Today in Saskatchewan, they announced that schools would be closed indefinitely. That really hit home for me and suddenly made it feel very serious.  As I’m sure many of you know,  they never do that.  It could be -1000 degrees with a full on white out blizzard and the schools would be expected to remain open and operating as per usual.

I’m not going to lie, I feel a bit weird being on social media right now as I really don’t know what to say.  I am not a news outlet and I really don’t know a lot about this virus (I am reading more to educate myself) but one thing I do know is kids and teaching. So, I thought I would put together a list of online educational resources (most free) for you to use during this time. Obviously, non educated activities like cooking, going for walks, baking, cuddling up for a family movie are all great things to do as well!

Online Education Resources:

Online read alouds with Peter H. Reynolds!
Peter is one of my favourite authors he has written the book I am Peace, Be You!, and The Dot!
Scholastic Canada: Free activities, quizzes, Discussion Guides, videos.
Vooks– Streaming service of animated storybooks. Right now they have a one month free trial… let’s hope they extend it!
San Diego Zoo Live Stream: Tune into an animal of your child’s choice.  The San Diego Zoo has 24/7 live cam on most of their animals! Your child can research online, observe via the live cam, and create a report (written essay, picture book, oral presentation, depending on age!) to show their learning!
Fun Brain– Free Math Games (Pre k- Grade 8)
Math Playground– Free Math Games (Grade 1 – Grade 8) This is a US based website so grade levels and curricular content may be different than Canadian content but worth a shot!
Nasa Kids Club– Primary Science activities, resources and worksheets.
Nat Geo Kids: Science Experiments, videos and so much more!
Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems – Mo welcomes you into his studio at home and guides you through drawing activities using one of his favourite characters as inspiration! Mo Willems was always super popular in my classroom- I’m sure your young kids will love this!
Ryan’s World– tonnes of fun science experiments!
Go Noodle– This was my favourite resource for brain breaks when I was teaching!
Teachers Pay Teachers– this is an online teacher resource centre.  FREE (and ones you can pay for too) lesson plans, math work sheets, novel studies, phonics sheets, literally anything you can imagine. I would suggest supplementing the online resources and read alouds with this material if you want!

This is just a start, I will update this with more resources as I discover them! I hope you find these helpful! I am sending you all lots of love during this crazy time!

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Here’s how to make the Christmas Light (Finger)Prints:

Supplies:

• board canvas’ (these come in a 3 pack)
• sharpie (I prefer the dollar store brand)
• paints (your school will likely have these but I grabbed a pack from the Dollarama and they worked great)
• baby wipes
• paper towel

Prep:

• grab the supplies from the dollar store
• write the words love, peace, or joy in hand writing.  I like to do a mix of those three words but you could ask your students to brainstorm holiday words they would want to use.  You will want to write these WORDS before the lesson begins.  I always took the canvas’ home and did it while watching tv.
• Make tiny rectangles along the handwriting. These are the “sockets” for the Christmas lights. *see picture below.
• Find “busy work” or an appropriate movie for the class.  You may want to do this project in small groups or one on one depending on the age.  With my grade 1/2 class I pulled 4 at a time to my back table while the rest watched a holiday movie.  I usually did this project during the last week before the holidays where watching a movie is quite common. You could also tie the movie to the curriculum by showing a movie version of a book. Example The Snowy Day this book is in movie form on Prime video if you have an account.  (Prime video has a tonne of books in movie form!) Read the book and then have them compare and contrast the two! This hits off a tonne of the outcomes in the Saskatchewan curriculum!
• Set out canvas’, paints, and wipes.

Directions:

• Pull student(s) to the back table.
• Have them choose a word.
• Ask students to write their name and Merry Christmas and the year with Sharpie on the back. 
• Allow students to choose a colour of paint, dip their index finger into the paint, dap the extra off onto the paper towel.
• Help students make their first finger print light on top of the mini rectangle.  Remind them to press down and then lift straight up otherwise it will smudge!
• Wipe the finger with baby wipes between colour changes.
• If students are able to let them continue independently or continue to help them make different coloured prints to make lights.

