Getting to the Core

Interesting Activities For Counting Down To Christmas

1-2-3 Come Countdown To Christmas With Me

One of the things that I realized rather quickly, during the 10 years that I taught Y5's, was that younger children don't have a real good grasp of time. To help my kiddos with this, I did all sorts of calendar activities, so that they could visulalize the passage of time.

Counting down the days of each month, was extremely helpful. For holiday months, this was especially nice, because it dispensed with the "When is?" questions. "When is vacation, the party, fieldtrip..." or other special activities that they were looking forward to.

With that in mind, I decided to design a bunch of countdown to Christmas activities. These are simple, quick and easy, so you can choose several. They are fun independent activities that children can work on a few minutes each day, freeing you up to work one-on-one with students.

Each month I displayed a different countdown paper chain from the ceiling. I chose 2 to 3 different colors (appropriate for that month) to make the links out of, so we could review colors as well as patterning.

You can make the countdown to Christmas gingerbread paper chain craftivity for your class, or have students each make their own, to take home for more practice. I used white puffy paint (for frosting) and a plaid ribbon bow for extra pizzazz.

"You Can Count On Santa" is another fun visual for your students.

As with the gingerbread craft, you can simply make one for your classroom for calendar time, or run off copies for students to make one of their own.

Using a glue dot, children add a cotton ball to fill in Santa's beard. This is not my original idea, although I've been doing it long before the Internet. I love drawing Santa, and hope you like my version.

Since the Elf On A Shelf story has become a super-fun classroom management tool, I decided to make an elf-themed countdown craftivity as well.

As students countdown to Christmas, they trace and write the numbers and then color each section of the elf's stockings in an ABAB pattern. I added flat-backed jewels and mini pom poms for that finishing touch.

Since jewels are an especially "big deal" to little ones, you can use them as an incentive: Stay focused and complete your work and earn a bit of dazzle for your countdown elf.

1-2-3 Countdown To Christmas Alphabetically, is one of my favorites.

It's an alphabet booklet. Students trace and write the letters, as well as the Christmas-themed words.

They color the letter and picture, then write another word that also begins with that letter. There are so many options for Christmas-related words, you can easily request that the extra words also need to be about Christmas.

Starting December 1st, have students complete one letter. Since there are only 25 days 'til Christmas, remind students to complete letters Y and Z on the last day.

For more alphabet reinforcement, the packet also includes 10 worksheets, to help practice writing upper and lowercase letters, putting words in alphabetical order, skip counting the 24 days 'til Christmas by 2's, as well as practicing writing numbers to 31 (The number of days in the month.)

The worksheet in the photo, asks students "What Lowercase Letter Is Missing?" There are also two "I Spy" game worksheets.

Click on the link to view/download the Countdown to Christmas Alphabet packet.

Since my Y5's needed lots of scissor practice, I designed two countdown activities, where students snip off the days 'til Christmas.

The "Trim the Tree" scissor-snipping countdown craftivity, is my own idea, however, cutting off Santa's beard, was an idea I found dozens of versions of, on Pinterest.

I felt that Santa still needed a beard for his Christmas Eve adventures, so I revamped the concept, and designed a "Snipit Santa."

Both the Christmas tree and Santa, when completely trimmed, make cute paper ornaments or gift tags.

Click on the link to view/download the Let's Trim the Tree & Santa's Beard Christmas countdown - scissor practice craftivities.

Finally, if you're just looking for something super-simple for your little ones to do, as a countdown activity, click on the link for some Countdown To Christmas Coloring Pages.

I've included a cute gingerbread house cover, for a Christmas countdown file folder, so students can keep all of their countdown activities in one place.

I'd include one that they can color, one they use a bingo dauber on (dotting the days away), one they can earn stickers for, plus a scissor snipping option. These worksheets only take a few minutes, and because kiddos can work independently, you are freed up to work one-on-one with students.

That's it for today. I hope you found something here that you can use to help your students understand the concept of time passing.

