children

Christmas Cocoa Kit

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I donated to the teacher gift fund, so my children’s classroom teachers will be getting a group gift card from the class for the holidays, but I always like to send in a little something extra and personal.

This year’s Christmas teacher sirsee is a Cocoa Kit. I am not sure why I like “kits” so much (in the past year we have given Ice Cream Sundae Kits and Teacher Emergency Kits), but this kit is something the teachers can use at school or share with family at home. I should be able to create an assembly line in my kitchen and pack them up pretty quickly. I am going to make extra to take with us as hostess gifts to holiday parties or to give as gifts to friends and co-workers. What are other festive sirsees to give this holiday season?

The Cocoa Mix: Click here for the Cocoa Mix Recipe I used. I put about two servings of cocoa mix in the plastic bag that went into the box. Alternately, you could simply buy pre-made cocoa mix.

The Chocolate Stirrers: I originally saw these candy spoons on Pinterest. I adapted the idea to make cocoa stirrers. Go to the Cocoa Mix Recipe for directions about how to make the chocolate filling for the spoons. After the chocolate is melted, turn the heat off and let cool slightly (5 min?). While the chocolate cools, rest plastic spoons on the handles of wooden spoons (or another kitchen item) to hold the spoons level. Place a gallon Ziploc bag in a large measuring cup and fold the top of the bag over the edges of the measuring cup. Pour chocolate into the Ziploc. Pull the Ziploc bag out of the measuring cup and hold it like a pastry bag. With scissors, snip off a very tiny piece of one corner and fill spoons with the chocolate. Hold your finger like a stopper over the opening of the bag as you move from spoon to spoon. Sprinkle crushed candy canes on the chocolate and let set.

The Other Contents: I added mini marshmallows and a few cookies to the kit. I used snickerdoodles because I think they are a good dipping cookie for cocoa or coffee. I think gingersnaps or a classic Christmas sugar cookie would work well too.

The Packaging: I need to buy stock in Avery labels and clear gift bags. I own almost every size possible. I wrapped the bowl of the candy spoon in a 3×4 inch clear bag and tied with raffia ribbon. I used my trusted clear bead bags for the cocoa mix, cookies, and marshmallows and printed small labels for each item. The boxes are Wilton Treat Boxes I purchased at Michael’s.

The Gift Tag: I printed a message and directions for making a mug of cocoa on cardstock and tied it to the top of the box. When we are actually getting ready to deliver, I will have my children sign their names on the tag rather than using The Room Mom!

Book Journals

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Last year, the school librarian where I work sent an e-mail to all parents suggesting we start a book journal with our kids. When our librarian’s son was in the first grade, she started recording every book title her son read in a basic black and white composition journal. Her son is now a 9th grader and is still adding to his book journal.

My niece started her book journal when she was in the 4th grade. When I visited last summer, I asked her if she had any new book recommendations for me. She could not think of any suggestions immediately, so she handed me her book journal. I paged through all of the titles dating back 4 years. When I would ask about specific titles, it immediately sparked discussion. Without her yearly lists, she would not have been able to recall nearly as much.

The book journal is a great tool for several reasons. To begin with, it shows how much your reading improves by looking at the book choices from year to year. My son moved from the Jigsaw Jones series (2nd grade range) to Henry Huggins (4th grade range) last year alone.

There is a sense of accomplishment when you see a list of completed books. It is fun to be able to announce that you read 49 books during the school year!

The list prompts memories of books you might have forgotten. It also shows if you followed one author or style of book during a certain period. If you need some new book choices, it is easy to return to the list to help jog your memory for author names or book series. What are other good ways to log book lists?

What To Do: List the grade level at the top of each new page. List the date the book is completed in the left column. List title then author name. In addition, you could add reading level, page count, a rating scale of some kind. Keep it simple so it is not a chore to complete.

 

12 Days of Christmas Gifts, a Summary

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After I wrapped up the Christmas gift series last week (ha ha– wrap, gifts…), I realized you have to do a lot of scrolling through previous posts to see the full gift list. So, for those of you who came late to the party, here is a summary of the 12 days of gift ideas. I probably should have done it this way in the beginning, but it sure does make one long post.

Click on the names that go with each gift day for links back to the original posts to get specific product information.

Happy Holidays and Happy Shopping!

