I don't particularly care for the elf himself, nothing personal to elves but I am more partial to reindeer and other antlered animals of the woods, winter and Christmas.
So this year I decided to break out my reindeer. I had some reservations about him because well I teach fifth grade and I wasn't sure fifth graders would buy into it (boy was I wrong) and my previous school didn't have time nor did they really support doing things like that because of our population (mostly Hispanic and lower income families). Several of my friends this year had Elves and so we all chatted about how the kids were reacting to their Christmasy creatures!
On to my reindeer!
Day 1: He appeared with a typed letter explaining he was here to watch over my class and report back to Santa and that he needed a name because he was a secret agent and he had forgotten his. The kids voted on a name, my kids came up with quite an array of names however ended with the choice between Mooski and Sven. Sven being the obvious winner. Sven also brought reindeer games, an awesome behavior system from Second Story Window that I came across while on the search for fun activities. Again wasn't sure how it would go over in fifth grade, but needless to say they also loved the reindeer games behavior system as much as they loved Sven! Every time they received all 9 reindeer they earned a candy cane point AND got to choose one of the reindeer games to play (these were quick, max of like 10-15 minutes). I HIGHLY recommend it!
Day 2. I had a sub (of course, Day 2 of my reindeer days I would have a sub half day!) well Sven brought them a candy cane kiss estimation jar and the kids kept up the great behavior!Day 3: Sven coined #reindeerselfie after drawing a reindeer nose and antlers on the bathroom mirror. (picture to the left)
Day 4: Sven could be found curled up with his favorite stuffed reindeer, reading books and enjoying the scents of the North Pole! (My favorite winter smell from Yankee Candle Company!)
Day 5: Sven was doing such a good job of watching over the kids he was able to try out for the Sleigh Team! He could be found soaring over the kids practicing! This is when it really hit me that they LOVED Sven and really bought into him. The minute they walked in the room they would go searching for him without stopping to drop coats, backpacks, or breakfast etc. They even kept it a secret (well most of them) until everyone had found him. So heartwarming!
Day 6: UH OH! The kids were naughty on Day 5 while Sven was practiving for the sled team so some Elves came to check in on him and make sure that he was doing what he was supposed to be doing. The Elves said that if the kids didn't start behaving and earning their reindeer/candy cane points Sven would have to leave and would not be able to try out for the sled team. Some of my kids were DEVASTATED! My favorite was one of my girls who yelled "What they can't take the sled team away from him that is his dream!" I loved it! 
Day 7: Sven could stay and he was found taking a bath and soaking his hooves and nose after being tied up by the elves.Day 8: Sven and his friends get caught playing the reindeer Hokey Pokey under our class Christmas Tree! The kids thought this was hysterical. They just kept giggling about it all day, especially since one little guy was doing it all wrong! (He's the one with his tail in rather than his antlers!)
Day 9: Sven threw out all the votes in the estimation jar because the kids were being naughty. Luckily the elves didn't take him away.
Day 10: Sven hid in the Dallas Cowboys helmet and wrote GO COWBOYS all over the whiteboard! We are afterall a COWBOYS classroom!Day 11: Sven was playing "Don't let the Snowman melt!" with his friends. Only Five Days Left!!
Day 12: Sven brought the makings of Reindeer Food!
Day 13: Sven and his friends are caught playing Pictureka!
Day 14: One more day but First Prancer is on his way, we watched the movie Prancer. My kids LOVED this movie. So glad it is one of my favorites!Day 15: Sven's last day. He brought us one last gift, Santa comes to FLORIDA! He helped me read it to the class after opening our class presents.
I am looking forward to Santa Coming to Florida!
Hope you all enjoyed hearing about the adventures of Sven!
What fun! My students loved having an elf in the classroom and I'm trying to think of a way to keep up their enthusiasm for journaling as we wrote what the elf was up to each day. I'm considering doing a "bulldog on the bench" since we are the bulldogs!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Bulldog on a bench!! When I taught in the lower grades I had a class pet and they wrote in a his journal about his adventures with them. I have been reluctant to do that in Fifth grade because I feel like they might be "too old" for a class pet but it was awesome. The resource I used is...http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Class-Pet-Writing-Journal-298932 It worked great and my kids LOVED it! Let me know how everything works out! Thanks for checking me out!!
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