Will you be trying this art project this year? If not, what will you be doing this holiday season?!

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Teacher Gift Ideas:

• Beaded lanyard:  Teachers always need their keys yet they always seem to be loosing them, haha! With a million things going on in the day they don’t have time to think about where they’ve put their keys.  A beautiful handmade lanyard is legit the perfect gift. My friend Kyla (a fellow teacher) makes them and they are always a hit! Find her on Instagram here and send her a message to order one!
• Bath salts: Teaching is stressful and the Christmas break is meant for relaxing! Help them with a little self care and make or buy them (whatever you prefer) some bath salts! If you’re feeling really generous add a bottle of wine and a candle (if you know the teacher is okay with alcohol) and make a little relaxation gift basket! If you’re up for a little DIY here is the recipe!
• Teachers Pay Teachers Gift Card: If you’ve never heard of TPT it’s an online resource where teachers spend hundreds of their own money buying lesson plans and other resources for their classroom.  This is a great gift for not only the teacher but something your child will reap the benefits of as well!
• Desktop Carousel:  I bought this for myself a few years ago and it is hands down one of my favourite classroom items. Ask your child if their teacher has this on their desk and if not, I would highly recommend it, it is AWESOME!  If it’s a bit more than you would like to spend I would ask another parent or two in the class to pool together to purchase it, oh and don’t forget to use your coupon! Michaels always a coupon for at least 40% off, sometimes even 50%!
• Board Games: I can’t take credit for this but this is such a great idea! Board games are great for indoor recess or lunchroom and they can be expensive to buy!
• Dollarama Gift Card: One year I saved all my Dollarama receipts and totalled them up at the end of the year and nearly gave myself a heart attack. Teachers, I don’t recommend doing this. Parents, feel free to lighten the financial load of a teacher by purchasing a gift card, every little bit helps!
• Thirty-One Bag: I got one of these bags a few years ago and they are perfect.  Teachers are notorious for hauling stuff between school and home and these bags are perfect for just that!
• Stojo Collapsable Keep Cup– I bought myself one of these a few months back and it is my latest obsession.  It is perfect for the coffee lover and let’s be honest teachers basically live off of coffee! You can find these locally at Mortise & Tenon or if you’re wanting to order online you can find them  here!
• Coffee Bar- A parent at my old school used to do this every year and the entire staff always looked forward to it! She would make a bunch of cold brew coffee and tea and bring all the fixings (milk, cream, soy, almond, simple syrup,  to go cups, etc) and set it up in the staffroom for us all to make our own iced coffees! It was SUCH a treat!  You could get creative with this- I think a popcorn bar with a bunch of different seasonings would be good too!
• Thoughtful Snacks: Some of the best gifts are the ones where you know the students really pay attention and know your favourites.  I absolutely LOVE fuzzy peaches and it never fails there is usually one student who picks up on this and gets me a big bag of them and it always puts a smile on my face. Not only because I love fuzzy peaches but because I know they pay attention and have put some thought into it.  My teaching partner Michelle is obsessed with popcorn and so a few of her students have brought her bags of popcorn, it doesn’t cost much but it sure does mean a lot! Ask your child what their teacher snacks on, I’m sure they’ll be able to tell you!
• Mugs / Wine Glasses: I know I’m going to get flack from some teachers for this but I swear I love getting mugs.  I also collect them and so that’s likely why haha but it never fails, I always think of the student who gave it to me as I pour my coffee into it!  I have also got some pretty rad wine glasses over the years.  One of my favourite was one that they had engraved with “I’m sorry if my kid makes you drink” hahah SO funny! This little duo is SO cute! 
• A Handwritten Thank You Card (paired with a bottle of wine): Okay, it doesn’t need to be paired with a bottle of wine but it definitely is appreciated because teaching is HARD haha

Ok- there you have it! I could really go on forever. But my best piece of advice would be try to get to know your child’s teacher and be thoughtful. Teachers are very emotional, thoughtful beings and they appreciate it when others are too.  When in doubt get a pen and paper and write a thank you note… it costs nothing but your time and means the most!

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