun with this Finding Santa game. They called out a number and I turned it over. If they found the Santa sticker they won! We played it in various ways (numerals, tally marks, etc.)

The Finding Santa {A Number Game} is available in my TpT store.

Here are my weekly plans if you'd like to take a closer look:

You can download the Week-at-a-Glance PDF version{here}.

If you would like the editable version to modify this for your own class click {here}.

You will need Power Point to edit.

I used the following fonts if you wish to keep it the same (free to download):

KG Primary Penmanship

KG Behind These Hazel Eyes

I've had some requests to download my Week-at-a-Glance using the 4 frames (which I used last year). It's only one page and very condensed if you prefer to use this method for recording your plans.

(The 4 frames are pertinent to the Ontario Kindergarten Curriculum.)