November 25, 2024 • 23 mins
With the holiday season in full gear, we can imagine how bombarded you are with how to make everything in your classroom feel festive. And if that’s your jam, by all means, you go for it! But for most of us, we worry that too many holiday festivities will derail our classroom management or get us behind in the curriculum. So in today’s episode, we’re sharing three ways to be the fun teacher in December without losing control of your class.
For all the resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/the-fun-teacher
Resources:
- December Teacher Survival Kit
- Christmas Brain Breaks
- Seasonal Morning Messages
- Christmas Fluency in a Flash
- Christmas Vocabulary Activities Bundle
- Christmas Vocabulary Bundle Set 2
- Christmas Festive Breaks
- Holiday Behavior Helps
- Christmas Activities Mega Bundle
- Holiday Rom-Com Book List
- Christmas With a Crank by Courtney Walsh
- I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest with You by Miranda Hart
- Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
- Shop our teacher-approved resources.
- Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
- Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Emily (00:36):
Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's
episode, we're sharing threeways to be the fun teacher in
December without losing controlof your class, and sharing a
teacher approved tip for addingsome seasonal surprise and
delight to your class.
Heidi (00:51):
We start our episodes with a morning message, just
like we used to do at morningmeeting in our classrooms. This
week's morning message is, whatdo you like to do for teammate
gifts? Emily, do you have anygood ideas?
Unknown (01:02):
Well, I don't feel like I have anything revolutionary,
but I think those cinnamonbrooms from Trader Joe's would
be fun because they could usethem at school if the scent
wasn't too strong, or just enjoythem at home.
Heidi (01:14):
Yeah, those have such a perfect seasonal smell.
Emily (01:17):
What about you Heidi? Any good ideas?
Heidi (01:19):
Well, I kind of hate to admit it, but I tended to forget
about team gifts, so what I cameup with usually wasn't very
meaningful. My apologies to myformer co workers.
One year though, I bought abunch of those little like tiny
plastic teeth necklaces for kidswho lost teeth at school, and I
made and cut out like 100 littletags that said I lost a tooth
(01:40):
today that could be strung onthe necklace. And I was so proud
of myself, because I thought itwas just the perfect, useful
gift for second grade teachers.
But it turns out that thenecklaces were complete junk,
and they totally fell apart whenthe kids wore them like the
strings would break the littleplastic tooth part would
wouldn't stay shut. Then we hadlost teeth all over the school
(02:01):
in the playground. Yeah, extraapologies to those co workers.
Unknown (02:07):
Oh, sad. I do think it's a really good idea. If they
had worked that would have beenprobably like an awesome gift
for your teammates.
Heidi (02:15):
For a while, I used to try and like, use packing tape
to really seal them shut. And Iwas like, this is not worth it.
Unknown (02:20):
No, oh, geez. Well, we do have some answers from our
community. Anna said that shelikes to do homemade cookies
from her epic baking day, whereshe makes 10 different kinds of
cookies. That is epic. Michellesaid we always go out to dinner
together instead of giving eachother gifts. I love that.
Heidi (02:37):
I love that too because you don't get enough time
together as a team to just like,be together where you're not
busy.
Unknown (02:44):
Yeah, plus you could be like, let's do that in January,
when we're less busy and needsomething to look forward to.
Heidi (02:50):
And probably none of us need any more stuff, if we're
being honest. So dinner out's awin.
Unknown (02:54):
True story. Jennifer said, caramel popcorn. Donna
said, flare pens and a notepad.Katie said, I give cookies and a
lottery ticket.
Heidi (03:04):
But do you have to split it with Katie if you win?
Unknown (03:06):
Yeah, that should cut. Yeah. Strings attached with that
gift. We'd love to hear yourideas for your teammate gifts
over in our teacher approvedFacebook group.
Emily (03:16):
As we slide into the holiday season, all of the fun
seasonal activities you could dowith your class are probably
coming at you from everydirection, calling your name.
Heidi (03:26):
And I think it can be tempting to feel one of two
extremes about this. Either youwant to go hardcore, all in on
all of the fun stuff becauseit's so cute and it's only one
time a year, or you don't wantto do any of it because you
don't want to mess up yourroutines and classroom
management, the kids are goingto be hard enough to be hard
enough to deal with.
Unknown (03:43):
But we are here to tell you that it doesn't have to be
either extreme. There is a wayto invite more fun, whether it
be seasonal or not, into yourclassroom without losing control
of your class.
Heidi (03:55):
The key is to treat holiday fun like a spice when
you're cooking. A little makesall the difference in how your
dish tastes, but using too muchand you will ruin everything
that you make.
Unknown (04:07):
So we have three ideas for how to weave a little
holiday magic into your teachingfor the next few weeks without
derailing your classroommanagement goals or getting
behind in your curriculum.
Heidi (04:18):
The first and easiest way to be the fun teacher during the
holidays is by adding inseasonal themes to your regular
lessons and routines.
Unknown (04:27):
I love doing this in December, especially because it
increases the novelty just a bitwithout totally derailing your
normal routines. A little bit ofnovelty really can go a long
way.
Heidi (04:39):
I feel like my classroom thrived on our educational
routines like morning meetingand vocabulary and fluency
practice and all of that. So Iused to look for ways to add in
the holiday magic to what wewere already doing.
So in morning meeting, forexample, I would add a seasonal
twist to our morning messages,not every day, but some days. So
one day I might ask, would yourather question, like, would you
(05:01):
rather string a mile of popcorngarland or wrap 100 presents?
