Blake's Class Christmas Play

 I can't say enough about how amazing Blake's teacher is.  Just after Halloween, she started planning for the class's Christmas play.  (The only class in the whole school that does a play.)  Blake was super excited!  When he found out he was going to be a soldier, he got his lines and practiced them, along with the songs daily without even being asked and had them memorized in no time!  I didn't know what to expect with a class of 2nd graders doing a play, but they were AMAZING!

 The kids not only knew their lines and the songs, but they also had little dancing parts, hand motions and knew when and who to pass the microphones to.  Did I say they were AMAZING?!...

 ...and CUTE!  Here is Blake in all of his cuteness, but all of them were super cute in their costumes.

The play was called "Christmas on Candy Cane Lane" and was about compromising.  The whole play rhymed and maybe lasted 20 minutes.  It was perfect for their age and I couldn't be prouder of Blake and his whole class for working hard to make it a wonderful performance.  I am also super thankful for all the work his teacher did to make such a wonderful memory for all us parents (and grandparents) too.  She is truly amazing! (I told you I couldn't say that enough!) ;-)

Here is a little video of Blake's portion of the play.  He speaks first and last after the song:

Homemade Tambourine

This is another fun activity I found to do with the Morgan and Blake from education.com. I gave them each two paper plates to color and put stickers on. (They were super excited about being able to use stickers, so the tambourines were full of stickers!) When they were done decorating, I had the kids put some beans in one plate, then I put the other plate on top and stapled them together. Viola! A tambourine!

Here are some pics of the kids decorating their tambourines then jumping up and down as they played them. (Please excuse the kids' attire. It was first thing in the morning before the kids were dressed. Plus Blake was in the middle of potty training, so he had no pants on.)

They loved their tambourines and played hard with them! Blake's tambourine was ruined within minutes, but I had them use the cheapest plates we had. I hope to do this again and use sturdier plates, which will be easier to decorate and will hopefully last a bit longer! :-)