My grama Lydia used to say that the older she got the more quickly time passed. Now that I'm enjoying my "golden years" I find that to be truer than true. Wishing you a peaceful, savor-each-moment kind of day.

"How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?" -Dr. Seuss

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More Elf On A Classroom Shelf Activities III

1-2-3 Come Go On An Elf Ed-venture With Me!

Woo hoo! It seems that The Elf On A "Classroom" Shelf activities, have been the kinds of things visitors have been looking for. (Scroll down to the last two blog articles to check things out.) I hope you enjoy these latest FREEBIES just as much.

elf activities, elf on a shelf activities, elf on a shelf, december writing prompts, journal writing, diary writing, alphabet activities, daily 5 activities, daily 5 for december, winter writing prompts, elf writing prompts, shape activities, counting backwards activities, skip counting activities, elf crafts, arts and crafts for december, december writing centers Since teachers have commented on how the "sliders" are a nice way to "sneak" in a little art, with all of those standards, I decided to design "Jingle" the elf slider.

There are sliders (strips of paper that students slide up and down) for upper and lowercase letters, numbers to 30, counting backwards from 10 to 0 as well as 20 to 0 + skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's, and 10's. They are a quick, easy and fun way to whole group assess.

If you don't want to make a slider, have students make a "Belly Booklet." They can practice writing letters, numbers, words, their name, or whatever else you're working on, and record things on just-the-right-size pages. Click on the link to view/download Jingle, the Elf Slider Packet.

Venn diagrams are a wonderful way to help your little elves compare and contrast. Click on the link to view/download the 13 Venn diagrams with an interesting elf theme. Pick one for your kiddos, or give them a choice.

diary of a wimpy kid elf activities, elf on a shelf activities, elf on a shelf, december writing prompts, journal writing, diary writing, alphabet activities, daily 5 activities, daily 5 for december, winter writing prompts, elf writing prompts, shape activities, counting backwards activities, skip counting activities, elf crafts, arts and crafts for december, december writing centers Since Diary of a Wimpy Kid is really popular with children, I decided to make a Diary of a Wimpy Elf. I had a fun time designing this packet, and think your students will enjoy decorating their "top secret" file-folder diary and making entries as an elf, who is recording his/her activities and adventures.

I've included "spy stickers" to decorate their diaries with, or use them as incentives for great writing, excellent effort, wonderful improvement etc. There are also 2 diary-page templates that you can also use. Click on the link to view/download Diary of a Wimpy Elf.

cov wimp Here's the scenario to help jumpstart your students' writing: Imagine being the smallest and weakest elf at the North Pole. You so want to help Santa, but everyone thinks you are too little, too dumb and too weak to do anything but be a candy cane tester, licking a sample from each batch to make sure they taste just right.

diary of a wimpy kid elf activities, elf on a shelf activities, elf on a shelf, december writing prompts, journal writing, diary writing, alphabet activities, daily 5 activities, daily 5 for december, winter writing prompts, elf writing prompts, shape activities, counting backwards activities, skip counting activities, elf crafts, arts and crafts for december, december writing centers To make matters worse, the only thing "big" about you are your feet and ears. They are ginormous! This little elf constantly daydreams about all of the adventures he’d go on as a super-spy for Santa.

After all, being little has its advantages. He could hide almost anywhere; and his huge ears help him hear just about anything. His humongous feet allow him to ski down slippery slopes, without having to put real skis on!

Give your students this background information (included in the packet) and have them become that tiny elf, with the giant feet, huge ears and big heart. Have them write about what they do and how they feel. I've also included 30 crazy writing prompts to jump-start their creative minds, hopefully causing a few giggles.

Encourage them to name their elf and draw cartoon-like pictures in their diary, like Jeff Kinney does in his book. When your elf activities are winding down, have students write a few pages where they "save the day" and become a highly respected, and depended-upon elf, who is a very special spy for Santa. Click on the link to view/download The Diary of a Wimpy Elf.

