Image Map

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Closing the Chapter on the Gingerbread Man Saga. WHEW!

If this is the first time you have read about our saga ... Check out ROUND 1 & ROUND 2 first.

Who knew that one small little cookie could create SO MUCH DRAMA! Oh my goodness! Can you believe he attacked us AGAIN and he also created havoc in a kindergarten class, too! We came back to this on the last week before the Christmas Break...
The kids informed me that it did NOT stand for GARY BROWN, it was, indeed, the initials for GingerBread!  Okay, okay, I can be a little slow on the uptake, but I believed them now.  In fact, I believed that it was that little crispy rascal that I led the class on a man ... er, cookie hunt to find that little booger man!

We papered the school with wanted posters:
"Please help us. That Gingerbread Man's making a mess. We need your help...Room 2. Thank you!"
"Help us catch him. The little stinker keeps messing up our school. If seen, call room 2 and bring him."
"Help! Help! The Gingerbread Girl is after this school. We need your help finding her. If you find her, please let room 2 know. Or call NHM front office. Or let P.T.A. know. Thank you. P.S. Return her to Room 2 and we will all split it." HILARIOUS!!!
"Please help us and find the meanie and if you find him, please let us know and tell us. By: Mrs. Tomme's Class. Thanks.
"We need help to catch the fast cookie! He is messing up our school. If you find him and catch him, bring him to Room 2." {Do you notice something familiar?? Check out the illustration. It represents one of the former attacks quite well!}
"Help me catch the cookie. He is making a mess in our classroom."
Well, I am sure as you might imagine, we had TONS of help... from other grade levels, teachers and, of course, our very alert Principals and office staff. Our principal even reviewed the hallway video tape, but all that could be seen was a brown blur! Man that guy is fast!!!

Well, after days of searching and the last day before the break YOU WILL NEVER GUESS WHAT HAPPENED!!!  That naughty, or so we thought, dude left us a treat!  He rummaged through my cabinets to find a plate {I forgot to take pics of the final mess he made, but it was a good intentioned mess} to put cookies on.  We brainstormed that he must have baked them in our cafeteria kitchen.  

He also left us another note with some interesting handwriting... as usual. It read:
You almost caught me. 
You real were close!
So I think it is time to say, "Adios!"
I've been really naughty.
Your room I have messed,
But Mrs. Tom's {Tom... really? Oh well...} class
You've been the BEST!

A treat from me to you!
GB
The kids chattered about how he must have learned a big lesson and changed his ways. They were so thankful that he left on a good note with a TASTY good final deed. :)

Of course being a teacher {you know what I am talking about, right?} I had to end with a lesson.  The class took took a bite and graphed their first bite location.  
 

The Gingerbread Man's surprise was a GREAT way to start the final day of 2013 that we had together. Who knew that little decorated boy would give such a good lesson. :D

Now... I HOPE that sneaky leprechaun, Patrick,  doesn't get any ideas!!! ;)

A NEW blog design for 2014! WOOHOO!

Someone's blog got all spruced up thanks to the gals over at The Honey Bunch Blog Design & Nikki at Melonheadz Illustration.  

I LOVE my blog's new design and graphics!  I especially adore the little candy schoolhouse.  This design is SWEET, vibrant and all things "Smart Tarts."  Thanks again ladies for the phenomenal job well done!


Wednesday, December 18, 2013

That Smart Aleck Cookie Man Struck AGAIN!!

Well he sure took his time, but that NAUGHTY Gingerbread Dude messed our room up again!  Just look at that mess he made of our clipboards. Our class was really chomping at the bit to find and take a bite of this sneaky guy. THIS is getting serious!
 When I asked, "How do you know it was him?" They discovered a HUGE clue, and ON THE WINDOWS to boot!  It said, "Ha! Ha! Ha! I'm not gone! GB" They kids, again, scoffed at the terrible handwriting, but then again he is just a cookie, so he hasn't had much practice ... nor does he have fingers to hold the marker well!
 What are we going to do to stop this crazy cooked dough boy???  Well, we are on the hunt! Tune in later for more on this troubling dilemma!

