How I Survive the Month of December as a Preschool Teacher
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WARNING: SPOILER ALERT…
The Elf on the Shelf is how I survive December as a Pre-K teacher.
But keep reading!!!!
This post has TONS of great ideas to get you through the month of December… just pick and choose the ones you like!
No matter how calm my classroom was, it was always inevitable that the holidays brought tons of schedule interruptions, reasons to celebrate, and endless distractions popping up to throw off our routine.
THE ELF ON THE SHELF is the answer.
It’s how you get your kids to behave, no matter what exciting madness is happening around you.
I kept it pretty simple, too. (You can totally make this a reality in your classroom.)
And your home, for that matter!
Anywhere you’ve got kids, get yourself AN ELF and put it on a shelf!😂
The core of the excitement was that he would be in a new place each day so the kids would show up and be SO EXCITED to find where the elf was…
***TIP: (It’s a good idea to move your elf at the end of the day. There were SEVERAL mornings that I forgot and kids would start showing up and I’d have to pull some James Bond moves 😣to get the elf to a new spot before they found him.)
***ANOTHER IMPORTANT TIP: Make sure to put the elf somewhere high where kids can’t touch it! You don’t want it to become a battle of trying to grab the elf! If you purchase the Elf on the Shelf, it comes with a book to read with your kids, that will explain all the “rules.”
When I say the kids are “excited” to do this, I am drastically understating the way they feel… often, they are so pumped to spot the elf — they try to bring family members in…
“CAN I SHOW MY MOM?”
”CAN MY GRANDMA SEE?”
They are like little elf zombies, being pulled by the force of the elf magic.
They drop their back-packs (and lunch box, and scarf, and extra pair of shoes and anything else they were carrying😂) immediately when they step in the doorway, and they start frantically searching high and low… stumbling over the bags and winter accessories … it’s quite a scene.
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HONESTLY, I am not even mad when I say, “I think the elf on the shelf is what kids will remember most about my class.”
It’s true and I’M OK WITH IT.
I know it’s true because older siblings I’ve had in previous years come back during elf season (😂)… and they are still excited to help their younger sibling search for the elf.
They usually tell me stories of their memories from when they were in my class.
(SIDE-NOTE: If you are ever lucky enough to talk to your students years down the road, ask them what they remember about your class… that information is GOLD… remember it and DO MORE OF THAT.)
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An adorable, little magical elf…watching me… from a shelf (or hanging from a candy cane 😊) …are you kidding me?
It’s is one of the most exciting things imaginable for a 4 or 5 year old kid…
“So you mean, that cute little guy is going to watch me and report back to Santa about what I’m doing and maybe even bring us candy and leave us notes?”
I DO BELIEVE IN MAGIC.
THE WORLD IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE.
LIFE IS GOOD.
I AM HAPPY.
These are the kind of JOYFUL, POSITIVE messages they will be saying, thinking, and feeling.
The kind of messages that kids can never have too many of… and sadly, these moments of pure joy tend to taper off quickly as they grow up… it’s your DUTY to embrace and maximize them now with your young students!
(And we’re not talking Halloween candy here people, we’re talking mini candy canes from the dollar store… just a little peppermint bliss!)
Every few days, I’d let them all suck on a candy cane while I read them Gingerbread books.
BECAUSE:
✔️They feel like they got a treat.
✔️BUT ALSO, you can’t suck on a candy cane and talk at the same time, so it gets super quiet.😉
EVERY. BODY. WINS.
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Occasionally, I’ve had a teacher or two, bring up the problem they have with this…
“I can’t lie to my students.”
…WHAT?
I mean I get it, if you’re talking like, they ask you one of those tough question that you squirm as you answer like… “Is this hamburger really from an adorable cow?” or “Do lions eat people?”
It would be easier to dance around those tough questions, but I get it, in those tough moments, in MOST moments, we, as teachers, should take the high road… tell the honest truth.
We are teachers, afterall… we have to teach all of the kids all of the things…
Sure, in general, that’s an honorable principle to stick to…
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BUT, LIKE… I’m sorry to say, this is bigger than you and your principles…
This is about letting children be children…
Let them enjoy the magic…
Let them feel the joy…
I mean, if they ask you, straight up, “IS SANTA REAL?”… you don’t have to surrender all of your morals with some huge lie, just throw some mystery at them and let their minds run with it.
Say something like “Well, you heard that note from the elf right? I think he’s watching us”… or “I don’t know if Santa’s real, but that elf is HERE FOR US!”
Don’t let our adulting ways ruin this for the kids.