That's it for today. Thanks for visiting. I hope your kiddos get excited about doing a bit of creative writing. I still remember Mr. Voseteig reading a Harriet the Spy book to us in 5th grade.

We all got to have our special "spy notebook" to write in. My creative writing juices went wild, and it was my first A+ ... I was hooked. The excitement of that spy book, gave way to Nancy Drew books, which became my favorite. I've been a life-long lover of reading and writing ever since.

“I'll be famous one day, but for now I'm stuck in middle school with a bunch of morons." - Greg Heffley,” (-Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid.)

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More Elf On A Classroom Shelf Activities

1-2-3 Come Do Some Elf-Themed Activities With Me

Because the Elf activities have been such a huge hit, (scroll down to see that blog & FREEBIES), I've been very busy designing a few more.

Since kiddos tend to be a bit more, shall we say "energetic" during December, I made a writing prompt that can turn into a nice behavior modification tool; I call it Santa's List.

Christmas activities, elf activities, directional writing prompts, december bulletin boards, daily 5 activities for december, list of transitions, transition cards, elf on a shelf activities, elf alphabet cards, venn diagrams, elf & gingerbread venn diagrams, elf sentence cards, elf slider Now that the elf is on the shelf and reporting back to Santa, students could write about why they think they should be on the good behavior or "nice" list.

Launch this writing prompt by playing the Christmas carol “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.” I taught my Y5’s this song and we did some finger movements as we sang: “. . . He’s making a list and checking it twice, gonna find out who’s naughty or nice. . .

After my Y5's got the “wiggles” out, we brainstormed about good behavior and what Santa’s elves might be looking for. How does one get on the nice list? What things could we do? What things shouldn’t we do?

Write a list on the board, so children can refer to it for ideas as well as spelling help. Pass out the writing prompt page. Students write why they think they should be on Santa’s nice list and then color their page.

After they share their work with the class, collect and collate the pages to make a class book. A cover is provided. I’ve also included a Santa’s list poster. Print; mount on red and green construction paper and laminate. You can hang this on your wall or white board and add students names as you catch them behaving appropriately or completing tasks.

The packet also includes a template for students to write a note to their Elf on a Shelf or to Santa. Click on the link to view/download Santa's List Writing Prompt.

Christmas activities, elf activities, directional writing prompts, december bulletin boards, daily 5 activities for december, list of transitions, transition cards, elf on a shelf activities, elf alphabet cards, venn diagrams, elf & gingerbread venn diagrams, elf sentence cards, elf slider Another interesting December writing prompt, helps reinforce giving directions. Encourage students to use transitions, ordinal numbers as well as adjectives.

I've included word cards for sequential-transitions, + a helpful guide to using transitions that I give to my college writing class students.

Add some pom-poms, a jingle bell, and some white glitter to make an awesome bulletin board. Click on the link for the How To Dress An Elf "craftivity."

Christmas activities, elf activities, directional writing prompts, december bulletin boards, daily 5 activities for december, list of transitions, transition cards, elf on a shelf activities, elf alphabet cards, venn diagrams, elf & gingerbread venn diagrams, elf sentence cards, elf slider For more fun writing, have students keep a journal of your Elf On A Classroom Shelf's adventures. This makes a quick and easy Daily 5 activity for the month of December.

Have students keep everything in a file folder. I've included days of the week cards; a star chart students can color when they've done a nice job on their journal; lots of prompts for both PK and older kiddo's, + "elf mail" notes.

Click on the link to view/download the Elf Journal.

Christmas activities, elf activities, elf on a shelf activities, elf alphabet cards, venn diagrams, elf & gingerbread venn diagrams, elf sentence cards, elf slider Finally, I had several requests for alphabet cards, so I designed an "elf-abet" packet.

Christmas activities, elf activities, directional writing prompts, december bulletin boards, daily 5 activities for december, list of transitions, transition cards, elf on a shelf activities, elf alphabet cards, venn diagrams, elf & gingerbread venn diagrams, elf sentence cards, elf slider An elf number packet and elf number-strip puzzles were also requested. (Thank you Lisa, Katie, Sue and Erin for your e-mails.) Click on the links to view those FREEBIES.

