Secondary Blog Hop

Laughing All the Way Secondary Christmas Blog Hop

I have a quotation hanging in my living room that says, “A laugh is a smile that bursts.” So, when I started thinking about this blog hop and what to share, that message came to mind. What does it take to bring on a smile this holiday season… and one that is so genuine and joyful that it bursts into a full-blown laugh? I guess that answer really depends on the person, but I think joy comes in many forms and fashions. In this blog hop, Lauralee Moss and I and several other secondary bloggers want to bring as many smiles to your face — and the people around you — as possible… whatever form or fashion those might be. Below I’m sharing ways that I try to bring those smiles to others’ faces at Christmas!

1) On Sundays I am blessed to teach the 5 and 6 year olds at kids’ church. For the past few years, we have put on a little Christmas play with them. It’s not anything too big, but the kids enjoy singing and dancing. It’s never easy prompting 20 kids (Who am I kidding? It’s like herding cats!) into performing for a live audience, but they always seem to pull it off… minus a few wondering sheep or a couple of fighting cows! The parents and grandparents love it, and last year one person even accepted Christ! Wish me luck this year… I am tackling “The Night Before Christmas” rewritten to tell the Bible story of Jesus’s birth!

2) Keeping the Christmas story at the center of everything I do at this time of year is really important to me, because the meaning of the season is about the one and only gift that can bring true joy – JESUS. Below I’m teaching my kids’ church kiddos from the Christmas Bible unit I wrote to share the true meaning with them.

Christmas Bible NO PREP Lessons for December -Stories, Col

3) In the hustle and bustle of everything Christmas, it’s so easy to forget the most simple joys. There’s just something about Christmas lights that bring a smile to a child’s face — and mine, too, if I’m being honest! We always try to squeeze in a trip to see a display of lights with my two nieces. A couple years ago, we visited the beautiful Rock City in Chattanooga. My two nieces were captivated with the lights the entire time, and they got to visit with Santa and write him a letter!

4) Getting a laugh out of a teenager – in class, especially – is no easy task. However, they can’t resist a chuckle at a couple of Christmas movie classics. Each year, I find time for at least one Christmas movie after state testing. My absolute favorite Christmas movie is Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Included with this FREE movie guide is a real-world service project to send letters and toys to a children’s hospital. For the older kids, I also love the movie Christmas with the Kranks based on Grisham’s novel Skipping Christmas. To get clearance to show these Christmas comedies, I’ve whipped up easy movie viewing guides! You can get them by clicking on the links below.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Christmas Movie Viewing Gu

Christmas Charles Dickens's Essay Nonfiction Lesson & Pair

5) Last, but not least, is the joy of giving. Teenagers aren’t necessarily going to go seeking out opportunities to give back to others – at Christmas or anytime of the year for that matter. They just aren’t wired that way. However, I’ve found that with some gentle nudging and with their own planning, they do eventually buy in to the idea of giving back. One way I foster that spirit and experience in my English classroom is through texts that lead to real-world service projects. Operation Christmas Child is one project that I’ve participated in since I was a child, so it’s close to my heart. Several years ago, I developed a poetry and nonfiction lesson that ties in with OCC, and it really teaches students to look beyond their own world – literally. It brings so much joy to their lives and the lives of many other children around the world.

Follow the blog hop below to laugh your way through the holiday season! And… a couple of reminders: Enter to win the gift cards below and shop TpT’s Cyber Sale Nov 28-29!

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An InLinkz Link-up

Tis the Season: Holiday Blog Hop for Secondary Teachers

Thank you for joining us on this fun holiday blog hop with some fantastic secondary bloggers! We are all sharing a bit of how we celebrate this season of the year!

1) Bringing meaning of
the season to my students. Even though this time of year is very hectic for a
school schedule, I always try to squeeze in at least one lesson that asks
students to pause and reflect on the true meaning of the season. These two
lessons take it one step further and give students a real-life service project opportunity.

Christmas English Lessons for Teens, NO PREP Survival Pack

Holiday Headlines for Yearbook or Newspaper, Creative, Pro

2) Bringing meaning of
the season with my family. My husband and
I don’t have children, but we work with the children at our church. This year,
we will be using these fun lessons I wrote to celebrate Jesus’s birthday. The most
important way, I think, to bring meaning to the season is to share the true
meaning of the season.

3) One item on my TpT wish
list is clip art – always!

