Program Plan 1. Read “The Polar Express.” 2. Sing carols. 3. Play “Conductor Says” — Simon Says with a Polar Express twist. 4. Do crafts: Reindeer hats & “Ma…
This blog is just my little space for sharing lessons I've developed for my classroom and ideas that inspire my teaching.
These engaging Polar Express activities for kindergarten will help you plan an engaging thematic unit study with festive literacy and math practice!
Today was Polar Express Day in my first grade classroom! And… That just means A LOT OF FUN!!! I always have a Polar Express Day and this year I just wanted to do something different. So… instead of making our normal conductor hats we were the CUTEST elves ever!!! Pinterest We also had fun writing […]
We made these trains last year while we watched Polar Express. It is now becoming a family tradition. We used graham crackers, spice drops, and redi-whip. Any candy could be used. Last year, we even put chocolate chips in the cart to represent cargo.
The Polar Express night is MORE than a holiday book -- it's a tradition that has strengthened my pal Karen's relationship with her neices and nephews!
Polar Express Ticket Reading The Polar Express is of course, a must for Elementary Teachers everywhere and we are no different at Providence! We love this day and have almost as much fun as the children. Here is our version of the day... Our principal, Gwen Foster, read the story to our students in HER pj's! She brought a bell to ring and even sang to settle the children down before the reading! Wow! They love it! After the story, we rotate three classes at a time between the library and our theatre for the movie. We get our tickets punched before we go in! We board the Polar Express and hold onto our tickets tightly! We take our pretend ride over the mountains and into the snow as we head to the North Pole. We sing Jingle Bells and some teacher acts like a fool trying to keep the kids excited while we wait to see who our special visitor will be when we get there! Santa is here! All the children get a chance to sit with Santa and remind him what they would like for Christmas. We make our own bell necklaces using pony beads to make a pattern. We also have a chance to color while we wait for our turn to see the big guy. Everyone has hot chocolate and a gingerbread man. As you might guess, we have a lot of parents that help make this happen and our librarian, Mrs. Barnett, sets up the train for us and lets us take over the library for the entire day! This is the script that I use for the children to write about The Polar Express when we come to small groups for reading the next day. Just click on the image and click to Original size. Once it is highlighted in blue, right click and go to Print Picture. A format that I have used before for our letter to Santa. Clipart to use for your newsletter, your parent letter explaining your Polar Express Day, etc. Just copy onto yellow or gold paper. The coloring sheet that we use for those that finish their necklaces while we wait to see Santa. Now it is time to write about our experience! We work together in small groups to sound out our sentences. Now we are making our Polar Express Scrapbook Page. I'm going to incorporate a mini unit on trains this year. I will read Gail Gibbons' book Trains to expand our knowledge on different types of transportation. April Larremore has some wonderful activities in her Polar Express unit at Chalk Talk. I liked her version of the train pattern, too! This is the final version of the page that will go into our Kindergarten Scrapbook. I will add their photo with Santa just below the ticket. We will also begin our Christmas Around the World unit this week. I will add more info as we get knee deep into our countries! This is our passport that will get stamped for each country that we "visit"!
Make a simple tin foil bell ornament to go along with The Polar Express book! Can you hear the bell ring. Enjoy this kid made Christmas book ornament.
We made trains today to go along with our transportation theme. I got the idea to do Name Trains from PreKinders. First I cut squares from all different colors of construction paper. Then I used stencils to make letters on the squares. The kids first drew a railroad track onto large white construction paper. (I cut them in half the long way.) Then they drew in a background. After that came the letter search. The kids had to find all the letters in their name and put them on the track behind an engine. Once they had it all laid out, they glued it down. Only one name didn't fit onto the paper (Caroline), so we just glued on another piece of paper to the end. I also cut out a bunch of circles from black construction paper for the wheels. The kids really enjoyed putting their trains together. They also colored the engine and added more of a background if they wanted to. 10/14/12 UPDATE: We made these again this year and they turned out so cute, I wanted to share them again. What I did differently was have the kids use whole pieces of construction paper so they could draw more of a background. And the engines were bigger this year, as well.
Special Note: Have the children wear pajamas and prepare tickets for the train ride during circle time. Gathering Activity: Jingle B...
Hello :) This weekend we surprised the kids with a Polar Express movie night, complete with hot chocolate bar and goodies. During the day of I handed out 'invitations' I printed up from the internet, so the kids could get excited about it. Right after dinner, they got their jammies on and were treated to special popcorn {I loosely followed this recipe, only I left the popcorn/pretzels plain} and special glow sticks. The glow sticks were found at the store, Five Below, and were originally going to be stocking stuffers, but I felt like they were just perfect for our movie night. The kids absolutely loved them. They also got a chance to try some of the homemade peppermint ice cream Jason made. As they settled in for the movie, we took a quick hot chocolate break to go along with the film. All the labels were printed out using the free printables found here. As their 'favors' we handed out bells toward the end, and small chocolate trains. Mess aside, we all had a really great time :) Merry Christmas Eve, guys! xo, Rachel
A night full of family fun and games based off the classic movie The Polar Express. Your family will cherish these memories for years to come!
