Elf on the Shelf in a Classroom

The Smart Cookies received a special delivery 2 weeks ago. The pure joy as they 'predicted' what was in the box brought a smile to everyone's face. The best prediction was a child predicted that my father was in the box.

They opened the box to find a letter addressed to them from Santa. There was an Elf, a book, and a DVD in a box. How exciting for a 2-hour delay day?

The Smart Cookies immediately took initiative and led the ways as they brainstormed names for the Elf and conducted a class vote.

Magically, during planning, I found on TeachersPayTeachers.com some book and movie comprehension sheets along with a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the two.

Day 1: The naughty Elf, Chip, ripped a few multiplication cards as he practiced. The highlight was students taping the flashcards back together; next, they sat by him as they tried to teach him multiplication.

Day 2: Chip made a bed in the tissue box after leaving candy wrappers everywhere. He was so nice to leave tissues out for a student who uses them a lot. The students created a mailbox for him. Magically, their notes were responded to every morning.

 Day 3:  Chip ate decorated gingerbread cookies near the lunch sticks. The highlight was when I turned around and found a student nibbling away on a cookie.

 Day 3 (continued): Momma and Worth visited the classroom and had heard of Chip's presence in the classroom. Momma did some research and brought in this treat for the class. Cupcakes with Keebler Elf cookies on top.

Day 4: Chip had a snowball fight with the Book Nook inhabitants.

 Day 5: Chip was a gymnast. He spent all day suspended from the ceiling.

 Day 6: Chip was very hungry. He sat on my homemade gingerbread house. He smashed it. And, then, ate some of it.

Day 7 (the finale): Chip put streamers up all over the room. Then, he wrote a note that said. "My Throne." He sat at the 'kingdom' where the Queen (teaching assistant) sits in her throne.

Moral of the Story: Thankfully, my administration agreed that every child deserves some magic in their lives.