Christmas activities, elf activities, elf on a shelf activities, elf alphabet cards, venn diagrams, elf & gingerbread venn diagrams, elf puzzles, alphabet assessments, alphabet cards, alphabet activities, elf alphabet cards, number cards to 120, elf number cards, elf sentence cards, elf slider Thanks for visiting today. I hope you and your little elfkins will enjoy these activities.

My personal "to do" list is a little long today, so it's time to hit the floor running.

“Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars, not if you care for such things.” -J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

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The Elf On A Shelf

Now You See Them; Now You Don’t! 1 2 3 Come Do Some Elf On A Shelf Activities With Me

The Elf on A Shelf is a children’s picture book written by an American mother and daughter Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell, and illustrated by Coë Steinwart.

The book was self-published in 2005 and comes with a small elf. It's written in rhyme with watercolor illustrations.

The gist of the story is that Santa knows who is naughty and nice by what his elves report back to him as they fly back and forth each night.

Upon returning, they pick a new place to hide. By choosing a new hiding spot, the members of the family play an on-going game of Hide and Seek. Children are encouraged to name their elf.

Once the elf is named, the "scout" elf receives its special Christmas magic. Now they can fly! However, the magic might go if touched, so the rule for The Elf on the Shelf states: "There's only one rule that you have to follow, so I will come back and be here tomorrow: Please do not touch me. My magic might go, and Santa won't hear all I've seen or I know."

In the hope that students will settle down, stay on task, and be better behaved during the hectic month of December, teachers have now gotten on board and purchased an elf for their classrooms.

To launch Elf on a Shelf read the story and let the good behavior modification begin! After all, Santa now has a spy in the room, and the teacher has a helper that is watching.

If you're looking for a costume to wear on the day you introduce your elf activities, or perhaps dress up in for story time, I found one at Oriental Trading. It's just $16. They also have an apron, or simply don the hat for $3. Children's sizes are also available, and would be a real hit in your dress up box,

I spent over an hour sourcing pictures of elf antics, 'til my head was actually spinning! There are virtually 100's of ideas Online, so I decided to start a PIN board with my favorites. Click on the link to catch the Elf Excitement.

If your budget is tight and you'd like to make an elf, instead of buying one, I designed "Twinkle." He's made out of a decorative lunch bag.

I bought my bags at Hobby Lobby. Click on the link to view/download Twinkle, the Elf on a Classroom Shelf "craftivity."

This is also a very easy thing for your kiddo's to make, and can act as a great behavior modification technique, as I've included "Tally Tags."

Children choose one and glue it to the front of their own elf. Whenever you catch a child being good, or when they have completed a task, they may add a tally mark to their card.

Have them use a red marker for tally marks 1-4 and then cross the 5th tally with a green marker.

To ensure honesty, remind students that the elves and Santa are watching, so no cheating. You could also let them know that you have a student tally total that you keep track of, so if you find a discrepancy they will lose their card. You really don't have to keep up with this, just show the paper and it will hopefully do the trick.

Feel free to walk over and add tally marks to children’s bags without saying a word. Believe me, they will be aware of what you are doing and get right down to business. After school, add tally marks to whom ever had a good day. This tally mark can be from the Elf on a Shelf. So children can readily see a difference, make the elf’s tally mark in another color like blue or purple.

Elf on a shelf activities, elf button, elf certificate, elf writing prompts, writing prompts for december,elf on a shelf lessons, 5 senses, rhyming booklet, rhyming lessons, elf on a shelf booklet, elf on a shelf craftivities, elf on a shelf, December activities, December games, behavior management techniques, elf activities, discipline tips, classroom management, Because of the book’s popularity, elf activities were being requested, so I decided to design some. I also had a few "oldies but goodies" which you can find below.

