These types of days are my favorite! We had a very fun day tiptoeing back into our school routine on the first day after winter break. We kept our Daily 5 the same but did some crafts and light work to help the kiddos have fun. They’re so exhausted on the first day back, almost like mini walking zombies around my classroom. This is why I ease them back into school after winter break.
Ease in with Arts and Crafts
We started by using a die-cut of a white snowman, and I let the kids paint. They were amazed. We have only painted once this year, and it was with watercolor, so they were pretty excited about this. Want a giant stack of cutouts for your kiddos to paint? Here’s an affiliate link to Amazon to stock up!
- Link: Snowmen Cutouts
Here is a peek at some of the finished products. 👆
Flex Seating on the First Day After Winter Break
Then, I let the kids do their reading and ‘writing to respond’ with a partner. I actually saw a vast improvement in the independence working with their partner. Usually, the kiddos wait for me to explain the answer before they seem to understand, so this was fun to watch them figure it out together. We used the story, A Snowman’s Wish out of my Winter Comprehension Pack. They got to pick wherever they wanted in the classroom to read, most of them picked the hard cold floor for some reason.
Make Sure to Set New Year’s Resolutions
And finally, we did our New Year’s Craftivities, which I think turned out so cute! They were asked to set five goals for the remaining school year. This was a great way for them to set goals and resolutions for themselves in a very focused manner.
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Find links to the resources below:
Winter Fiction Comprehension Passages
Winter Fiction Comprehension Passages
