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20 Elf on the Shelf Classroom Ideas

December 1, 2016 By Rachel

20 Elf on the Shelf Classroom Ideas
There’s always a big question of if you should have an Elf on the Shelf in your classroom or not…and I always say yes!!  It is such a magical time of the year and I love being a part of it!  However, sometimes it’s hard to come up with ideas for your Elf in the Shelf to do in the classroom.  Look no further, because I have 20 Elf on the Shelf classroom ideas that you can implement immediately!
Now I completely understand if you are unable to because of the different backgrounds and traditions of your students!  There are other options like a Moose on the Loose!  It’s the same concept but with a stuffed moose and it has nothing to do with Christmas!  I have put together all of the different shenanigans that have happened in my classroom over the last several years to help you make the most of your elf or moose!

Introducing Your Elf on the Shelf

20 Elf on the Shelf Classroom Ideas
Now there are lots of “fancy” ways to do this but I always prefer the easy way!  I’ve wrapped it in bulletin board paper and asked my principal to deliver it to our classroom!  But I’ve also had it just show up in our classroom one morning with a letter from Santa.  I’m giving editable Elf Letters to anyone who signs up for my email list at the bottom of this post.

Elf on the Shelf Classroom Shenanigan

To be completely honest, I usually plan out some of the bigger elf shenanigans.  Which helps me figure out when I need to buy special items.  But most of the time, I just move the elf around the room and pose him/her in different ways!
All this took was a cheap bag of Dollar Tree bows!  Put one on every student’s desk and the rest goes around the room.
This one is always fun!  I place the Hershey Kisses in the freezer the night before.  Students usually come in to find the elf when they first arrive, but this day, the elf is nowhere to be found!  While the students are in a special area, our elf arrives with a letter from Santa explaining that our elf was needed for a special mission, and Santa is so sorry he didn’t get back in time so he sent a treat!  The kiddos freak out when they realize the candy is COLD!
This one is my personal favorite!! I buy the stick-on mustaches (I always find mine at Target during Halloween)  This always cracks me up how funny kids look with mustaches on!
20 Elf on the Shelf Classroom Ideas
This is usually what happens when I forget to move the elf!  #realtalk Put him/her on top of something and there’s your shenanigan for the day!!
20 Elf on the Shelf Classroom Ideas
These are always a hit with the kids!!  Sometimes I print them out and put them around the room.
Sometimes I change the background of our computers or Smartboard and sometimes, I just show the kids on my iPad! #morerealtalk
I usually give little things that I would give my students even if I wasn’t doing an elf!  Pencils…candy canes…needed school supplies…you know the drill.
This is another fun one!  Instead of Santa’s naughty or nice list, our elf leaves one.  The students go nuts when they realize I’m on the naughty side!! (My elf handwriting is my left hand…not bad, right?!

What to do if someone touches the elf?

There have been years, where we’ve had an incident of someone touching our elf.  It’s usually a pretty sad day, especially if it was an accident!  But Santa always comes through for us and writes us a letter to let us know that our elf just needs rest and a quiet classroom to recover!

Team up with other teachers’ elves

20 Elf on the Shelf Classroom Ideas
20 Elf on the Shelf Classroom Ideas
I was extremely fortunate to work with an amazing team who all had elves too!  Our team got together after school one day and as you can see…our elves had a grand time!  We took the pictures and made them our screensavers for our Smartboard. Then timed it so that everyone would pop up at the same time! Then of course, when we heard the other classes going crazy…we knew our elves were BFFs!!
What kind of shenanigans does your elf get into?  I love hearing what other elves are up to!
Also…here are the letters from Santa and the Elf that you can edit for your classroom!
20 Elf on the Shelf ideas for your classroom
  • Rachel
  • Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Christmas, Elf

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jennifer Hinds says

      November 23, 2020 at 6:07 PM

      Hoping to still get the Elf on a Shelf ideas! They look great! Thank you!

      • Rachel Vincent says

        November 23, 2020 at 6:14 PM

        Yes, you can! If you’re looking for free printables, just click the link at the bottom of the post. Hope you and your students enjoy it!

    2. Tabitha says

      November 29, 2020 at 3:46 PM

      Thanks for the elf on the shelf printables and resources.

      • Rachel Vincent says

        December 9, 2020 at 6:18 PM

        Anytime!

    3. Kay says

      December 1, 2020 at 11:59 AM

      So excited about these ideas! Thanks for helping a teacher out!

      • Rachel Vincent says

        December 9, 2020 at 6:17 PM

        Of course! Glad it was helpful!

    4. Angela Tillman says

      November 14, 2021 at 4:03 PM

      Love these ideas this will be my first year doing elf on the shelf so I’m really excited

    5. Kelly Rayburn says

      November 21, 2021 at 3:38 PM

      Thank you for the creative ideas!

    6. Raney says

      November 27, 2021 at 6:43 PM

      Love this

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    msrachelvincent

    Rachel | 4th Grade Teacher
    How long is your students’ attention spans? I o How long is your students’ attention spans?
I only have about 10 minutes before I lose them! 🤪
And I don’t know about you but my lessons are typically longer…so I try to mix it up every 10 minutes with a Think-Pair-Share or some kind of movement
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#teachersofig #iteachtoo #iteach4th #iteach456 #teachersofinstagram #teachingelementary #attentionspan #minilessons #thinkpairshare
    6 ways to get your students participating in your 6 ways to get your students participating in your lessons!
1️⃣ Think Time - giving your students time to think about the answer keeps your over achievers from answering all the questions 
2️⃣ Movement - Stand/Sit if this is your answer
3️⃣ Turn & Talk - Everyone shares their answer with a partner
4️⃣ Hand Signals - Perfect for multiple choice questions
5️⃣ Think-Pair-Share - Combines the think time with turn & talk 
6️⃣ Repetition - repeat important information to help it stick
🗣🗣Which number are you trying this week?!
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#teachersfollowteachers #igteachers #iteach #teachergram #iteachfourth #iteach345 #teachingstrategies #studentparticipation
    Do you have these 4 teacher goals?! 1️⃣ Instr Do you have these 4 teacher goals?!
1️⃣ Instructional Goal - How are you improving your instruction?
2️⃣ Relationship Goal - How are you building relationships with students or coworkers?
3️⃣ Balance Goal - How are you trying to have a better work-life balance?
4️⃣ Non Instructional Goal - What other area are you trying to improve?
Here’s my 4 goals!
1. Vocabulary Instruction 
2. 2 Positive Notes a Week
3. Leave by 3:00 3 out 5 days
4. Clean off back counter once a week
What are your goals?
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#teachersfollowteachers #igteachers #iteach #teachergram #iteachfourth #iteach345 #teachergoals #teachergoals🍎
    Coming back from break is a lot easier than the fi Coming back from break is a lot easier than the first day of school!
Less teacher talk 🗣
More student talk 👥
1️⃣ Give your students time to catch up with each other. Even adults like to chit chat about what we did during break!
2️⃣ Review procedures by playing a fun game. Charades is a great way to act out procedures to see if other students can guess what they’re doing!
3️⃣ The halfway point of the school year is a great time for students to set goals!
What’s your favorite thing to do after a break?!
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