Cake and Elves!

So...first it was cookies!  Now it's cake!  I was not even playing when I said "Christmas has really arrived in the Fogle house when the baking begins!"  This week it was homemade, from scratch...the all the way kind, the REAL DEAL... carrot cake!  Oh my word!  My diet has SO gone out the window.  There's always January, right! :)

Anyway, we have been really getting all festive at school this week too.  We had our 3rd grade Christmas play (my kiddo was a reindeer with the line "Yeah...we even let in that weird reindeer with the red nose."- LOVED it!), our chorus Christmas program, AND our little elves were busy applying for jobs in the North Pole!!!

That's right...you are never too young to go to work!!!  If you missed our last post, Freebie Elf Application, then check that out for all the details.  Basically each kiddo applied for one of 3 jobs in the North Pole.  We then let them make something to represent the kind of quality work they would create in their new job.

We hung the applications, persuasive writing pieces, and art in the hallway for a really cute Christmas display. Let us know what you think.  Hope you enjoy!

You can pick up your own copy here!  Freebie Elf Application

Freebie Elf Applications!

Oh...my...goodness!  What a beau-ti-ful day it is here in Georgia!  I know some of our Northern friends are looking for snow, but here...not so much!  

So to get us in the wintery mood amidst this heat wave, we just created a cute freebie for you guys!  It's an elf application!  We have seen a few out there already, but we hope this one is a little different.  We read a new story The Littlest Elf that we got with our last Scholastic Book Order.  It's a cute little book about the tiny elf in the family who has to find the right "elf job" for him.  So our application lets each of your "little elves" apply for the job that they think is right for them, whether it's in the toy workshop, elf bakery, or gift wrapping!

Your students will get to draw a picture of just what they would create for their particular job (maybe a fancy holiday tiered cake, or the coolest new toy, or maybe a present wrapped in zebra print with a red bow!)  Who knows!  Just let your kiddos' imaginations and creativity flow. 

Then they can write a persuasive/opinion piece that will help them "get the job".  To add a little incentive, we always have each kiddo read their writing and the class decides if they should be hired!  They get a little treat if they are!  But alas, it's Christmas, so they also get a little treat even if they aren't hired!  But it's still tons of fun!

As an extension, you could also let your kiddos use a variety of materials to bring their ideas to life. That's our plan! Then we can hang their awesome writing a long with a really creative piece of art for a one of a kind hall display!

If this sounds like a winner of an activity, then click the link below to take you right to your own printable copy!  There is one application and 3 different writing papers depending on which job each "elf" is applying for! 

Hope you enjoy! 

Coooookies!!!!

Christmas has officially arrived when the baking begins!  

I (Cristy) retired from cookie decorating a year ago!  I absolutely LOVE to bake and decorate! But I swear I know I seriously baked over 5,000 cookies over a 2 year period.  For REAL... not exaggerating even one little bit!  And people...I tell you... I slap got burnt out! 

So I shut down the old oven from cookie baking (to hear my hubs tell it, I shut it DOWN... from all baking...well...from all cooking in general...poor thing!)  

But alas, the sweetest little lady asked me if I would bake some cookies for our Golden Age Party at church for our precious little oldies but goldies (70 years or older).  How can you say no to THAT!  You can't!  Really...you can't!

So...I knocked off the oven dust, fired the baby up, and baked some cookies!

We hope your house abounds with sweet smells from the kitchen, warm snuggles by the fire, and peace and joy fill your hearts and home! 

 Merry Christmas!

PS-I'll be happy to share baking or decorating tips if you want to bake your own batch up for the holidays!

Which Door is the Cutest?

Twas a couple weeks before Winter Break

And all through the school,

Teachers were decorating their doors,

In the hopes of being cool!

We are counting down the days until Christmas Break! Are you?
Check out some cute doors around our school. We aren't competitive are we? ;)

Who decorated these doors? Wish we could take full credit, but moms and our assistants were the idea locators and creators!

Of course, where do you think these cute door ideas came from? You guessed it! PINTEREST! 

Do you decorate your door? We would love to hear about your door ideas! If you want, feel free to grab these  ideas and make them your own! They really do brighten up the halls :).

Which door is your favorite?



Cristy and Christie's cute snowman door!

Page and Natalie's shiny present door! Page does love a bow! 