Oh, I don't know Emily?
Unknown (05:06):
For sure a mile of popcorn garland. I hate, you
know, I hate wrapping presents.Wrapping 100 presents would just
do me in.
Heidi (05:15):
But I think I'd go presents. I know I can wrap
fast.
Unknown (05:18):
Okay well we'd be a good team if we ever had to
complete both of thesechallenges.
Heidi (05:22):
And on Fridays for a morning message, I like to use
jokes. So I could use a holidayjoke, like, who delivers holiday
gifts to dogs?
Unknown (05:29):
Oh, and it's Santa Paws, if you were wondering. We
have seasonal morning messagesavailable for first through
fourth grade if you want an easyway to add in some holiday fun
into your morning meetingswithout having to think of it
all yourself. So we'll link tothat in the show notes.
Heidi (05:46):
Our morning messages include a couple 100 non
seasonal thinking questions soyou can get everyone's brains
turning in the morning. But wealso have a set of 60 seasonal
questions for each grade level,and that gives you plenty of
options to choose from.
Unknown (06:01):
You can also add holiday magic to your morning
meetings by doing a holidaygreeting like a snowball fight.
You can use something soft, likea stuffed snowball, if you have
one. I actually did, used tohave a set of stuff snowballs
that I use. It was really randomhow I ended up with them, too,
but I had this funny set ofstuff snowballs, and they were
(06:22):
perfect for morning meetinggames.
Emily (06:23):
But you could also just use a balled up pair of socks.
And then students can toss thesnowball to someone in the
circle and tell them goodmorning and say their name. And
you can also make your morningmeeting game seasonal by doing
something like Simon Says, butmake it Santa says.
Heidi (06:39):
Oh, that sounds like fun. But morning meeting isn't the
only place to add holiday themeswithout derailing your class
routines. One daily learningroutine that is perfect to make
seasonal is a VocabularyRoutine. Now we call our
vocabulary teaching method thejargon journal.
Each week we would read a bookto the class and choose four
tier two vocabulary words fromthe book, and then for the rest
(07:02):
of the week, students would workon one of those words each day
to build a deeper understandingof its meaning and use. Making
this type of routine seasonal isjust easy peasy. All you have to
do is choose a holiday book.Many favorite holiday read aloud
books have wonderful, richvocabulary, and that is just
perfect for this method.
Unknown (07:21):
And we have created grab and go units for you to use
for holiday vocabulary lessonsusing books like The Polar
Express, Santa Bruce, Pick aPine Tree, The Night Before
Christmas and more. So we willlink to our Christmas jargon
journal units in the show notes.So Heidi, where else can we add
Christmas into our lessons?
Heidi (07:41):
Well, I love to make our fluency practice holiday themed.
Our fluency in a flash, dailydigital mini lessons are perfect
for this. The everyday lessonsare non seasonal, but we do have
seasonal lessons that you canmix in for a fun surprise. It's
kind of hard to describe whatthis is on the podcast, but it's
an interactive and engagingroutine, and we will link to our
(08:02):
fluency in a flash mini lessonsin the show notes as well.
Unknown (08:05):
I'm still blown away every time I open up one of
those to either do with my ownkids or I've helped do them in
their classes. The activitiesare just so well done and so fun
for the kids. So each day has ameaningful activity that
promotes the development ofimportant fluency skills, but I
promise that your kids will behaving so much fun they will
(08:26):
never even realize that it'seducational.
Heidi (08:29):
Now, of course, you can also make your story problems
about presents, or play a mathgame with Gingerbread Man, or
learn about snowflakes andscience and so many other fun
ideas this time of year, butplease know that you don't have
to add a seasonal twist toeverything you do in class just
because it's a holiday.
Unknown (08:46):
Yeah, if every single activity and worksheet they see
in December has a reindeer onit, it's just not going to have
the same impact on novelty andengagement as one reindeer
themed writing activity wouldhave. So look for big impact,
low effort ways to make yourlesson a little more fun, and
remember that, like withseasoning, a little can go a
(09:07):
long way.
Heidi (09:08):
The second way to be a fun teacher during the holidays
is by planning a holiday twistto your classroom management
plan.
We have shared several timeshere on the podcast that we are
normally not big fans ofclassroom reward systems. They
can be overused, and they tendto lose their effectiveness
quickly, which is why we wouldnever suggest using a reward
(09:29):
system year round. But it turnsout that reward systems can be
incredibly effective short term.So the holidays are the perfect
time to bust one of those out.
Unknown (09:39):
Plus it's a wise idea to enter a chaotic time in the
classroom like December with agame plan for keeping your
classroom management undercontrol. Being the fun teacher
is not so fun when you have tospend a lot of extra time and
energy dealing with studentbehavior issues.
Heidi (09:56):
Yeah, I used to be so embarrassed that I needed a
reward system in December tosave my sanity, because I had
read all the books and they saidthat I should be able to manage
my students without one. But thereality is that a reward system
is just a tool.
Using one doesn't make you agood teacher or a bad teacher,
and sometimes we need differenttools to solve different
(10:16):
problems. In this case, a rewardsystem is a tool that can
counter the high excitement andthe mixed up routines that come
with the holiday ramp up season.
Unknown (10:27):
You can have your holiday reward system ready to
go the first day back afterThanksgiving, or you can have it
prepared and ready for whateverday you find you really need it.