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Here’s how you can USE THE ELF TO HELP MANAGE BEHAVIORS:
Every few days, I would write up a long note from the elf.
(Obviously, most of the kids can’t actually read it so you could totally just fake it and with a generic printed note and try to wing it when you read it to the class)…
But, I would always put some thought into my notes because I wanted to make sure I talked about every kid and sent a SPECIFIC behavior message.
Yes, you have to spend 10 or so minutes writing a letter every few mornings, but that’s NOTHING compared to how much time you will save by the EFFECT your letters are going to have on your student’s behavior!
You use these notes to send behavior messages, LOUD AND CLEAR.
(THEY ARE NEVER MORE ATTENTIVE than when you are reading them A NOTE FROM THE ELF.)
Use that to your advantage:
-Reference great behaviors you saw kids doing, BE SPECIFIC!
You can be sure you’ll see those behaviors again. (Because the elf has written them in a note AND HE REPORTS TO SANTA.😯)
-I’d keep negative behaviors out of this letter, unless you want to simply address something quick and make sure you do it in a positive way.
You could say something like, “I will be watching to see who remembers to raise their hands when they have something to say, I wonder who’s going to remember! I can’t wait to tell Santa!”
-You can also talk about specific things you want the whole group to improve on… in the examples below, I wanted my kids to attempt activities more than once, so I mentioned that and told them why in my letter…
Here are 3 examples of letters from the ELF:
Wondering about the MAGICAL PAPER AT THE EASEL? (from the PS part of the letter above?)
The magic paper at the easel is just ornaments I print on regular paper.
Then, I use white crayons to write kid’s names on them.
So when they go to water color paint them, A NAME IS REVEALED…
They go NUTS for this.
“OMGOSH OMGOSH, who’s name is this? ALEX! IT SAYS ALEX”… (runs and shows Alex) “THE ELF WROTE YOUR NAME ON HERE! WOW!!!!!”
Check it out:
NAMING YOUR ELF!
HOPEFULLY you picked up on the AWESOME names my student’s have given to the elves. 😊
It’s always fun to vote on your elf’s name.
Here’s how I do it…
I always take ANY AND ALL suggestions… and write them down.
Then, I create a simple chart on a big piece of paper with a column for each elf name suggested. (And under the elf name, I write the name of the child who suggested it, families always love to see this part!)
I have all the kids photos on the ground in front of me, face down.
I read through all the name options again.
I turn the pictures over, one at a time, to reveal who it is, and ask that child what their vote is for the elf’s name. Then I put a piece of tape on the back and stick it under the name they voted for.
You will probably be impressed with how quickly they pick up on the names and the number of votes being cast. (Even though they can’t read.) They are pretty receptive to this kind of chart graph at this point in the year, even if they’ve never seen one before.
AND, they are all on the edge of their seats waiting for their picture to come up, patiently waiting because I tell them if I turn over their picture and they are not ready (sitting, looking, listening, paying attention etc)…
I will go to the next one…and none of them want to miss their turn!
Each vote will be marked and the one with the most wins.
(If you have a tie, there are lots of creative ways to decide… I’m sure you can come up with something. You might have them all vote again between just those two (or 3) name options.)
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So you'd like a few more ideas about how to bring some magic to your classroom?
HERE ARE 4 MORE TIPS FOR YOU!!
(BECAUSE I TOLD YOU, I’VE GOT YOUR BACK!)
#1 - 🔥CRACKLING FIRES🔥
On youtube, you can find peaceful videos of crackling fires in beautiful fireplaces…
Most days it would be cold when the kids would come in, but even if you live in Florida…just pretend… they will go along with you…
Say, “OOooo, I’m chilly… should we have a nice fire going while we work?”
Here’s one link for you to try:
It helps to create a calm and cozy workspace.
Kids love this kind of stuff.
My kids kept requesting the fire even after the holiday season…
Here’s what it looked like in my classroom (pardon the clutter):
#2 - 🎁GIVE THEM PRESENTS🎁
NO, not go to the store and buy them presents.
I’m talking grab some tissue paper and WRAP UP ANYTHING presents!
I’m sure you have some art supplies you may have bought for the holiday season, that would be great to wrap up…
BUT, it doesn’t have to be that fancy…
✔️Go in your supply closet.
✔️Find some toys they’ve never played with before.
✔️Wrap them up with some old tissue paper.
✔️Let the kids open them!
These were dress up costumes donated to us so I decided to wrap them up…
I can guarantee the kids would have barely noticed these if I had just put them in the dramatic play center… BUT WHEN YOU WRAP THEM UP… they are special!