Elf on a shelf activities, elf on a shelf lessons, 5 senses, rhyming booklet, rhyming lessons, elf on a shelf booklet, elf on a shelf craftivities, elf on a shelf, December activities, December games, behavior management techniques, discipline tips, classroom management, Click on the link to view/download The Christmas Elf, which is a spatial direction booklet, that also has several “craftivities” included, like the stocking with a photo of a real elf tucked inside.

Simply take a picture of each of your students wearing an elf/Santa hat. Students trim and glue to the back of their stocking. A graphing extension is also included.

Elf on a shelf activities, elf button, elf certificate, elf writing prompts, writing prompts for december,elf on a shelf lessons, 5 senses, rhyming booklet, rhyming lessons, elf on a shelf booklet, elf on a shelf craftivities, elf on a shelf, December activities, December games, behavior management techniques, elf activities, discipline tips, classroom management, The booklet Little Elf What Do You See? is a rhyming booklet that incorporates the 5 senses.

Elf on a shelf activities, elf on a shelf lessons, 5 senses, rhyming booklet, rhyming lessons, elf on a shelf booklet, elf on a shelf craftivities, elf on a shelf, December activities, December games, behavior management techniques, elf activities, discipline tips, classroom management, If you have lots of kiddo's and want to conserve paper, you'll want to use my up-dated mini version. Click on the link to grab this FREEBIE.

Lots of Common Core is covered, as students read, circle capital letters; add end punctuation; underline adjectives; trace and write the "senses" words and then color, cut and glue the matching pictures.

Elf on a shelf activities, elf button, elf certificate, elf writing prompts, writing prompts for december,elf on a shelf lessons, 5 senses, rhyming booklet, rhyming lessons, elf on a shelf booklet, elf on a shelf craftivities, elf on a shelf, December activities, December games, behavior management techniques, elf activities, discipline tips, classroom management, If you're looking for an elf-related writing prompt have students respond to Santa's wanted poster.

He's looking for seasonal elf help. Children write why they feel they'd make a good elf.

Elf on a shelf activities, elf button, elf certificate, elf writing prompts, writing prompts for december,elf on a shelf lessons, 5 senses, rhyming booklet, rhyming lessons, elf on a shelf booklet, elf on a shelf craftivities, elf on a shelf, December activities, December games, behavior management techniques, elf activities, discipline tips, classroom management, After students share their page, collect and collate into a class book. A "You're Hired!" certificate and "Official Santa's Helper Button" are also included. Click on the link to view/download the Wanted: Elf Help packet.

Elf on a shelf activities, elf button, elf certificate, elf writing prompts, writing prompts for december,elf on a shelf lessons, 5 senses, rhyming booklet, rhyming lessons, elf on a shelf booklet, elf on a shelf craftivities, elf on a shelf, December activities, December games, behavior management techniques, elf activities, discipline tips, classroom management, Thanks for visiting today. I design and try to blog daily, so I hope you can pop by tomorrow for the newest FREEBIES hot off this elf's computer. Feel free to PIN away.

"I passed through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel." -Buddy, from the movie Elf

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Christmas Around The World

Get Ready; Get Set; Let's Go Around The World For Christmas!

I realize there's still 10 days left in November, but with winter beating on my window, I can no longer cling to fall. It's time to move on.

I'm throwing things way back today, with one of the first big units I ever designed. I'm reposting it, because my Christmas Around The World packet, continues to be one of my most downloaded items.

I hope you enjoy this blast from the past. Keep in mind that it was designed before I had all the cute fonts, clip art and design programs that I now use, but it's never the less filled with lots of goodies that I think you'll enjoy. My personal favorite, is the cereal box suitcase that you store everything in.

So hop on board the Global Holiday Express and enjoy a reindeer ride to Mexico, Canada, England and other parts of the globe. poinsettia craft, December crafts for kids, Christmas around the world, Celebrating Christmas in Mexico crafts, passport template, christmas crafts, cereal box suitcase, geography lessons, christmas, ornaments, state lessons, state activities, georgraphy lessons, December bulletin boards, christmas tree activities, Christmas lessons, passport stickers, christmas activities, The internet has brought our world closer and put it virtually at our fingertips.

