Christmas!!! My very favourite time of the year! It’s such a crazy time for teachers here in Australia because not only is it Christmas but it’s also the end of our teaching year. That means report writing, end of year ceremonies, graduation, gift-making, classroom clean up, the list goes on and on and on…
I love Christmas with my family and it’s wonderful to teach children who are still just young enough (10-12 years old) to get excited about December 25th. However, it can be a difficult teaching time of the year – you’re tired, your students are tired, there’s so much to do, so many loose ends to tie up. While I love doing some fun Christmas activities, it’s also a time when I don’t let my students get out of routine too much. Here are some tips that I use to keep things fun but calm:
1. Stick to routine as much as possible – keep most lessons to their scheduled time.
2. If you are planning a fun Christmas activity (like a quiz or some craft) I always schedule these for the last hour of the school day.
3. I always keep in mind that there are usually some students in my class who don’t celebrate Christmas for various reasons, so I always make sure they are still included or that the activity can be changed slightly to make it relevant to them.
4. Keep students motivated with seasonal rewards. I always run a Christmas-themed raffle to reward good behaviour.
For the last couple of years I have been using these cute little Elf Reports that I made. They don’t cost me a cent and the students (even the older “cool” ones) love them! They get such a kick out of me handing them out to a couple of students at the end of each day in December. They boys really like to get a note saying they have been naughty instead of nice. Click on the image below to download your FREE copy:
