Before I opened the box, I had them guess what might be inside. I got everything from "a gift from your boyfriend" (I'm guessing this one stems from the flowers he sent a couple weeks ago) to "a toy." No one actually guessed an elf. They had lots of fun guessing and it was a good way to work on our predicting skills. I even gave them a few clues as they guessed.
After we opened our elf, we read the book that goes with him and then voted on a name. There were several suggestions, including "Happy Face" and "Furby." Marco ultimately won though and I think it suits our little elf quite well.
After selecting a name, I introduced their Elf on the Shelf journal that will be their morning work for December. We filled in the first page, which has them share his name and how he arrived. Every morning, they will come in and complete a math page of the day and write about what the elf is doing. This all comes in the packet that I have listed on TPT. If you'd like just the journal pages, I have them listed as a freebie here.
Each day, they have a math page to complete and a picture to color:
Along with a journal page to fill out about what the elf is doing:
This journal set has my kids so excited about writing in the mornings. Now, just to get them to take their time on their drawings!
On his second day in our classroom, Marco found some friends. He decked them out in Christmas clothing and they played Candy Land together.
On the third day, he decided to make a mess on my table trying to get a flower and to hang out on the phone. This day didn't go so well for my firsties and I actually had to write a note to Santa about all of their talking.
Marco returned on the fourth day with a note from Santa telling them they should listen to their teacher and be quiet. He sat in the front of the room and watched them all day (I forgot to snap a picture). They were much better and even surprised me by all being at the top of our behavior chart by the end of the day!
On Friday, he got creative with the board markers. He even found a green one to use! (I normally use blue.)
What has your little elf been up to?
Link up with Seusstastic!
A little fun for the holidays! Enter to win my Elf on the Shelf pack from TPT!!
I'm doing the Elf on the Shelf too! We are also getting ready for our Holiday's Around the World and Polar Express Day!! :) It's a busy and exciting time!
ReplyDeleteJoyfully,
Sam
rigbys2014@gmail.com
It most certainly is! I'm enjoying our Around the World unit and looking forward to our Polar Express Day. It's my first year in first grade (was previously second) and my first year getting to experience the Polar Express Day since it's a first grade tradition at my school. :)
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
Pam