We are truly just a click away from the Far East where we can grab some spices for our gingerbread creations. So if you're ready for a little adventure, then come celebrate Christmas Around The World by clicking on the link for 124 pages of fun. Pick and choose whatever you feel is age appropriate for your kiddos.

Because of special requests from upper elementary teachers, I've up-dated this packet to include some templates for older students, including an interesting writing prompt: If you REALLY could go to any country in the world for Christmas break, where would you go; who would you go with; how would you get there? etc.

First stop, we need to make a cereal box suitcase. It comes complete with travel stickers and a luggage tag, which helps students practice writing their first and last name as well as their address.

Two file folders become a briefcase that holds a passport that children help create. I used real passports to help me design one.

This activity reinforces name and address writing and is a math extension where students measure each other to determine their height and weight.

The Christmas Around The World suitcase is the perfect place to put souvenirs that represent the countries they visit! (Completed art projects, maps and papers.)

There’s also a pocket that holds airline tickets.

Children have a ticket for the country that they’re researching, one for the USA and one for their favorite country, to be determined after the unit.

Children write a page about their family’s Christmas traditions or winter festivities if they don’t celebrate Christmas.

Their “State” pages and these two personal pages become part of their suitcase; and copies are made into a class book.

There are many graphing opportunities in this study: Do you hang a stocking? Do you have a fireplace? Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Each student chooses a country and armed with a list of websites to check out, must find 4-5 facts about how Christmas is celebrated there.

They are given a map and flag of their country; this is cut and glued on their Christmas Around the World page, along with how people say “Merry Christmas” in that country.

When students finish their research/writing assignment, they share it with their classmates; and a copy is made for another class book.

As students share their country, everyone's passport is stamped and they put a sticker dot on their world map, locating that country.

Putting up a tree and lighting candles seem to be universal practices for many.

The poinsettia is perfect to represent Mexico, but also the USA. Did you know that an average of 65 million are sold nationwide, grown commercially in every state, and that California is the leading producer?

Besides America, gingerbread also fits several countries, especially Germany where Nuremberg is known as the gingerbread capital of the world. However, England and France are famous for their gingerbread “fairs”, and several places in Canada have Christmas cookie exchange parties.

poinsettia craft, December crafts for kids, Christmas around the world, Celebrating Christmas in Mexico crafts, passport template, christmas crafts, cereal box suitcase, geography lessons, christmas, ornaments, state lessons, state activities, georgraphy lessons, December bulletin boards, christmas tree activities, Christmas lessons, christmas activities, poinsettia craft, December crafts for kids, Christmas around the world, Celebrating Christmas in Mexico crafts, passport template, christmas crafts, cereal box suitcase, geography lessons, christmas, ornaments, state lessons, state activities, georgraphy lessons, December bulletin boards, christmas tree activities, Christmas lessons, christmas activities, December wouldn’t be complete without climbing aboard The Polar Express, and reading stories like Mem Fox’s Australian animal tale Wombat Divine, Australia) and Robert Barry’s tale from England, Mr. Willoby’s Christmas Tree, as well as several different gingerbread stories that can be compared and contrasted; they all make great additions to your Christmas Around The World traveling adventures.

While celebrating Christmas Around The World we also sang songs like, We’ve Got The Whole World In Our Hands, adapted for this unit. (Students trace and cut out their hands and wrap them around the world for an awesome 3D craftivity.)

Come embark on a most extraordinary adventure, discovering unique cultures and traditions, that although different, bring you a little bit closer, as your students celebrate Christmas Around the World.

Whatever you’re doing this season as you study geography, I hope you hear the jingling of those sleigh bells, that help transport you on a magical journey. Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN away!

"God bless us everyone!" -Tiny Tim

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