Classroom elves can bring so much joy to students from the moment they arrive. Not only do students love seeing what kind of mischief elves can get into, but they also love learning about all things elf as Christmas gets closer! In my classroom, we do some activities to celebrate the elf’s arrival, and then we continue the excitement with daily activities that include the elf in some way. These classroom elf ideas will help you engage your students’ excitement about this new classroom guest in fun and meaningful ways!
Read Alouds
When an elf first comes to your classroom, your students will likely be very curious about it and about elves in general. For this reason, I like to bring in some fun read alouds. In books like “How to Catch an Elf” by Adam Wallace, students can learn about the mischievous nature of elves. Other books like “Memoirs of an Elf” by Devin Scillian and “The Littlest Elf” are also great to share with students, so they can get more familiar with elves. Not only will students really enjoy these stories, but they are also a great way to welcome the idea of your new classroom visitor!
Crafts and Activities
Another classroom elf idea that students always enjoy is creating an elf craft. They can make an elf to look like themselves or even model their elf after the classroom elf, if they choose. Then, these crafts can make a great classroom or hallway decoration to make our visiting elf feel more welcome!
There are also a ton of other classroom elf activities you can do throughout the month of December that keep students engaged and build kindergarten skills. For example, students can work on elf-themed STEM challenges, like building a trap to catch an elf (a perfect activity to go along with “How to Catch an Elf”). Not only will students be engaged in a fun elf themed activity, but they will also be building problem solving and planning skills!
Spread Holiday Cheer
After students learn more about elves through different books, crafts and activities, you may also want to show your students another side of elves–their kind and helpful nature. After seeing that elves are not only mischievous, students can use their own kindness to spread holiday cheer in our school and community. Each day, the classroom elf can deliver some type of kindness prompt, that you and your students can follow with simple tasks like making art for another teacher or making a card for the lunch staff. Students will see how important kindness is, and how good it feels to give to others.
I also love using the elf to encourage my students to also be not only kind, but also helpful to others. Within my elf unit, there are different writing prompts that can be done alongside the elf craft mentioned earlier like, “I can be helpful by ___”. It lets students reflect on ways they can have a positive impact, and continues to build onto the positive characteristics we can learn from our classroom elf.
Through these classroom elf ideas and activities, you can spark curiosity and kindness in your students. You can use this curiosity to engage students in a variety of elf read alouds, crafts, and activities, but even more importantly, students can use their sparked kindness to spread holiday cheer throughout the school and community.
Leave a Reply