Laxmi and  Sharon's door across the hall! Awesome snowman made from styrofoam cups! Way cool!

Robin's door in 2nd grade! Put up by the same super Mom who made Page's door!

Elaine and Renee's precious penguin door that is in progress! We will repost a finished penguin picture soon :).

Over 100 FREE goodies for EVERYONE!!!

Oh my goodness...say WHAT???!?!?!  

Too good to be true you say!  Well not this time!!!  

Over 70 sellers from Teachers Pay Teachers have joined together to give away over 100 products to EVERYONE! 

The Holiday EBooks are downloadable files that have over 100 goodies all in one place... no searching for hours to hit the jackpot!  

This is just a small way for all of us to say "Thank you" to all of our awesome followers and fellow teachers.  We hope you will each find some super goodies just in time for the holidays!

There are 2 books that will probably be just perfect for most of our followers!  Krissy from "Mrs. Miner's Monkey Business" volunteered to compile the Pre-K-K book and also the 1st-2nd grade book.  Be sure to check BOTH of them out, because there are tons of items from each book that will work great in K, 1, or 2!

We hope you love them as much as we do!  We've already snagged a few goodies for ourselves! :)

If you are interested in the 3rd-6th grade EBook or the 7th-12th grade Ebook just click the links and you can check those out too!

Fabulous FREEBIE Friday!

TGIF!! We love Friday!! I went back to school today! Yay! Ran 4 miles while looking at all the beautiful Christmas lights! Yahoo!! We are headed for a great weekend. GO DAWGS!!!-That was for Cristy!


This is Page, the half of Kindergarten Squared that had to stay home from school for 2 days!! Yikes that was hard work! Hats off to stay at home moms!! I felt like my days never ended and neither did the work. By the way, where is my paycheck for those two days????  Oh yeah!! Not one!! Well, except for the precious time that I was able to spend with my fabulous 9 year old :).


It was really rough though!! Poor Jake had the stomach bug!! Lots of prayers that no one else in the fam contracts that bad bug! Yes, we have been washing hands like crazy, but not sure hand washing can keep that bug at bay!!


Anyway, each week, Cristy and I make Word Work Literacy Stations and Centers for our County. We also post these packs on TPT. These packs are full of FREEBIES! We decided that our blogging friends should have easy access to these FREEBIES! We will try to post them each Friday after we finish a pack! Also we will go back and make the FREEBIES available for previous letters!

If you need the FREEBIES for a particular letter before it is posted, just leave a comment with your email and we will be glad to send it, if we have already created a pack for that letter. Check out Letter Bb Freebies! Let us know what you think!

I better hurry if I want this to be Fabulous FREEBIE Friday! Uh oh!  I didn't quite make it! Technical difficulty. Apparently this blogger program frowns upon copying and pasting pictures into the blog post. I had to try again and well friends, I didn't make it. Let's just pretend I made it! OK?

Click any picture on the FREEBIES below to go to the Letter Bb FREEBIES. 

Click the Word Work Station Picture to Check out the entire Letter Bb pack :).

    

Enjoy the beautiful weekend friends!!

Liebster Award :-)

Liebster Award :-)

In the last few days we were nominated 4 times for the Liebster Award!! Woohoo! We are feeling so special! We are definitely feeling the love!  Thank you to Teach With Laughter, Saddle up for Second Grade, Dots of Fun and iHeartLiteracy for nominating us!  The Liebster Award is designed to bring attention to bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

Here are the rules:

1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.

2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you.

3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.

4. Choose 11 other blogs with fewer than 200 followers to nominate and link them in your post.

5. You cannot “tag back” the other blog, but leave a comment on this post with the URL of your Liebster post so I can learn more about you & see who you nominate.

So, here are 11 random things about us...

We are crazy girls who love to celebrate Dr. Seuss!

1. We love to run! Cristy loves to run and get muddy on adventure runs and Page loves to run in a Tiara!
2. We both have 2 precious little boys!!! They grow too fast!

3.  Page loves to sing, dance and cheer! Cristy... Not so much, but she is working on it!

4. Our jeans are fitting a little too snug! You know it's baby fat! Well, that would be the case if Page's youngest wasn't 2 and Cristy's 6, but that's our story and we're sticking to it :). (Maybe too much yummy desserts over Thanksgiving could really be the culprit!)

