Candy Cane Ornaments Freebie

I still can't seem to put into words my thoughts and feelings about what happened in Connecticut last Friday. I continue to think about those little, innocent children, their brave teachers, and everyone in their community whose lives have been forever changed.

When I got to work today and saw my sweet students it reminded me... the show has to go on. I need to  smile and be the teacher they know. They are excited about the holidays, as they should be. So after a weekend of being in a strange funk - I am trying to "act normal." But at the same time, continue to pray and think of everyone in the Sandy Hook area.

So here it goes....a "normal" and festive post....

We make a salt dough candy cane every year. It is fun, festive and affordable! Some years I use this as the gift the kiddos give to their families....this year we did them in addition to something else (although I'm not sure why I did that to myself?!)

First of all, my mom always comes down to help on this day and that's a fun tradition. Plus, these are just a good ol' fashioned kindergarten craft. I have typed this up step by step as freebie on Teachers Pay Teachers - You  can click on the link to this freebie at the bottom of this post.

I don't have a picture of a finished candy cane....hmm, how did that happen? But I have many pictures of the process. 

We make the dough ahead of time. The trick to this is that the dough must be kneeded A LOT! My mom kneeds it quite a bit before calling back my little friends three at a time. It also helps to have the dough in balls ready to hand each child one red and one white ball.           

Yes, that is a paper clip in the top there..... What can I say, I'm budget! I used to buy the ornament hooks (you can find these at Michaels or Hobby Lobby), but honestly they didn't hook in that well. The paper clip is free and does the same job. You throw a ribbon through the clip to hang the candy cane on a tree or anywhere else that needs a little holiday cheer!

If you would like to give these a try - you can click on it below....it's free!