Brain Ninjas

Let us help you teach like a ninja!

Christmas Crafts

How to Make Recycled Cork Ornaments

by

Recycle some of those corks or small round containers to make some adorable Christmas ornaments. This makes a great Christmas craft for the classroom or homeschool. Come get all the instructions and suggestions to make your own.

Do you have a bunch of wine corks lying around? Don’t worry; we’re not judging. Well, they can make great ornaments with a little paint and detail. Recycling materials to make Christmas ornaments is a great way to use materials destined for the landfill in a way that won’t just become a piece of garbage because the family will treasure the ornament for years. We created these little recycled cork ornaments that families love.

These recycled cork ornaments make great Christmas gifts for your students’ families. Wrap them up with some tissue paper and make a card that students can take home with them before the break.

[Read more…] about How to Make Recycled Cork Ornaments

How to Spread Joy With Handmade Community Christmas Cards

by

Get your students involved in their community by making and delivering Christmas cards. It's so simple and yet makes such an impact. Find out how in this post complete with different types of cards to make and how to involve your whole school.

For eleven years we have been part of a proud tradition in our community: delivering Christmas cards to all the homes and businesses that make up our school community. We mail them to agencies and businesses involved with our school community. It is so easy, helps build community and teaches our students to do things for others.

Students love making cards. And they don’t need to be just for Christmas. You can apply this strategy to any type of holiday at any time of year.

Here is how you can start the tradition for yourself.

[Read more…] about How to Spread Joy With Handmade Community Christmas Cards

Gift Festive Christmas Classroom Activities to Your Students

by

Do you need some Christmas classroom activities to keep your students busy during December that are still valuable learning opportunities? Look no further than this list of easy to implement (and barely prep) ideas. Come check out some Christmas math or design a social media account for an elf. These Christmas activities are perfect for your upper elementary classroom.

You know that week in December when you’re constantly called down to the auditorium for concert rehearsals, some of your students are away sick, some have left for vacation early, and you have to keep a classroom full of excited kids busy? Do you need some Christmas classroom activities to solve the problem?

Christmas is fun and all, but it’s so hard to keep kids interested in learning, and it’s a challenging time to introduce new concepts with all those interruptions. What’s a teacher to do?

[Read more…] about Gift Festive Christmas Classroom Activities to Your Students

12 Simple Christmas Tree Art Projects We Love

by

Collection of simple Christmas tree art projects for elementary students

Looking for easy Christmas tree art projects for your classroom? Here are 12 we’ve tested using pastels, paint, watercolour, ribbon and recycled materials. Most take about an hour, and each one can become a card, plaque, ornament or hallway decoration.

If you are an elementary generalist who teaches your own art, it can be challenging finding projects that look great, teach skills and aren’t so complicated that YOU can’t figure them out. Don’t worry! We’ve got some great Christmas tree art projects for you. They use regular materials you’ll be able to find in your school and don’t take more than an hour or so to create.

In fact, we think you’ll probably create more than one because they are just so cute!

[Read more…] about 12 Simple Christmas Tree Art Projects We Love