5. Cristy loves the Georgia Bulldogs! Can you say number 3 in the BCS? BOOYAH! Page just loves any tailgate!

6. Page just learned to knit cool scarves!! Cristy makes the yummiest cookies and loves to bake!!

7. Cristy speaks Spanish (sort of). Page speaks French (sort of). Hola, Au Revoir.
8. We have each been teaching 17 years! This is our 5th as a dynamic duo!

9. Blogging and TPT have made us better teachers! Sometimes we spend all our earnings from TPT on items from TPT. Can you believe the old stuff we used to give our students and send home for parents to see! Ummm... not cute!! We have raised our standards.

10. Page likes to jump out of planes. Cristy thinks Page is crazy and prefers to just ride in them.

11. It's our first day back after break! Can you say brain fried! Does that count for 11? 

Since we were nominated by 4 wonderful teachers we are going to answer a few questions from each of them.

1. Coke or Pepsi?

Definitely Coke!! Sorry... Pepsi, what's Pepsi?

2. What is one of your favorite shows on TV?'

Cristy likes Walking Dead (Creepy I know, but hubs got me hooked). Page likes Person of Interest (Mr. Reese is HOT (shhhh! don't tell my husband).

3. What "sweet" food can you NOT resist?

Page loves, loves Cristy's beautiful and delicious sugar cookies! Too bad she retired from baking them! Boohoo for Page! Cristy has never met a chocolate that she didn't like!

4. What is your middle name?

Cristy's middle name is Thomas (not her maiden name, her for real middle name). Page's middle name is Page. Ha ha, Monica is my first name, but you better not call me that!!

5. Do you have a pet?

Page had a frog, but it wanted to get out of the tank so bad it committed frogocide. It jumped out of the tank and tried to get to the toilet, but died trying! Poor frog. That's why we don't have pets. Cristy has a pooch named Dixie, a one eared kitty named Scout, and 3 hermit crabs (Hermie-doesn't every one have a crab named Hermie, Tank, and Squeaky)

6. How did you pick your blog name?

That was easy - There are two of us on this wild adventure so it is Kindergarten Squared- 2 times the ideas and 2 times the fun!

7. What is your favorite book?

We both love the Twightlight Series! Shameful we know, but it is what it is!! Cristy is Team Edward! Page is Team Jasper, Jake, Emmet, Edward, Seth... who cares!  They are all cute!

8. Do you intend to "Black Friday"?

Cristy got a late start and all the goodies were gone!! She does love her sleep though! Page just couldn't do it! She took her precious boys and nephews to see Rise of the Guardian (at least I know I am good with 2 boys!) The boys were awesome, but 4 was a chore! Hats off to Moms with lots of kiddos!!

9. How old were you when you knew you wanted to be a teacher?

Page was 21 and had already graduated with a degree in French and Communication! She went the long way to arrive at her destination!! This is where she was meant to be! Just took her longer to find it :). Cristy knew at 7 that she wanted to be a baseball player or a teacher!! Good thing the first thing didn't pan out!

10. What is your favorite children's book?

 We love lots of books but right now we both love Pigeon books by Mo Willems!! They are funny and great to teach persuasive writing!

11. When did you start blogging?

 We began our blogging adventure not too long ago!! Our baby blog was born in August!

Here are our 11 questions for our blogging buddies!

1. Do you use CAFE and Daily 5 for reading? What do you think?

2. What's your favorite Holiday?

3. What's your favorite blog?

4. What is the quirkiest thing about you?

5. What is your favorite grade that you have taught?

6. Knee Socks or Ankle Socks?

7. What's your favorite part of the school day? (Other than 3:30 :)

8. What's the best movie you have seen lately?

9. What's the best vacation you have taken?

10. Do you do number talks?

11. What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you at school?

Here are the blogs we are nominating:

Terry's Teaching Tidbits
2 Really Cool Teachers
Owl Inspire You  
Teach with Laugh
Mrs. Orman's Classroom  
First Grade Bloomablities
Mrs. Kelly's Klass 
Graphics from the Pond
Moore Fun in Kindergarten 
Kindergarten Stars
Mrs. Brown's Kindergarten Blog
 
 

Don't forget to leave me a link to your blog so we can learn more about you! Hope you enjoyed learning about me!

Thanks again so much to Teach With Laughter, Saddle up for Second Grade, Dots of Fun and iHeartLiteracy  for nominating us!