Blog & Free Resources

Is Santa real?

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Mr 6 decided to spring the ‘is Santa real?’ question on me from the back seat of the car while on the school run yesterday 😥 He’d obviously been pondering the question for a while, as he’d come prepared with a list of evidence to back up his belief that Santa was, in fact, NOT real. 😬

**Cue a quick scramble to compile a suitable explanation from various anonymous internet sources!* This is my version of several letters/ideas that have been floating around on the internet for sometime – such a great idea!

I’m not entirely sure why I wasn’t prepared for this – having taught year 2 for years, I know that by the end of the year the class was normally split fairly evenly down the middle into believers and non believers!!) When did your kids stop believing? How did you explain things?

Click here to download this FREE printable (available in both ‘I’ & ‘we’ worded versions)

I’ll also pop the wording below in case you’d like to copy and paste into your own document to allow you to tweak it.

Is Santa real?

You recently asked us, “is Santa real?” The truth is that there is no one Santa.

We are the people who fill up the stockings & wrap the presents under the tree – just as our parents did for us, & their parents did for them. One day you might even see your own children running to check their stockings on Christmas morning!

Santa is lots & lots of people who keep the spirit of Christmas alive. He lives in our hearts – not at the North Pole. People like us take turns helping Santa to do a job that would otherwise be impossible.

Santa is about love, magic & the joy of giving to others. We’re on his team, & now you are too — welcome aboard! Thank you for helping to keep the magic alive for other children who still believe.

Looking for other FREE Christmas resources? Click here to have a peek at our Advent Calendar post… Merry Christmas!

ECE Transition sheets (FREE download)

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These sheets were developed in conjunction with the amazing teachers at Whitestone CoL!

They’re a great way of ensuring that the needs of your little learners are clearly shown and carried with them on their next big step to Primary. Click the link below to download your free set!

Click here to download your FREE set of transition forms!

Are you looking for other resources to support your learners in the lower primary/new entrant environment? Check out the store tab at the top of the page to get a closer look at the resources shown below and more!

Have you found our FREE ‘first week of school’ student/whānau transition sheets?

They’re perfect for getting to know your new class and their families a little better during the first week of school! Click here to grab your FREE set.:

Te Tau o te Rā – the Number of the Day! FREE RESOURCE

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There’s nothing better than a simple classroom routine that’s engaging, requires minimal set up and provides maximum thinking! Print, laminate, and select some challenges to suit your class (or group) before displaying – you could change the challenges daily (after your learners have gained confidence) or simply change the focus number with a whiteboard marker daily. The eye catching challenge cards use simple words and basic illustrations to give your little learners a prompt as to what’s required. (Māori version also included!)

The images below show one way of presenting this activity in class – the Tau o te Rā (number of the day) in this example, is twelve!

Tips:

I’d suggest modelling and completing these activities as whole class warm-ups before attempting to complete the tasks individually (of course showing lots of thinking aloud, using manipulatives if possible and collecting and exploring different ways to complete the challenges).

Introduce a new challenge every couple of days until your class have built up confidence tackling a larger amount of challenges (if appropriate). You could differentiate the tasks by varying the size of the daily focus number, purposely selecting the challenges and changing the quantity of tasks set.

Have a think about how you’d like them to record their learning…. maybe on whiteboards? At the back of their maths books? Verbally with a buddy? Or maybe as a group on large bits of paper (before taking a photo of their working) etc.

This activity makes a great maths session warm up, or additionally could be included as part of your maths rotation (use for set groups or early finishers) There are activities included to appeal to all your little learners….. from all the maths basics, through to rhyming your number words, making connections to your number, drawing the number and using a variety of fun manipulatives!

Please click here to download your FREE set of ‘Number of the Day’ labels!

Looking for other Kiwi resources to brighten up your classroom or enhance your learning programme? Check out the store tab at the top!

Dear Tooth Fairy {FREE Printable}

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Our household experienced a very significant life event last week – our big boy lost his first tooth! He was fairly certain that everyone else in his class (including his best buddies) had lost their first teeth yeeaaars ago, so this was a long anticipated occasion! I quickly scrambled to whip up a little ‘Dear Tooth Fairy’ sheet for him to leave with his tooth under his pillow (which I’ve since hidden away in his memory box for future reference) He really enjoyed filling in all the parts of the sheet with facts about this momentous event. This resource also includes a little letter in reply from the tooth fairy back to your child – just add their name and leave in place on the tooth…

Click here to download your FREE copy!

Teacher Struggles 2019

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Kua tae te wā – it’s time!

*Time to make some positive changes that will impact the daily goings-ons in every primary classroom in the country. Time to make this a thriving and attractive career option once again. Time to make this a healthy and balanced profession where teachers are treated as professionals and supported to do the best for our tamariki.

Scroll to the bottom of the post to find a FREE printable version of these conversation starters…