Either way, you'll be very gladyou planned ahead.
Once they have earned all theletters with their good
(10:54):
behavior, the class gets theirreward like making graham
cracker gingerbread houses. Oh,no, no, scratch that. Sounds
like a nightmare. Maybe youcould do the ones where you like
hot glue it to a milk carton.Maybe, I don't know, something
less sticky.
Something less sticky, something that would be fun for
(11:16):
you too. Don't pick a reward forthe kids that's going to be fun
for them and miserable for you.Oh, absolutely.
Emily (11:22):
Or you could go for a small group reward system. This
is great for having your rows ortables competing for a reward.
You could have a little seasonalboard game on the board where
each team's piece is movingacross the board when their
behavior is good, then the teamthat gets to the end first gets
the reward.
Heidi (11:41):
Or you could even make it so that each team eventually
gets the reward whenever theyget to the end of the board.
Unknown (11:46):
Oh yeah, I love that. And you'd be surprised how
motivated students can be forthe simplest rewards. You could
have something like getting touse Christmas themed pens during
a writing activity, and the kidswould be totally psyched for
that.
Heidi (12:00):
And they do have really cute Christmas themed pens this
time of year, especially likefun scented ones. Yes.
Another option for a rewardsystem is to do an individual
system. If your class isparticularly competitive in a
way that might cause contention,rewarding students individually
may be the way to go. You canhand out cute caught you being
(12:23):
good cards, and then thestudents can save up their cards
until they have enough for a setreward, or their cards could be
entries into a drawing for aprize.
Unknown (12:32):
No matter what reward system you decide to try, the
most important step is to beginwith a discussion. You want to
talk about what choicesconstitute good behavior, and
what following directions lookslike, sounds like, feels like,
yes, it seems like common sense.Yes, kids should probably
already know what behavior isright and wrong.
Heidi (12:51):
Now it's probably no surprise that we do have a
Emily (12:51):
But you can't assume that they do, and it's hard to hit an
resource that can help you withyour holiday classroom
invisible target. So your rewardsystem will be extra effective
if you take the time to discussthe expectations before you begin.
management as well. Our holidaybehavior helps bundle has six
(13:12):
different reward systems thatyou can choose from to be a fun
teacher while also keeping yourstudents in line.
Unknown (13:19):
There are reward systems for the whole class,
groups and individuals. So youcan choose the system or
combination of systems thatworks best for you. Just be sure
not to have too much going on atonce with your reward systems,
or it can kind of turn into abig headache for the teacher.
Heidi (13:35):
Yeah, that's the real downside of reward systems, is
having to manage it. Yep, and wetalk all about seasonal behavior
management in episodes 37 and104 so make sure to check those
out if you want more of our tipsand tricks.
Unknown (13:48):
We also have our December teacher survival kit
that can guide you through howto plan your seasonal reward
system. That's my favorite partof this survival kit.
Emily (13:58):
There are pages in there to help you prep for December
and the start of January. Butthere's also a page of guiding
questions to help you dial intoexactly what you need your
reward system to do for you. Sothere is a link to the December
teacher survival kit, youguessed it, in the show notes.
Heidi (14:14):
Definitely check out the show notes on this one.
The third and final suggestionfor being the fun teacher in
December is to sprinkle in somejust for fun magic. Of course,
we need to maximize our time atschool, and we don't want to
waste a whole month doing funand forgetting the learning, but
most teachers will be able tofind a little time to add in a
(14:35):
few short activities that arejust for the pure enjoyment of
it.
Unknown (14:39):
There are some legitimate reasons to do this
too. Doing some just for funactivities, build your classroom
community and class identity.Your students will look back
fondly on those happy timestogether.
Heidi (14:52):
And plus, it makes teaching fun for you. I'm not
going to beat around the bush.Teaching is hard. Some days it's
hard to remember why you enteredthis profession at all, but
incorporating some short holidayactivities that are just for the
joy of it can help your jobbecome more enjoyable.
Unknown (15:10):
That should not be underestimated, because a
teacher who enjoys teaching willbe more equipped to engage their
students, teach with more energyand help their students soar.
And more than that, enjoyingteaching is good for your mental
health, and that is true selfcare, right there.
Heidi (15:28):
A great way to sprinkle in this, just for fun holiday
magic is with brain breaks. Itended to not use brain breaks
every day. I kind of saved themfor just when we needed them,
but in December, I probablyneeded them every single day.
Because, let's be honest,students need a break every day,
especially in December.
Unknown (15:47):
You can use brain breaks to laugh, get out
wiggles, warm students up forthinking, or get more grounded.
And we have printable brainbreaks that are perfect for
this. You can choose the type ofbrain break you need in the
moment and just read it off thecard. You don't have to fuss
with your projector or try andget a video to load or anything
like that.
Heidi (16:06):
These can really be so helpful, especially at a time of
year when focus is short and youneed more breaks. Just in our
December brain break pack, wehave 60 brain breaks in three
different categories. So if youneed to boost that focus, choose
one of the refocus activities,like the calming cocoa mindful
movement activity.
(16:26):
So you get the kids settled, andthen you tell them, pretend
you're standing at the stovestirring a big pot of hot
chocolate. The liquid is hot andbubbly. Use a large spoon to
slowly stir. Now stir with theother hand, feel the warm steam
on your face, take in a big,deep breath and spoon some into
(16:48):
your mug. Now sprinkle somemarshmallows on top and take a
big drink, yum.
Unknown (16:53):
I feel calmer already. We also have refresh brain
breaks to help get everyone backon track and recharge brain
breaks to help get the wigglesout. These can be a huge
lifesaver. So we'll link to ourChristmas brain breaks in the
show notes if you want to take alook.
Heidi (17:09):
Another way we love to add in fun is with festive
breaks. These are short seasonalactivities that you can pull out
whenever you want withoutrequiring any prep. They're
print and go activities likeholiday Tic Tac Toe, roll and
draw a gingerbread house and somany more. Having these copied
and ready to just grab at amoment's notice will be a huge
(17:30):
relief when you need them.
Unknown (17:32):
All you have to do is decide which activities you want
to do and decide how you wantstudents to choose the
activities. Then when it's timefor some festive fun, have a
student pick one of the picturecards, turn it over and see what
activity to do. So it's easypeasy, and also a sneaky way to
get in a little pocket of prepif you listen to last week's
episode.
Heidi (17:51):
So definitely check the show notes for a link to our
Christmas festive breaks andfind the link to Episode 169
where we talk all about thepockets of prep.
Unknown (18:00):
It's easier than you think to be the fun teacher in
December without losing controlof your class or getting behind
in your curriculum. The ways tobe the fun teacher are make your
learning seasonal, add a holidaytwist to your reward system, and
sprinkle in some just for funholiday activities.
Heidi (18:17):
We would love to hear how you plan for fun in December.
Come fill us in on all of thedetails in our teacher approved
Facebook group.
Unknown (18:25):
Now let's talk about this week's teacher approved
tip. Each week we leave you witha small, actionable tip that you
can apply in your classroomtoday. This week's teacher
approved tip is, get those luckyducks. What is this all about
Heidi (18:38):
Well as we mentioned, sprinkling seasonal fun into
Heidi?
your class is a great way tomake things festive without
having to lose complete control.One way to add a little festive
surprise and delay is to choosea lucky duck for the day.
We have talked about this ideabefore, but I saw the cute
Christmas duckies at Target, andI just wanted to make sure
everyone had a good reminder ifthey wanted to do this. So if
(19:00):
there are enough school daysbetween now and winter break
that you could spotlight each ofyour students on one day, you
may want to give this a try.
All you need is a duck and thena few fun ideas. So each
morning, the deck arrives on anew student's desk, and that
student is the lucky duck of theday. Maybe they get to have a
holiday decoration on theirdesk, or they get to use a fancy
(19:21):
pen for their work that day. Youcould add as many fun privileges
as you can manage. And with allthe fun seasonal stuff out
there, you could really go wildwith this one.
Unknown (19:31):
Oh yeah, I'm thinking of, like, all the different
Christmasy things that theycould get to do on their lucky
duck day. Or, like, maybe theycould wear a Santa hat. Like, it
could be so fun.
Heidi (19:40):
That's so cute. And if you don't have enough school
days to do one a day, you couldget two cute ducks from Target
and do two kids a day.
Unknown (19:47):
That's true, Lucky ducks, plural. I've seen some
teachers online who do a luckyduck of the day all year, and
there's nothing wrong with that,if it works for you. But if you
don't need this as part of yourregular classroom management,
adding a special activity likethis once or twice a year makes
school feel magical. The rarityof the experience makes it feel
like such a treat, which is whysurprise and delight is so
(20:10):
powerful.
Heidi (20:12):
To wrap up the show, we're sharing what we're giving
extra credit to this week.Emily, what gets your extra
credit?
Unknown (20:18):
I'm giving extra credit to holiday rom com books. So
last year, you and I puttogether a list of our favorite
holiday rom com books to share,and I wanted to do this as my
extra credit again, just so Icould share that link again, so
I'll link it in the show notes.Remember, show notes are gonna
be crazy this week. You gottacheck them out.
Emily (20:37):
I'm just getting into my holiday rom com reading this
year, so I don't have a new oneto recommend yet, but I did just
download Christmas With a Crankby Courtney Walsh, and it's free
on Kindle Unlimited. I've readanother one of her, so I think I
will like it. I've got highhopes for it anyway. So if I
like it, I will add it to thelist.
Heidi (20:56):
Well, that has been on my TV read list, so now I can just
wait for you to tell me if it'sworthwhile.
Unknown (21:01):
I'll be the guinea pig. What's your extra credit Heidi?
Heidi (21:04):
Well my extra credit is also going to a book this week.
I just finished the audiobook ofMiranda Hearts I Haven't Been
Entirely Honest With You, and itwas so good.
I know Miranda from her sitcomon the BBC, which was also
called Miranda. Oh, it was sogood. I loved it. And she played
Chummy on Call the Midwife,which maybe more people know,
and I loved her on both ofthose. But then she just kind of
(21:26):
disappeared for a long time. AndI thought, well, maybe she's
doing more behind the scenesstuff. I, you know, just didn't
hear from her.
And sadly, it turns out that shewas basically house bound
because of a chronic illness,and that is kind of the topic of
the book. But it's more thanjust a memoir of her illness,
though it's it's more like adeep discussion about how to be
(21:46):
a human in spite of the horrorsthat keep persisting in all of
their forms.
So in the book, she shares 10key lessons. She calls them her
treasures that she learned andhow they helped her heal, not
just physically, but alsomentally and spiritually and in
all facets of her life. This isone of the few books that I have
finished, and then wanted torestart right away. I listened
(22:07):
to the audiobook because Mirandais so fun, but I think I need to
get the print version now,because there were just so many
aha moments that I want to beable to reference. So I will put
a link to that with everythingelse in the show notes.
