Happy Grinch Day

As many people know Christmas is not my favorite holiday. My momma goes away for Christmas so it is always a hard holiday for me. I try to cherish the itty bitty family that I have and am very blessed this year that my baby boy is recovered from his automobile accident and doing wonderful. (God is good!!) Since I am a bit of a Scrooge/Grinch, I couldn’t wait to incorporate a Grinch day with my kiddos.

My kiddos entered on Grinch day to this…

The Grinch captured our Elf “Cocoa” and tied him up…

Then he stole all of my “green” flowers and spread them around the room.

He overturned desks, crumpled up papers, trashed our library, hung crepe paper on lockers, tied up a stuffed elf, and even wrote use a mean note.

We started off with the classic Dr. Seuss Book

We knew we had to keep the Grinch away from our house on Christmas Eve so we made Grinch Dust. I saw this idea on pinterest

I gathered all of the supplies and printed these adorable tags from fourthnten.

 

First, I had my kiddos scoop 1/4 cup of something “white” and sweet smelling into a snack size baggie.

Next, I had them add two drops of love (a.k.a yellow food coloring which turns kind of a red hue when it touches the sugar)

and two drops of joy (a.k.a blue food coloring)

Then, they sprinkle in magic sprinkles (a.k.a glitter to ward off the Grinch and to show Christmas Cheer)

Each baggie was sealed and the students added their own love and hugs to create their Grinch Dust. Once their dust was complete we added these adorable tags.

Next, we kept the excitement alive by creating Grinch Similes. This idea has been pinned a zillion times but I first saw in on Cara Carroll’s blog  The First Grade Parade. (She has the most adorable ideas!!! ) First, we brainstormed some words that described how green the Grinch was and then we moved onto brainstorming words that described how small his itty bitty heart was. Finally, I gave my students a paper and allowed them to create their own similes. They turned out amazing. This was my favorite activity. You can grab the simile page over at fourthnten.  I goggled “Grinch Coloring Pages” to find the cute Grinch image and I cut square of red paper and had my kiddos create their own heart

Here are a few of my favorites

(Left) The Grinch was as green as a stem of a flower. His heart was red as a tomato.

(Right) The Grinch was as green as grass. His heart was real real tiny as a real real tiny rock.

The Grinch was as green as the hulk. His heart was so tiny as a ring.

The Grinch was as mean as a bull. His heart was red as the real elf on the shelf.

The Grinch was as mean as crazy. His heart was small as a sprinkle.

We had a huge Grinch-y themed party provided by our parents. (Have I told you lately that my parents rock??) They thought of everything. One of my favorite things were these adorable masks.

The kids colored them and we tried snapping a group picture. Can you find me??? Let’s just say I am the albino Grinch with Prada glasses LOL.

(Before you ask, Yes that sign says Kentucky Fried Chicken my kiddos wanted to work for a KFC PBS incentive. Every day no one is on Red/orange we unveil a letter. We are almost there!!)

After spending the day (half year) with my kiddos and seeing their faces light up (every morning), I realized once again that one of my favorite saying from the Grinch book was true…

I am truly blessed everyday when I go to work, I have so many precious little angels that make me realize everyday why I went back to school in 2007 to pursue my dream of becoming a teacher. I am thankful that my itty bitty family and friends supported me along the way. I may not enjoy the festivities and hustle and bustle of the holiday season, but I do cherish all of the many blessings that I have in my life.

Always,

Melissa