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What Elfie has been up to…

I'm linking up with Mel over at Seusstastic to share how I used the Elf on the Shelf this year.

Let me preface this post by saying introducing an elf to our class added a lot of excitement and a bit of a headache because December had SO much going on.  Overall, I'd definitely do it again.  Our elf was a wonderful classroom management tool and if you set your expectations ahead of time, it should run smoothly.  Here are a few essentials you need to get your unit off to a wonderful start!

I got the unit ready by downloading Cara Carroll's elf FREEBIE.  I copied the tag for the elf delivery, a note from Santa, and the pages to create an elf journal for each student.
I included a copy of the graph and put it into our elf journals.
Mel D from Seusstastic has great notes that I'd leave on the board each day, depending if my kiddos were naughty or nice.

A few weeks ago, we read Elf on the Shelf.  Then, students went back to their seats and wrote in their journal, explaining why an elf should visit our classroom.  Then what do you know, the phone rang and we were told we had a special delivery in the office.  How crazy is that?

They were so excited to bring the package back and knew it was from the North Pole because it was ice-cold!
We read the note from Santa and couldn't wait to open the box.

We all had a chance to feel the chilly box.
She sat on the shelf while we went to lunch.
So weird, she escaped from her box while we were at lunch.
We came up with adjectives to describe our new friend.  Then, we came up with names and voted on them.  Elfie it is!!!  We were given “Elf journals” and graphed our name data.
At the end of the day Elfie put prizes into the stockings of students who did not clip down and had a great day.  Parents donated prizes for the stockings.   The students can not wait to bring their stockings home on the Friday before break!
Uh oh, we weren't on our best behavior and Elfie took a nap in her house until we quieted down.

Elfie had some fun drawing mustaches on the class photo.

For one of our free centers, students asked Elfie a question. {These were in a Scholastic book order}

Then, they put it in the mailbox from Scholastic for Elfie to take back to the North Pole.

Elfie was busy writing back to all the students.  They were so excited to get their notes the next day.

My students were beyond excited when we received several video messages from Santa using The Portable North Pole.
Then, we made our own elves using:
First, students wrote a rough draft opinion piece on their white board. They had to convince Santa why they deserved a gift this year.  I told them that Elfie would scan the letters and bring them to the North Pole.  I literally walked around the each student and clicked on my i-phone as if I was scanning it.  Worked like a charm!

All in all, I'll be a bit sad to head back to my classroom in January without Elfie.  My students really loved her and couldn't wait to see where she was hiding each day.  They'd come in with their letters from Santa or their elf to share with their class.  Elfie truly brought the Christmas spirit to our class.

My name is Kristen and I’ve enjoyed teaching kindergarten, first grade, a 1/2 combo, and second grade.  I’ve taught at both a low and high-performing Title I schools as well as a few fancy schools in California and O’ahu, Hawaii. I’ve earned my Master’s Degree in Education with an emphasis in reading in addition to my Reading Specialist Certificate.  When I am not teaching my scholars or other educators at Professional Development classes, I  enjoy creating materials to share with my colleagues, organizing family literacy events, and giving workshops on ways to make Literacy Workshop effective and engaging.  

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