Emily (22:19):
Show gotes gonna be popping this week.
Heidi (22:23):
That is it for today's episode. Try our three ways to
be the fun teacher in Decemberwithout losing control of your
class. And don't forget ourteacher approved tip for adding
some seasonal surprise anddelight to your class.
Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's
episode, we're sharing threeways to be the fun teacher in
December without losing controlof your class, and sharing a
teacher approved tip for addingsome seasonal surprise and
delight to your class.
Heidi (00:51):
We start our episodes with a morning message, just
like we used to do at morningmeeting in our classrooms. This
week's morning message is, whatdo you like to do for teammate
gifts? Emily, do you have anygood ideas?
Unknown (01:02):
Well, I don't feel like I have anything revolutionary,
but I think those cinnamonbrooms from Trader Joe's would
be fun because they could usethem at school if the scent
wasn't too strong, or just enjoythem at home.
Heidi (01:14):
Yeah, those have such a perfect seasonal smell.
Emily (01:17):
What about you Heidi? Any good ideas?
Heidi (01:19):
Well, I kind of hate to admit it, but I tended to forget
about team gifts, so what I cameup with usually wasn't very
meaningful. My apologies to myformer co workers.
One year though, I bought abunch of those little like tiny
plastic teeth necklaces for kidswho lost teeth at school, and I
made and cut out like 100 littletags that said I lost a tooth
(01:40):
today that could be strung onthe necklace. And I was so proud
of myself, because I thought itwas just the perfect, useful
gift for second grade teachers.
But it turns out that thenecklaces were complete junk,
and they totally fell apart whenthe kids wore them like the
strings would break the littleplastic tooth part would
wouldn't stay shut. Then we hadlost teeth all over the school
(02:01):
in the playground. Yeah, extraapologies to those co workers.
Unknown (02:07):
Oh, sad. I do think it's a really good idea. If they
had worked that would have beenprobably like an awesome gift
for your teammates.
Heidi (02:15):
For a while, I used to try and like, use packing tape
to really seal them shut. And Iwas like, this is not worth it.
Unknown (02:20):
No, oh, geez. Well, we do have some answers from our
community. Anna said that shelikes to do homemade cookies
from her epic baking day, whereshe makes 10 different kinds of
cookies. That is epic. Michellesaid we always go out to dinner
together instead of giving eachother gifts. I love that.
Heidi (02:37):
I love that too because you don't get enough time
together as a team to just like,be together where you're not
busy.
Unknown (02:44):
Yeah, plus you could be like, let's do that in January,
when we're less busy and needsomething to look forward to.
Heidi (02:50):
And probably none of us need any more stuff, if we're
being honest. So dinner out's awin.
Unknown (02:54):
True story. Jennifer said, caramel popcorn. Donna
said, flare pens and a notepad.Katie said, I give cookies and a
lottery ticket.
Heidi (03:04):
But do you have to split it with Katie if you win?
Unknown (03:06):
Yeah, that should cut. Yeah. Strings attached with that
gift. We'd love to hear yourideas for your teammate gifts
over in our teacher approvedFacebook group.
Emily (03:16):
As we slide into the holiday season, all of the fun
seasonal activities you could dowith your class are probably
coming at you from everydirection, calling your name.
Heidi (03:26):
And I think it can be tempting to feel one of two
extremes about this. Either youwant to go hardcore, all in on
all of the fun stuff becauseit's so cute and it's only one
time a year, or you don't wantto do any of it because you
don't want to mess up yourroutines and classroom
management, the kids are goingto be hard enough to be hard
enough to deal with.
Unknown (03:43):
But we are here to tell you that it doesn't have to be
either extreme. There is a wayto invite more fun, whether it
be seasonal or not, into yourclassroom without losing control
of your class.
Heidi (03:55):
The key is to treat holiday fun like a spice when
you're cooking. A little makesall the difference in how your
dish tastes, but using too muchand you will ruin everything
that you make.
Unknown (04:07):
So we have three ideas for how to weave a little
holiday magic into your teachingfor the next few weeks without
derailing your classroommanagement goals or getting
behind in your curriculum.
Heidi (04:18):
The first and easiest way to be the fun teacher during the
holidays is by adding inseasonal themes to your regular
lessons and routines.
Unknown (04:27):
I love doing this in December, especially because it
increases the novelty just a bitwithout totally derailing your
normal routines. A little bit ofnovelty really can go a long
way.
Heidi (04:39):
I feel like my classroom thrived on our educational
routines like morning meetingand vocabulary and fluency
practice and all of that. So Iused to look for ways to add in
the holiday magic to what wewere already doing.
So in morning meeting, forexample, I would add a seasonal
twist to our morning messages,not every day, but some days. So
one day I might ask, would yourather question, like, would you
(05:01):
rather string a mile of popcorngarland or wrap 100 presents?
Oh, I don't know Emily?
Unknown (05:06):
For sure a mile of popcorn garland. I hate, you
know, I hate wrapping presents.Wrapping 100 presents would just
do me in.
Heidi (05:15):
But I think I'd go presents. I know I can wrap
fast.
Unknown (05:18):
Okay well we'd be a good team if we ever had to
complete both of thesechallenges.
