Quick. There's Still Time. Freebie!

I'm dashing quick to give you a freebie. I made copies today for my own students and as I did, it occurred to me that some of you might like this as a simple freebie.

It's a Count the Days of Winter Break "calendar" that your kids can use at home to count the days until they GET to come back to school... yes, one of the things I love about kindergarten is that some of my little buddies love to come to school so much they happily mark off each day so they see they are getting closer to school time again!

I have my kiddos simply number the days off, not reflecting the numbers on the December and January calendar. I of the kids write "Bye" on the last day before break, and "Hi" on the first day we'll be back.  If you prefer, you can have kids begin counting on the first day that break starts (Friday) with a one, and then count all the way until the day they start back (Monday). The downloadable freebie comes empty, without any numbers or words in the squares. Kids color in the sledding picture when they are finished, and yes, DH Jonathan did the little illustration.

Our district takes all our weeklong breaks as whole Monday thru Friday weeks. We are no longer allowed to take off from a Wednesday to a Wednesday, for instance. Because of this my calendar is set up to reflect two whole calendar weeks. I'm sorry I don't have versions that show the break starting and ending on other days of the week, but with good old white out and a ruler, you could make lines that reflect any days of the week you might have off.

The calendar is kind of amazing as it can work in two completely opposite ways– it helps the kiddos be patient through the loooong wait to go back, and it helps us teachers appreciate every day of break that WE STILL HAVE– snort! So whether you download it to share with your students, or simply keep it for yourself, I think it is a gotta-have. Hope you enjoy it and may it bring a purposeful fifteen minutes of peace and quiet to your class in an otherwise crazy last week. Click on the picture below to download.

I don't know about you, but I am WAAAAYYY busy this week. We have lots of special activities and craft projects, a party or two, and even a field trip... yes, sometimes I am a little nuts. I think I do it so I enjoy the well deserved vacation even a little more. Off I dash again– thanks for stopping by.