(Please notice the tissue paper tape job I did😂, I’m talking KEEP IT SIMPLE PEOPLE.)
The dress-up clothes were a hit…
Maybe you’re like me, and you picked up some new playdoh accessories from the Dollar Tree or the Dollar Spot at Target…
WRAP.
THEM.
UP!!
Seriously, the more things you can wrap, THE BETTER…
It would be best if you could wrap up enough “presents” so that each of your kids could open one!
(Which is doable when you think about breaking things down, individually wrapping a bunch of smaller things is still JUST AS EXCITING!)
***(THIS IS A HUGE BEHAVIOR MOTIVATOR!)
And you don’t do it all on the same day… stretch it out!
Let some of the kids who struggle with behavior wait a few days and earn the privilege of opening a present!
“As long as you are doing your best, you will get to open one of these special presents from the elf!!! Wow, are we the luckiest class in the whole world?!”
#3 - 💚 STAY POSITIVE 💚
Pay attention to the way you are talking to your kids!
Remember to use these kids of messages:
THIS IS SO EXCITING.
We are so lucky!
I am so happy we get to ______!
I want us to be able to do MORE fun stuff like this, so I know you are going to show me you can handle this.
You are such smart kids.
Thanks for being such great listeners.
WOW, you all followed the directions right away! Now I know we can handle more fun stuff.
#4 - 🎅Catch Santa App🎅
In case you might need some extra OOMPH, in getting your kids to jump on the train here…
There’s an app, ⭐️(IT’s FREE!)⭐️
where you can take a photo
of your classroom…
and input a Santa… 😂😂😂😂
I’m telling you, my kids were ADAMANT that their families HAD TO SEE THIS PICTURE…
So much so, that I ended up having to send it out to all of them!!!
Because their kids wouldn’t stop talking about it!!!
“Santa, just sitting… where Ms. Caylee usually sits!”
It was ABSOLUTELY MIND BLOWING for them.
I’m not getting paid to sponsor this app, I’m just telling you how I made this magic happen.
The app is called, Catch Santa.
I got excited.
I may have taken it too far, but I’M NOT SORRY.
The picture below, is hilarious… and it’s all for the cause!
There you have it folks.
LOTS of ideas to get you though the month of December.
Very soon, your students are going to be grown up and facing the harsh realities of adulthood without ANY magic ELVES ANYWHERE… and they’re gonna be wishing they were back in your classroom with the little elf on the little shelf, experiencing the MAGIC.
They believe in unicorns.
They believe in Santa.
They believe in elves, watching them, to see their AMAZING behavior…
If you don’t USE THIS, I can’t promise you that you’ll survive the month of December…
I don’t care if there’s only school for 2 weeks in the month… IN DECEMBER, it feels like 12.
My advice to you, is:
Don’t just survive it…
EMBRACE IT.
GO BIG.
Don’t overthink it…
At the end of the day, there’s just a little dude keeping an eye on your students so he can pass on the great things that they’re doing.
✨(IT’S A SMALL, but noteworthy, BONUS, that when kids come up to you, tattling, or telling on a peer, “HE STUCK OUT HIS TONGUE AT ME.”
You don’t have to get frazzled or annoyed… just smile… and calmly let them know,
✨✨“You don’t have to tell me sweetie… the elf sees everything.” ✨✨
GULP.
(And then, secretly, in your mind, you can just go ahead and take a bow… you’ve made it, sister.)
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(In all seriousness, I’m not saying ignore your children when they are expressing needs, or asking for help… but, I AM SAYING, that when you’ve got a kid repeating the same tattle to you for the 3rd time this morning, AND you have an elf on your shelf…
Sometimes, just letting that elf magic do it’s job is the best way to spread Christmas cheer.
(That, and singing loud for all to hear.)
Let your children have those magical memories they will remember forever.
You are THAT teacher.
(And I am here FOR YOU… to answer any questions or overcome any obstacles that might be getting in the way of you making this December the best one yet!)
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I will never forget, one day, during center time, I noticed one of my little guys, sneaking over to the elf, and whispering to it…
“Hey Sparkle… I’m Miguel…
I’m so glad that you’re here.
I’ve been very good.
Can you bring me Legos? and CANDY?
THANK YOU, Sparkle!”
(Turns around… then turns back.)
“… I love you, Sparkle.” 😊
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The beauty… of a child,
being a child,
and believing wholeheartedly in magic…
is something I will never get to old for.
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