Heidi (05:22):
And on Fridays for a morning message, I like to use
jokes. So I could use a holidayjoke, like, who delivers holiday
gifts to dogs?
Unknown (05:29):
Oh, and it's Santa Paws, if you were wondering. We
have seasonal morning messagesavailable for first through
fourth grade if you want an easyway to add in some holiday fun
into your morning meetingswithout having to think of it
all yourself. So we'll link tothat in the show notes.
Heidi (05:46):
Our morning messages include a couple 100 non
seasonal thinking questions soyou can get everyone's brains
turning in the morning. But wealso have a set of 60 seasonal
questions for each grade level,and that gives you plenty of
options to choose from.
Unknown (06:01):
You can also add holiday magic to your morning
meetings by doing a holidaygreeting like a snowball fight.
You can use something soft, likea stuffed snowball, if you have
one. I actually did, used tohave a set of stuff snowballs
that I use. It was really randomhow I ended up with them, too,
but I had this funny set ofstuff snowballs, and they were
(06:22):
perfect for morning meetinggames.
Emily (06:23):
But you could also just use a balled up pair of socks.
And then students can toss thesnowball to someone in the
circle and tell them goodmorning and say their name. And
you can also make your morningmeeting game seasonal by doing
something like Simon Says, butmake it Santa says.
Heidi (06:39):
Oh, that sounds like fun. But morning meeting isn't the
only place to add holiday themeswithout derailing your class
routines. One daily learningroutine that is perfect to make
seasonal is a VocabularyRoutine. Now we call our
vocabulary teaching method thejargon journal.
Each week we would read a bookto the class and choose four
tier two vocabulary words fromthe book, and then for the rest
(07:02):
of the week, students would workon one of those words each day
to build a deeper understandingof its meaning and use. Making
this type of routine seasonal isjust easy peasy. All you have to
do is choose a holiday book.Many favorite holiday read aloud
books have wonderful, richvocabulary, and that is just
perfect for this method.
Unknown (07:21):
And we have created grab and go units for you to use
for holiday vocabulary lessonsusing books like The Polar
Express, Santa Bruce, Pick aPine Tree, The Night Before
Christmas and more. So we willlink to our Christmas jargon
journal units in the show notes.So Heidi, where else can we add
Christmas into our lessons?
Heidi (07:41):
Well, I love to make our fluency practice holiday themed.
Our fluency in a flash, dailydigital mini lessons are perfect
for this. The everyday lessonsare non seasonal, but we do have
seasonal lessons that you canmix in for a fun surprise. It's
kind of hard to describe whatthis is on the podcast, but it's
an interactive and engagingroutine, and we will link to our
(08:02):
fluency in a flash mini lessonsin the show notes as well.
Unknown (08:05):
I'm still blown away every time I open up one of
those to either do with my ownkids or I've helped do them in
their classes. The activitiesare just so well done and so fun
for the kids. So each day has ameaningful activity that
promotes the development ofimportant fluency skills, but I
promise that your kids will behaving so much fun they will
(08:26):
never even realize that it'seducational.
Heidi (08:29):
Now, of course, you can also make your story problems
about presents, or play a mathgame with Gingerbread Man, or
learn about snowflakes andscience and so many other fun
ideas this time of year, butplease know that you don't have
to add a seasonal twist toeverything you do in class just
because it's a holiday.
Unknown (08:46):
Yeah, if every single activity and worksheet they see
in December has a reindeer onit, it's just not going to have
the same impact on novelty andengagement as one reindeer
themed writing activity wouldhave. So look for big impact,
low effort ways to make yourlesson a little more fun, and
remember that, like withseasoning, a little can go a
(09:07):
long way.
Heidi (09:08):
The second way to be a fun teacher during the holidays
is by planning a holiday twistto your classroom management
plan.
We have shared several timeshere on the podcast that we are
normally not big fans ofclassroom reward systems. They
can be overused, and they tendto lose their effectiveness
quickly, which is why we wouldnever suggest using a reward
(09:29):
system year round. But it turnsout that reward systems can be
incredibly effective short term.So the holidays are the perfect
time to bust one of those out.
Unknown (09:39):
Plus it's a wise idea to enter a chaotic time in the
classroom like December with agame plan for keeping your
classroom management undercontrol. Being the fun teacher
is not so fun when you have tospend a lot of extra time and
energy dealing with studentbehavior issues.
Heidi (09:56):
Yeah, I used to be so embarrassed that I needed a
reward system in December tosave my sanity, because I had
read all the books and they saidthat I should be able to manage
my students without one. But thereality is that a reward system
is just a tool.
Using one doesn't make you agood teacher or a bad teacher,
and sometimes we need differenttools to solve different
(10:16):
problems. In this case, a rewardsystem is a tool that can
counter the high excitement andthe mixed up routines that come
with the holiday ramp up season.
Unknown (10:27):
You can have your holiday reward system ready to
go the first day back afterThanksgiving, or you can have it
prepared and ready for whateverday you find you really need it.
Either way, you'll be very gladyou planned ahead.
Once they have earned all theletters with their good
(10:54):
behavior, the class gets theirreward like making graham
cracker gingerbread houses. Oh,no, no, scratch that. Sounds
like a nightmare. Maybe youcould do the ones where you like
hot glue it to a milk carton.Maybe, I don't know, something
less sticky.
Something less sticky, something that would be fun for
(11:16):
you too. Don't pick a reward forthe kids that's going to be fun
for them and miserable for you.Oh, absolutely.