Day 1: Watercolor Portraits

Watercolor paintings by Susan Woodard

Day 2: Jelly Marbles

Low price point, good stocking stuffer, great gift for children’s birthday parties

Day 3: Calling Cards

Give to adults or children, monogram or full name

Day 4: Monogrammed Ts

Purchase cotton Ts and take to your local monogrammer

Day 5: Man Gifts

Personalized steak branding iron

Reserve a spot at BBQ judging school with friends

Personalized needlepoint belts

Nike ID athletic shoes

Day 6: Mini Crock Pot

Keep dip warm at parties.

Day 7: Author’s Tool Kit

Write and publish your own book– order extra copies to give as gifts too

Day 8: Photo Gifts

Have a photo turned into a paint by number

Make “best of” albums to highlight any family events from the previous year

Personalized postage stamps

Personalized skins for smart phones or other electronics

Have photos, names, or monograms inserted into a set of Tervis Tumblers

Day 9: Gifts with Tiny Pieces

Barbie sized kitchen playsets

Calico Critter mini animal playsets

Quadrilla wooden marble run

Build your own Lego set

Day 10: Consumable Gifts

Cupcake supplies or other tools needed for a hobby– the other suggestion was unusual spices and rubs for a grill guy (like my husband)

Magazine subscriptions

Food delivery of some kind– Wolferman’s English muffins for Christmas day brunch

Day 11: Gift Ideas for This Year

Flavored olive oil

Personalized dog collars and other pet accessories

Neon cord wrap bracelets with charms

preppy casserole carriers

Custom rubber address stamps

Day 12: Family Calendar

Customized family calendar

On the 9th Day, The Gifts Have Tiny Pieces

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We are at the height of the tiny pieces toy phase at my house. I will admit that I am often the one who supports the decision to purchase the toy that comes with a gazillion tiny pieces (Lego, Playmobil, Calico Critter…) because I love miniature playsets. WARNING: All of the suggestions below have many tiny parts and may cause injury if you step on them in the middle of the night.

Does anybody have any other tiny playset ideas? Does anybody have any suggestions for protecting yourself from late night injuries?

Kitchen Littles: These are food playsets that are made of die cast metal and plastic. Kitchen Littles was discontinued then reintroduced. I can’t tell if it has been discontinued again, but some of the sets are available if you run a Google search. The size is perfect for Barbie (or other 12″ doll), and the ones we have are much better quality than the Mattel/Barbie kitchen sets.

Calico Critters: These are tiny animal families with clothes and playsets. Visit the Calico Critters website to locate retailers. You can find about everything you might need for life with tiny woodland creatures. It is like the Brambly Hedge picture books come to life. The detailed pieces that come with each playset are amazing, but they are tiny, and you need to apply stickers to a lot of the accessories when setting up the playset.

Lego: We have many Lego sets, but sometimes the Legos in a set are too specific for building creatively. This year, I am visiting the online Pick a Brick store to purchase a generic set of Lego bricks that can be used to build anything we want. Lego used to have a DESIGN byME service where you could customize a Lego structure and then purchase the bricks needed to build your own design. That service has been discontinued but may be relaunched in the future.

Quadrilla: We found the Quadrilla marble sets a few years ago and have been adding supplemental tracks to it every few years. This is a great toy. The tracks are wooden and do not break easily. The sets come with track design suggestions, but it is very easy to build your own marble track.

School Stories

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In Andrew Clements’ book The School Story, one character says that a school story is “a short novel about kids and stuff that happens mostly at school.” I asked a friend of mine who works in children’s publishing if this type of story really is one of the most popular genres in children’s literature as Clements implies in his book. She said that Clements is an expert at the school story and would know. I get it. These books are typically humorous and easy for children to read because they portray a world that the reader knows well– life at school. Here are a few titles that have received rave reviews from my children, my children’s friends, and my students. What other titles get a gold star?

Chapter Books for Upper Elementary Grades

  • Origami Yoda series by Tom Angleberger
  • Blubber by Judy Blume
  • Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea
  • Lunch Money, The School Story, No Talking, Frindle, or others by Andrew Clements
  • The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
  • 7th Level by Jody Feldman
  • Double Dog Dare by Lisa Graff
  • The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
  • Loser by Jerry Spinelli
  • Hank Zipzer series by Henry Winkler

Chapter Books for Primary Grades

  • Bailey School Kids series by Marcia T. Jones
  • Marty McGuire series by Kate Messner
  • Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park
  • Jigsaw Jones Mystery series by James Preller

Picture Books

  • Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
  • Miss Nelson series by James Marshall
  • David Goes to School by David Shannon
  • Miss Bindergarten books by Joseph Slate
  • How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Tolen and Teague
  • How the Second Grade Got $8205.50 to Visit the Statue of Liberty by Nathan Zimelman