It’s that time of year again, evenings filled with dread on what the classroom Elf will be doing tomorrow!
Only so many hours can be spent scrolling through Instagram and Pinterest, looking for ideas and inspiration. Therefore, we have written this blog, compiling many of the brilliant ideas we have seen over the years.
So, sit back, have a read and get some ideas!
Poseable Elf on the Shelf
I’m sure we’ve all been there, you’ve got the perfect idea for your next Elf on the Shelf.
But no matter what you do, you just can’t get the Elf to strike that pose you had in your head!
Well, with this hack presented by @melodyinthemaking on Instagram, you’ll now be able to get your Elf to hang upside down from a wire, hold a hero pose, maybe even scale the classroom whiteboard with ease.
Magic Elf Seeds
Make your very own Candy Cane Garden in your classroom!
Simply fill a small tray with some snow (preferably fake so it doesn’t melt !) or sugar.
Your class can then take turns planting their individual seed – we’ve seen people use Tic Tacs or Miniature Candy Canes as seeds.
Wait a few days, with your classroom Elf taking the role as farmer, and your children can watch as they grow into full sized sweet candy canes for everyone in your class to enjoy!
This brilliant idea, courtesy of East Coast Mommy Blog. Click here to check her out!
Sneaky Elf
Something that can happen is someone in your class is always first in the room and can accidentally ruin the surprise for those who are later enter into the room of where your Elf might be hiding.
A fun and sneaky way to get around this, for a funny delayed reaction, is to have your Elf hide in one of the child’s desk/book drawers – maybe even their pencil case!
This way it still happens as a surprise for everyone when he is found by the child you choose 🙂
Candy Cane Jail
Perhaps one day your Elf might need to go in a time-out corner; for being too mischievous!
That’s where the Candy Cane Jail comes into play.
Why not decorate it a little to be a little more Christmasy?!
*Left – https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/126804545742003483/
*Right – https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/14988611253025182/
Emergency Magic Elf Dust
For teachers who have especially young children, sometimes accidents can happen and the number one Elf rule is broken; “Do not touch/move me or I might lose my powers”.
This is something that happened to teachingwithmeld.com when she was off for a 1/2 day!
One of her children accidentally touched the Elf at the end of the day and was very upset thinking it would’t work anymore.
Instagram teachers to the rescue!
A little bit of Magical Elf Dust (and a ton of glitter) and their Elf was back to full health.
Images from https://teachingwithmeld.com/elf-in-classroom-linky-week-2/
Toilet Roll Takeover
A very exciting thing for the children to find in the classroom one morning!
Simply hang up toilet roll around your classroom, attaching it to different places on the ceiling.
You can wrap your Elf up in toilet roll, hanging from the ceiling or place it on the side with the toilet roll.
Raiding the Sticker Packs
Every child’s dream and now your elves reality… raiding the sticker packs! Find your Elf covered in stickers from head to toe, a fun yet simple Elf activity.
A melted snowman from the North Pole!
A hilarious Elf idea! Have your Elf bring his snowman friend over from the North Pole, but oh no… the snowman has melted on his way over! All that remains is a puddle of water, carrot nose, twig arms and googly eyes.
Here at Teacher’s Pet we have made some resources to support some Elf antics, including a free pack of downloadable and printable notes to sit next to your Elf. One note works perfectly for this Elf activity. You can download this pack here.
Shoe Shoe Train
All aboard the Shoe Shoe Train! A perfect, Elf-sized train all round your classroom. Easy to make with lots of different shoes.
SELFIE TAKEOVER!
Oh no! The Elf has taken over the class iPad last night and taken lots of selfies. Leave the ipad next to the Elf the next day to encourage the children to take a look at what the Elf has been up to.
Take it one step further, have the Elf ‘hack’ the teacher computer and change the background to a selfie. A funny surprise for the whole class when the screen comes up.
Pamper Day
Give your Elf a day to chill out… a spa day! Small slices of gherkins are a perfect replacement for cucumber slices to place on the elf’s eyes. Leave your Elf lying on a towel, maybe even have some pamper products surrounding it!
Do you want to build a snowman?
This is a great one for Early Years, practising Fine Motor Skills by building snowmen.
A great activity to set up in a tuff tray. Leave lots of large marshmallows or play dough in the tray with sticks and coloured play dough to use as features. Have the Elf sat on the tuff tray with a ‘Do you want to build a snowman?’ note. You can find this note (along with lots of other Elf notes) here, free to download!
Grow chocolate coins!
Magic coins! Leave your Elf with a box of snow and a note saying ‘Plant these coins in the magic snow and wait for them to grow’. You can find this note here for free to download and print for your classroom.
Hand out a penny to everyone in your class and encourage them to place it in the snow. The following day, swap all the pennies for chocolate coins and let your class enjoy a chocolate treat!
Candy Cane Hunt
Another foodie activity for your classroom Elf… a class candy cane hunt.
Hide enough candy canes around your classroom for every member of your class. Leave you Elf with a note on the board (or with our note downloadable for free, here) and when everyone is in the classroom, let the hunt commence!
Make sure everyone in the class knows it is one candy cane each, and encourage them to help others find their candy canes.
Toasty Elf
A funny pun to make your class giggle!
A very easy one to set up… a TOASTy blanket for your classroom Elf. We have the perfect note to accompany this Elf activity, downloadable here.
Story Time!
Find your Elf reading stories to all of their friends. Sit them with an open book and a crowd of other teddies and toys.
Elf Yoga
Inspired by the brilliant hashtag on Instagram, #elfontheshelfyoga, we have made a brilliant Elf yoga poses activity. Leave this activity next to your elf for your whole class to have a go at some class yoga! You can find this resource here to download.
Reading Practice
Another reading based activity for your Elf!
Leave this note with your elf, encouraging children to go over throughout the day and read some of their favourite book to them.
A downloadable and printable note can be found here, perfect to leave alongside your Elf.
Sticky wrapping situation!
Oh dear, the Elf has got themself caught up in a sticky situation when trying to wrap some presents. Leave your Elf covered in wrapping paper and tape with a pair of scissors.
Elf Rule!
If your class start messing with the Elf, leave them a note setting some rules. We have provided a note on our website that you can download here.
Daily Diary
A great way to encourage the children to reflect on the elf’s behaviour is through our new Daily Elf Diary. Print these journal slips for your class to write about the elf’s antics. At the end each child will have a full journal, all about the elf’s activities.
You can download these journal pages here.
We’ve had a great time looking through all these creative Elf on the Shelf ideas and hope you have too! Thank you for reading this blog, we would love to see any of your ideas so send them over to us.
Good luck and have fun with your classroom elf this Christmas!
I have never been a fan of the Elf on the Shelf, but these were really fun ideas. I think I might try them with my grade 1s 🙂