Emily (11:22):
Or you could go for a small group reward system. This
is great for having your rows ortables competing for a reward.
You could have a little seasonalboard game on the board where
each team's piece is movingacross the board when their
behavior is good, then the teamthat gets to the end first gets
the reward.
Heidi (11:41):
Or you could even make it so that each team eventually
gets the reward whenever theyget to the end of the board.
Unknown (11:46):
Oh yeah, I love that. And you'd be surprised how
motivated students can be forthe simplest rewards. You could
have something like getting touse Christmas themed pens during
a writing activity, and the kidswould be totally psyched for
that.
Heidi (12:00):
And they do have really cute Christmas themed pens this
time of year, especially likefun scented ones. Yes.
Another option for a rewardsystem is to do an individual
system. If your class isparticularly competitive in a
way that might cause contention,rewarding students individually
may be the way to go. You canhand out cute caught you being
(12:23):
good cards, and then thestudents can save up their cards
until they have enough for a setreward, or their cards could be
entries into a drawing for aprize.
Unknown (12:32):
No matter what reward system you decide to try, the
most important step is to beginwith a discussion. You want to
talk about what choicesconstitute good behavior, and
what following directions lookslike, sounds like, feels like,
yes, it seems like common sense.Yes, kids should probably
already know what behavior isright and wrong.
Heidi (12:51):
Now it's probably no surprise that we do have a
Emily (12:51):
But you can't assume that they do, and it's hard to hit an
resource that can help you withyour holiday classroom
invisible target. So your rewardsystem will be extra effective
if you take the time to discussthe expectations before you begin.
management as well. Our holidaybehavior helps bundle has six
(13:12):
different reward systems thatyou can choose from to be a fun
teacher while also keeping yourstudents in line.
Unknown (13:19):
There are reward systems for the whole class,
groups and individuals. So youcan choose the system or
combination of systems thatworks best for you. Just be sure
not to have too much going on atonce with your reward systems,
or it can kind of turn into abig headache for the teacher.
Heidi (13:35):
Yeah, that's the real downside of reward systems, is
having to manage it. Yep, and wetalk all about seasonal behavior
management in episodes 37 and104 so make sure to check those
out if you want more of our tipsand tricks.
Unknown (13:48):
We also have our December teacher survival kit
that can guide you through howto plan your seasonal reward
system. That's my favorite partof this survival kit.
Emily (13:58):
There are pages in there to help you prep for December
and the start of January. Butthere's also a page of guiding
questions to help you dial intoexactly what you need your
reward system to do for you. Sothere is a link to the December
teacher survival kit, youguessed it, in the show notes.
Heidi (14:14):
Definitely check out the show notes on this one.
The third and final suggestionfor being the fun teacher in
December is to sprinkle in somejust for fun magic. Of course,
we need to maximize our time atschool, and we don't want to
waste a whole month doing funand forgetting the learning, but
most teachers will be able tofind a little time to add in a
(14:35):
few short activities that arejust for the pure enjoyment of
it.
Unknown (14:39):
There are some legitimate reasons to do this
too. Doing some just for funactivities, build your classroom
community and class identity.Your students will look back
fondly on those happy timestogether.
Heidi (14:52):
And plus, it makes teaching fun for you. I'm not
going to beat around the bush.Teaching is hard. Some days it's
hard to remember why you enteredthis profession at all, but
incorporating some short holidayactivities that are just for the
joy of it can help your jobbecome more enjoyable.
Unknown (15:10):
That should not be underestimated, because a
teacher who enjoys teaching willbe more equipped to engage their
students, teach with more energyand help their students soar.
And more than that, enjoyingteaching is good for your mental
health, and that is true selfcare, right there.
Heidi (15:28):
A great way to sprinkle in this, just for fun holiday
magic is with brain breaks. Itended to not use brain breaks
every day. I kind of saved themfor just when we needed them,
but in December, I probablyneeded them every single day.
Because, let's be honest,students need a break every day,
especially in December.
Unknown (15:47):
You can use brain breaks to laugh, get out
wiggles, warm students up forthinking, or get more grounded.
And we have printable brainbreaks that are perfect for
this. You can choose the type ofbrain break you need in the
moment and just read it off thecard. You don't have to fuss
with your projector or try andget a video to load or anything
like that.
Heidi (16:06):
These can really be so helpful, especially at a time of
year when focus is short and youneed more breaks. Just in our
December brain break pack, wehave 60 brain breaks in three
different categories. So if youneed to boost that focus, choose
one of the refocus activities,like the calming cocoa mindful
movement activity.
(16:26):
So you get the kids settled, andthen you tell them, pretend
you're standing at the stovestirring a big pot of hot
chocolate. The liquid is hot andbubbly. Use a large spoon to
slowly stir. Now stir with theother hand, feel the warm steam
on your face, take in a big,deep breath and spoon some into
(16:48):
your mug. Now sprinkle somemarshmallows on top and take a
big drink, yum.
Unknown (16:53):
I feel calmer already. We also have refresh brain
breaks to help get everyone backon track and recharge brain
breaks to help get the wigglesout. These can be a huge
lifesaver. So we'll link to ourChristmas brain breaks in the
show notes if you want to take alook.
Heidi (17:09):
Another way we love to add in fun is with festive
breaks. These are short seasonalactivities that you can pull out
whenever you want withoutrequiring any prep. They're
print and go activities likeholiday Tic Tac Toe, roll and
draw a gingerbread house and somany more. Having these copied
and ready to just grab at amoment's notice will be a huge
(17:30):
relief when you need them.