Missed the first attack?!?!  Check it out HERE

Monday, December 9, 2013

Gingerbread Man Disguises - 2013.... TADA!

Check out the great Gingerbread Man disguises this year.  
The Townsfolk are sure to miss him!!!
{Didn't see last year's?  Click HERE}
This astronaut is OUT OF THIS WORLD!!
I was told Frosty was a "Gentle Old Soul" and if the Townsfolk tried to eat him, they would get a BRAIN FREEZE!
"Meow" that is a CATastic disguise! It would be extremely gross for the Townsfolk to cough up FUR BALLS! YUCK!
This disguise is "SnOw" adorable!
No Townsfolk {or any person for that matter} wants to mess with a DIVA!
Now this guy is all decked out as a Christmas Tree... with presents and a star on top to boot!
If the Townsfolk do catch on ... he'll just hop on his dirt bike and RACE AWAY! The Townsfolk will be left eating his DIRT!
A little snow... a little "bedazzle"... will have the Townsfolk in a trance! Everything on this guy is HAND SEWN!! It is SEW well done!
The halo, the wings, the BLING! No one would DARE touch an Angel!

WANT THIS TEMPLATE FOR YOURSELF???

CHECK OUT MY
GINGERBREAD GAMES 
& PRINTABLES HERE


Here are some of the stories that we read or will read during our 2 week study.

MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE GINGERBREAD STORY... I had NO idea it was out of print.  It has a little cut-out gingerbread boy who makes his way through the pages. The kids LOVE IT! I also like using a Louisiana-ish accent when reading it. It introduces to French words, too, and since I USED to be fluent ... it makes me happy!
Have you read about this naughty little BABY? This book makes Smart Tarts think on a higher level.  Why did he hop out of the oven as a baby and not a boy? Hmmmm... Something to ponder!
This is a tale of an ingenious gingerbread GIRL. The gals in your class will love listening to this classic tale in feminine form! 
YEEHAW! This one hits home for us here in Texas! Get yer cowboy boots on and lassos ready y'all! Get along li'l doggies!
I love the fun rhyming nature of this book. I have the audio version and it is super cute!
This is one of my son's favorite! He loves echoing along to this naughty little cookie's song.

Which book is your favorite? One that I haven't listed??






Friday, December 6, 2013

Our Class Was Visited By The "Gingerbread Man!"

You will NEVER believe what happened in our classroom yesterday!  We came back from lunch only to find a horrible MESS!  I asked the class if someone would like to be honest and tell me that they made the mess, but everyone said that it wasn't them.  If not them, then who could it be?
As we looked closer we began to solve the mystery.  We found a note tucked amongst the letters!  The note read, "Run, Run, As fast as you can! You can't catch me I'm the..."  The Smart Tarts in my class remarked at the HORRIBLE handwriting ... almost as if someone wrote it with their non-dominant hand... Hee Hee! They also noted that it was written in brown, sparkly ink. Hmmmm... 
Could it be the sneaky cookie that we have been learning about all week?  They then put the final piece of the puzzle together.... The letters "GB" were pulled out from all of the other letters.  I thought it stood for "Gary Brown," but when the kids asked who that was I had NO IDEA!  They informed me that it MUST stand for "GingerBread!"  
OH MY GOODNESS!  We knew that he had been naughty in all the books we read about him, but NOW IT WAS PERSONAL!  He was misbehaving in OUR CLASS!  The kids were all gung-ho on finding that frosted little man!  They were ready to capture and EAT HIM! Too bad we have a snow day today or we would probably be on the hunt for that sassy baked boy RIGHT NOW!  

We will see if the adventure continues on Monday... STAY TUNED!!! 

{and if he DOES decide to be a rascal again ... he better choose to do it at the END OF THE DAY!  Grrrrr!}

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

8 Hours and Counting ...

The Teachers Pay Teachers Cyber Monday and Tuesday Sale is ALMOST OVER!  With the code "CYBER" grab some Smart Tarts Learning Goodies at 28% Off!!  Check out my shop SMART TARTS LEARNING Thanks for looking!