4) One item on my
personal wish list is a new lens for my camera! I just finished a wedding last
weekend with a new lens I rented and I LOVE how the pictures turned out. I was
sad I had to send it back! So…. now it’s on my wish list :)!

5) One thing I am looking
forward to this season is time off! This
semester, with three out of three preps and many other responsibilities, has been
a whirlwind. I’m working on several projects
and one huge collaborative project for TpT, and I’m excited to have time to sit
down and finish it up! Stay tuned for what it is!

An InLinkz Link-up

2014 Holiday Blog Hop

It is certainly beginning to look a lot like Christmas around my house. This past weekend I did Christmas Milk and Cookie Minis in my photography studio (my other second job), and my Christmas tree is up! (Click here to hop over to my Faulkner Photography Facebook page to see my tree!)

I’m thrilled to be co-hosting my first ever blog hop with Lauralee over at The Language Arts Classroom. Our theme is “It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas,” and we each will be sharing up to 5 different ideas: 1 holiday bucket list item, 1 tradition, 1 gift idea, 1 freebie, 1 classroom activity. We are hoping that it’s perfect timing for you to snatch up some great ideas for this season.

I’ll be sharing all five on the list, so here goes!

1) Bucket List: I have wanted to go see a town that does Christmas lights for a few years now, and we either can’t find one or we can’t make it. This year, I’ve found one that does a spectacular show complete with music and Santa’s workshop at the end. It’s definitely going to happen this year…. I hope!

2) Tradition: Every Christmas morning I wake up and cook breakfast. If you know me, then you know cooking isn’t my thing. In the afternoon of Christmas day, my sister and her family come up to my parents’ house for gifts and dinner. So, in the morning, I cook for my husband, and my parents join us for breakfast. Over the years I’ve found two dishes that work easily for me. It’s important to note here that if it’s in my recipe book, it has typically no more than 4-5 *normal* ingredients in it, and it requires mostly just piling them all together in a dish and baking them! The first one I call Sunny Side Up Casserole and the second one is Sweet Surprise Cinnamon Roll Bake.

Here are the super easy recipes I use:

Sunny Side Up Casserole:

6 eggs; 2 tbsp milk; 1 can Grands Flaky Layers; precooked half pack of bacon, 1 C shredded Cheddar. Beat egg and milk with wire whisk until smooth. quarter biscuits, Gently stir biscuit pieces into egg mixture to coat evenly. Fold in meat and cheese (and onions if desired). arrange biscuit in single layer in greased 9×13. 350° til golden. Cut into squares.

Sweet Surprise Cinnamon Roll Bake

2 tablespoons of melted butter or baking spray; 2 cans (12.4 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated cinnamon
rolls with icing;
4 eggs; 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 2 teaspoons vanilla; Icing
from cinnamon rolls. Heat oven to
375°F. Pour melted butter into ungreased 13×9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish.
Separate both cans of dough into 16 rolls; set
icing aside. Cut each roll into 8 pieces; place pieces over butter in dish.
In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Beat in cream,
cinnamon and vanilla until well blended; gently pour over roll pieces. Sprinkle
with pecans; drizzle with 1/4 cup syrup. Bake 20 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15
minutes. Meanwhile, remove covers from icing; microwave on Medium (50%) 10 to
15 seconds or until thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle icing over top.

3) Gift Idea: It seems that it gets harder and harder to buy gifts for my friends and family that they don’t already have and that shows thoughtfulness. With Pinterest being so popular now, handmade gifts seem to be all the rage, and I think something crafted shows a special touch. Last year I made these beautiful Christmas printables inspired by the Nativity story, and they would be the perfect gift printed and framed for students’ teachers, dirty Santa, family, or colleagues.One I printed and framed to put beside my Nativity set, and the other I printed on card stock and mounted to foam poster board, so I could stand it up on my desk.

4) Classroom Activity: Even big kids like to color every now and then, too! If you have a crazy-day schedule or a short period, these are the perfect fillers. The best thing about these easy print and go coloring sheets is that they aren’t just coloring! They actually require students to practice ELA vocabulary terms with examples of figurative language!

Christmas and Winter Coloring by Figurative Language Activ

5) Teaching Freebie: If you are feeling a little “lost” with what to do on those busy days before winter break or if you have deadlines to meet and need an easy no prep lesson, how about incorporating some holiday spirit with a classic Christmas movie — Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. This is my all-time favorite Christmas movie, and I watch it at least once 🙂 each year! With my freebie viewing guide with focused, standards-based questions this movie will be a hit for you and your students!!