Unknown (17:32):
All you have to do is decide which activities you want
to do and decide how you wantstudents to choose the
activities. Then when it's timefor some festive fun, have a
student pick one of the picturecards, turn it over and see what
activity to do. So it's easypeasy, and also a sneaky way to
get in a little pocket of prepif you listen to last week's
episode.
Heidi (17:51):
So definitely check the show notes for a link to our
Christmas festive breaks andfind the link to Episode 169
where we talk all about thepockets of prep.
Unknown (18:00):
It's easier than you think to be the fun teacher in
December without losing controlof your class or getting behind
in your curriculum. The ways tobe the fun teacher are make your
learning seasonal, add a holidaytwist to your reward system, and
sprinkle in some just for funholiday activities.
Heidi (18:17):
We would love to hear how you plan for fun in December.
Come fill us in on all of thedetails in our teacher approved
Facebook group.
Unknown (18:25):
Now let's talk about this week's teacher approved
tip. Each week we leave you witha small, actionable tip that you
can apply in your classroomtoday. This week's teacher
approved tip is, get those luckyducks. What is this all about
Heidi (18:38):
Well as we mentioned, sprinkling seasonal fun into
Heidi?
your class is a great way tomake things festive without
having to lose complete control.One way to add a little festive
surprise and delay is to choosea lucky duck for the day.
We have talked about this ideabefore, but I saw the cute
Christmas duckies at Target, andI just wanted to make sure
everyone had a good reminder ifthey wanted to do this. So if
(19:00):
there are enough school daysbetween now and winter break
that you could spotlight each ofyour students on one day, you
may want to give this a try.
All you need is a duck and thena few fun ideas. So each
morning, the deck arrives on anew student's desk, and that
student is the lucky duck of theday. Maybe they get to have a
holiday decoration on theirdesk, or they get to use a fancy
(19:21):
pen for their work that day. Youcould add as many fun privileges
as you can manage. And with allthe fun seasonal stuff out
there, you could really go wildwith this one.
Unknown (19:31):
Oh yeah, I'm thinking of, like, all the different
Christmasy things that theycould get to do on their lucky
duck day. Or, like, maybe theycould wear a Santa hat. Like, it
could be so fun.
Heidi (19:40):
That's so cute. And if you don't have enough school
days to do one a day, you couldget two cute ducks from Target
and do two kids a day.
Unknown (19:47):
That's true, Lucky ducks, plural. I've seen some
teachers online who do a luckyduck of the day all year, and
there's nothing wrong with that,if it works for you. But if you
don't need this as part of yourregular classroom management,
adding a special activity likethis once or twice a year makes
school feel magical. The rarityof the experience makes it feel
like such a treat, which is whysurprise and delight is so
(20:10):
powerful.
Heidi (20:12):
To wrap up the show, we're sharing what we're giving
extra credit to this week.Emily, what gets your extra
credit?
Unknown (20:18):
I'm giving extra credit to holiday rom com books. So
last year, you and I puttogether a list of our favorite
holiday rom com books to share,and I wanted to do this as my
extra credit again, just so Icould share that link again, so
I'll link it in the show notes.Remember, show notes are gonna
be crazy this week. You gottacheck them out.
Emily (20:37):
I'm just getting into my holiday rom com reading this
year, so I don't have a new oneto recommend yet, but I did just
download Christmas With a Crankby Courtney Walsh, and it's free
on Kindle Unlimited. I've readanother one of her, so I think I
will like it. I've got highhopes for it anyway. So if I
like it, I will add it to thelist.
Heidi (20:56):
Well, that has been on my TV read list, so now I can just
wait for you to tell me if it'sworthwhile.
Unknown (21:01):
I'll be the guinea pig. What's your extra credit Heidi?
Heidi (21:04):
Well my extra credit is also going to a book this week.
I just finished the audiobook ofMiranda Hearts I Haven't Been
Entirely Honest With You, and itwas so good.
I know Miranda from her sitcomon the BBC, which was also
called Miranda. Oh, it was sogood. I loved it. And she played
Chummy on Call the Midwife,which maybe more people know,
and I loved her on both ofthose. But then she just kind of
(21:26):
disappeared for a long time. AndI thought, well, maybe she's
doing more behind the scenesstuff. I, you know, just didn't
hear from her.
And sadly, it turns out that shewas basically house bound
because of a chronic illness,and that is kind of the topic of
the book. But it's more thanjust a memoir of her illness,
though it's it's more like adeep discussion about how to be
(21:46):
a human in spite of the horrorsthat keep persisting in all of
their forms.
So in the book, she shares 10key lessons. She calls them her
treasures that she learned andhow they helped her heal, not
just physically, but alsomentally and spiritually and in
all facets of her life. This isone of the few books that I have
finished, and then wanted torestart right away. I listened
(22:07):
to the audiobook because Mirandais so fun, but I think I need to
get the print version now,because there were just so many
aha moments that I want to beable to reference. So I will put
a link to that with everythingelse in the show notes.
Emily (22:19):
Show gotes gonna be popping this week.
Heidi (22:23):
That is it for today's episode. Try our three ways to
be the fun teacher in Decemberwithout losing control of your
class. And don't forget ourteacher approved tip for adding
some seasonal surprise anddelight to your class.
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