You know the rule at our house... if I get pigtails... we're going somewhere fun! Wow I've changed since my first pigtails... This morning mommy & I wore our pajamas to school for Polar Express Day! I'm really getting good at this standing in front of the tree and smiling thing... A little blurry... but a cute smirky smile... This is the first time that mom can think of that all my hair went up into two pigtails so evenly... She even made me some Santa bows... When we arrived at school we had some play time... I was so happy mom was there... Then we headed over to Fellowship Hall for our adventure... We started with Music with Miss Donna... and mom got these videos... watch how well I do the rhythm with my bells... and how well I follow directions... and the dancing in this one... Class shot with Miss Donna... Next we headed in to meet the conductor... and ride to the North Pole... We had a teddy bear conductor! What a cute train of toddlers! When we got to the North Pole the conductor read us the toddler version of Polar Express... and I agreed to take one picture with mommy... I love pajama day at school! After the conductor read the story we got cold bells (just like in the story)... Lining up to head to the next room of fun! Which was games! We built a snowman... Pretty cute huh? We were really into it! Then we tossed Jingle Bells... and waited in line for the snowball relay... scooping my snowball... Got one! Carrying it to the container... Brooklyn's turn... Pin the Nose on Rudolph! another shot of my cute pigtails and bows... Saying my prayer before snack time... Mmmm... sugar cookies! I scarfed the first one... drank some juice to wash it down... and asked for a second... This is when I told Miss Glenna that I was going to hug Santa! "Is it time? Is it time to see Santa?" Nicholas was first... Then Keira and Gavin... Brooklyn... I love the way she looked at him... I gave him the same look... I would only go up there with mommy... But he gave me a candy cane... that I scarfed in 3 minutes flat! One last class picture before we headed back to our classroom (I wouldn't be in it if mommy wouldn't)... It was such a fun day! I'm so glad that I go to a preschool that goes the extra mile to make our experiences so special!
We had a The Polar Express family movie night! This is my little guy's 1st year watching the movie. He never paid attention to it before, but this year he loved it! The Polar Express Family
The icy ground and frosty windows remind us it is winter here in the NW and time to celebrate with Snowman treats here are 4 Adorable Snowman Treats – Almost To Cute To Eat. Snowmen Popcorn Cups For your next family movie night or winter play date serve up a batch of popcorn in these […]
Free 20201 Primary Newsletter, download and edit to work for your ward.
The Kindergartners designed their own train car and choo chooed around the school. There were some over the top trains. I thought we did a good job gluing 100 sparkly stones all over Hannah's snowflakes.Hannah and her friend Ava Choo Choo!!
The Polar Express church Christmas party
I was in charge of organizing and planning our Club's Polar Express Pajama Party again this year, and things went off without a hitch. I think the overall party was more magical last year. Penny pinching and a General Manager who is a bit on the lazy side made things a bit different, but still successful. The children entered the room through the "blizzard" (this was my responsibility): My two boys, outfitted in robes and slippers: The train tunnel leads to a mini-buffet just the rights size for children: Our own Polar Express train made from melons and filled with candy: The show stopper of the evening? The grand entrance of Hot Chocolate while the song played and the children cheered! The children help themselves to the Hot Chocolate Bar: Save your spot with a blanket! Time to settle in to watch the movie... Click here to see last year's party photos along with some links to help you plan your own party. Want to make your own "blizzard" at home? This is fashioned after something my boys and I do to decorate our own home each year. I will share the details tomorrow! .
10 fun Christmas Coloring Pages. Including Frozen and the Polar Express Coloring Pages that your kids will love to color and make for gifts or cards.
Elevate your movie night with Polar Express-inspired magic! Discover fun ideas for decorations, snacks, and more.
Get on track and plan your next Polar Express Adventure. Let the journey begin!
Introducing the Snowman Popcorn Cup! Try this one for your next winter play date, party, or simply for a fun family movie night at home! In order to create these guys, all you will need is the foll…
Polar Express, trains, winter, alphabet *Available in a bundle!* Polar Express Bundle Help the train find the railroad tracks by tracing the alphabet in the correct order! Three different mazes included.
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Every year we snuggle up and watch the Polar Express in my first grade classroom. You do too? That’s because you are AMAZING! I am gearing up, shopping, and running copies- including this little free
Where does time go?!?! Seriously!! It goes faster and faster each year! Not that I'm counting {I AM}, but it is hard to believe that we onl...
