Dreidel Party!

We had our first snowfall of the year late last night resulting in a 2 hour delay and a crazy, mixed-up schedule. Our annual trip to a holiday store sponsored by one of the local high schools was scheduled for today and was postponed due to the ice and snow which I'm sure was caused by the fact that I had to plan this trip so far in advance! The kids did a great job going with the flow this morning, and it helped that we focused on a fun, holiday activity. This week we've been reading about different December holidays- we read a great story about Hanukkah and followed-up by learning about the Dreidel Game and making our very own dreidels. 

After some review, we learned the Dreidel Song with this adapted activity from News-2-You. We used our iPads to read along as we learned the lyrics. Afterward, we listened to the song while some of us showed off our dance moves on YouTube.

 Next, we got to work decorating our dreidels with some of our eighth grade peer helpers.

 We had a great time practicing our fine motor skills while getting the chance to just hang out a little and chat with our friends.

It was the perfect activity for our crazy morning!

 Check out one of the dreidels before it was assembled:

 Next, we worked on folding all of the edges. I love activities like these where it feels like we're just having fun when we're actually sneaking in work!

 We flexed our fine motor skills for sure this morning!

 We finished by sticking a pencil through the assembled dreidel. It was fun watching them spin!

 Here's the finished product- get ready, Kwanzaa mats are coming soon!

It was a fun morning filled with laughter and festivity. The kids really showed how well they can adjust to a change in plans!  As disappointing as it was that we had to postpone our community-based instruction, we had a blast with our dreidel activity.

HAPPY FRIDAY!