Five for Friday: Ugly Sweater Edition

Can I hear a woohoo? Made it half way through the year and to my winter break. Woohoo!
What a week, what a day, what a year so far! Time for some "me" time. Time to clean the house, finish up my shopping, and time to enjoy some time with my boys.
I am linking up with favorite linky party, Five for Friday with Doodle Bugs Teaching.

So keeping kiddos calm during the week before winter break requires lots of planning and lots of patience. Or you can surprise them with some offhanded attire and keep them on their toes.

So, today was our last day and our First Annual Ugly Sweater contest. A teammate and I decided we wanted to go all out and would be tacky all over. I crafted tutus for the team and we all set off to make ugly sweaters or tacky tops. Today we won the prize for most shocking, most spirited, and well, most unique.
I was actually disappointed to see many coworkers in non-tacky items and perhaps next year it will be more of a competition as other teachers strive to reach the bar we set.

Left to Right: Cindy Lou Who - she wore lights under her top and sparkled all day - knee high socks with jeans tucked in, Turleneck under Mickey, Candy cane turtleneck under a sweater vest with rolled up jeans and holiday socks, Scarf - accesories galore and a a gift t-shrt, Candy Cane tutu with a candy cane top, Braids and bows and a garland headpiecce and the good ole- Grinch with Max tied around my waist. 

Ok, you are thinking, that is one ugly green sweater. Yep it is, I succeeded in creating a sea of lime green, tacky and ugly!

These are the leg warmers I crafted to go with my outfit.

Our admin loved it so much; we even made the morning announcements. 
Our principal shrieked as she saw us round the corner and then went running for her phone to take some pictures. We definitely will go down in history and earned some teamwork points! 
Heads turned all day, looks of shock and bewildered faces as I walked throughout the building. I had the cafeteria in a roar and had to rush out to keep the kids from getting out of hand. Kids were asking me all sorts of questions. I loved when they knew exactly what I was and asked the question of the day, "When is your heart going to grow?" 

Sweet girls who asked for a picture with me during recess. 

One of my girls asked, "Are you the mean one or the nice one?" I think my smile and willingness to dress up answers that, the NICE one! 
On a day when the kids are usually wound up, my kids were relatively mild, I think they just couldn't get over the fact their teacher looked as if she fell off the deep end of sanity! We actually finished up Charlotte's Web, did some great math problem solving, and did some close reading of Christmas in the U.S.  

Lesson learned: students who volunteer to take a group picture may need some help and direction so they don't cut off heads or half the crowd.

My kids were squeezing in to get in a picture with me. 

Another lesson learned: Kids love to take their pictures, especially if you look a little zany. Want to feel like a celebrity? Do something to stand out. Be brave and think outside of the box. 

Want to build your team? Plan something fun together. This helped us look and feel united. We shared many smiles together today and enjoyed our last day together in a festive manner. 

Some people probably think I was a little crazy. Perhaps I was, but it made for a fun last day! Better to have people talking about something you are already laughing at yourself about! 

I absolutely love the accents on my pictures. The frames and the accents are all from Michelle at The 3AM Teacher. I have been following her blog and TPT store, and her blog is hilarious!  
I really love this joyful Christmas set. It made for some precious accents on my pictures. 

Did you know that Michelle is launching a webstore and makes custom made blogs? Right now she is running a special on some adorable pre-made sets. Check out her blog. 

I am mighty proud of the awesome class party I put together. Most people have room moms to run the party, but I am my room mom. No one volunteered so I took this stressor on. Made for a more stressful week, but the kids deserved a fun party and you know what, it was great! 

We had pancakes and hot cocoa with some sweets that a few of the kids brought in. 
I played my favorite Christmas songs from Glee. Ran a slide show with pictures from the first half of the year, they really liked that. 
I did not have a craft. I could not manage cooking pancakes, monitoring the class, and run a craft at the same time. Since no one volunteered to help, I figured the craft would have to be skipped. No biggie, they had time to talk and eat, perfect for them. 
A handful of parents attended the party and they had a fun time hanging out with their kids. 
Lesson learned: There are pros to being in charge of the party, but there are some cons. Like forgetting to turn the crock pot on because you are running around doing everything during your short planning period. Oops, slight oversight but all it meant was I extended the party a little longer and let them enjoy the hot chocolate during our writing lesson! 
By the way, a morning party was awesome. Making pancakes was easy and they kids liked the novelty. I made a lot of batter and ended up with more pancakes than the kids could eat, so we surprised some other classes with some platters of pancakes for their morning snack. 

I hope you enjoyed my picture showcasing my crazy day with my ugly sweater. It really was a great way to end the week/month/year. Not sure how I am going to top that next year, but I will definitely be thinking of something. And don't be surprised if you see pictures of me sporting that tutu in March around St. Patrick's Day!
Hope your week ended on a wonderful note. Hoping that you are on your breaks and gearing up for some well deserved rest!