So I was a little late in learning about this Elf on the Shelf business. I love the idea and will definitely be ordering mine for next year. Despite the fact that I did not get the chance to do it this year, I still wanted to incorporate some elf magic in my classroom. SO, I decided to come up with a little elf of my own for my kiddies and named him "The Invisible Elf." I have to say I introduced him today and what a success!
One of my favorite parts of Christmas is experiencing the joy and magic through the kiddies eyes. There's nothing more precious than a child's excitement and belief in all the magical parts of Christmas. I just think that as adults we get all wrapped up in the shopping and wrapping and craziness of it all and we don't really appreciate the remarkable parts of the Holiday Season. We are almost all guilty of it!! Myself included!
Ok so back to my elf idea! I created these neat little individualized notes for the kiddies and placed them on their desk with a candy cane (I even made one for myself).
Then I placed some footprints and a note on the board. I wasn't sure if it would work but decided to give it a try! Second graders are not always believers anymore! Let me tell you, mine definitely are! They were astonished! They walked around the room looking for the elf and for any signs that he was still there! They even went to find the principal to let her know an elf had visited our room! She played along really well! I have never over exaggerated emotions this much in my life! "WOW!" "THIS CAN"T BE!" "OH, MY GOODNESS!" etc... hehe It was great fun!
"Ironically," I had an elf writing activity planned! What are the chances?! hehe! We wrote about an invisible elf visiting our classroom! Can you believe that we missed our computer period because the kiddies insisted on working on their elf story instead!! Amazing! This was such a success! I plan on having our invisible elf visit again. There will be other treats such as pencils and bookmarks, as well as activities that he will ask them to complete. I bought some cute holiday puzzles at the dollar store and I'm thinking the invisible elf will want the kiddies to work together to complete them!
One of my cuties actually had a wonderful idea! She asked if we could bake cookies for the elf to thank him for visiting. As an avid baker, I'm all over this idea and plan to leave some crumbs behind with a note stating how delicious they were and how grateful he was for the treat. The cookies will go to the staff room and make both my kiddos and colleagues very happy!
Leave a comment if you have any other ideas for me! I'm looking for some cute things to do with my elf!
Here is a look at our elf stories!
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Love this!
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Hope this magical experience puts a smile on your kiddies face!
I cannot wait to do this! Thank you for the fabulous idea!
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