Elf on the {book} Shelf

Last year I got caught up in the Elf on the Shelf hype {how do you NOT get caught up in Christmas magic when you teach kindergarten?!} and wound up with our new friend, Mistletoe. He watched the kids last year and reported back to Santa but other than listening to whispered five year old secrets, he didn't have much participation in class.

I decided to beef it up this year by building on this student interest and making him a writing topic. This is only a sample because it's what I created after reading the book on Monday afternoon. I swear, I get more and better ideas in the last possible second than I do from hours of pre-planning!

You can get the rest of the Elf on the Shelf packet for more journal pages and activities, which has graphics to fit boy AND girl elves!  ;)

Sometimes it's hard to find a lot of new places to hide him in the classroom because he has to be high enough that the doubters can't touch him but in a place sturdy enough that he won't fall down. Pinterest has some fab ideas for those of you wanting to start this tradition at home, but where are your classroom elves landing when they come back from the North Pole each night? Here's a few ideas to get you started!

{high up places where he can see everyone}

{with favorite classroom characters}

{places the kids often look}

{hanging around somewhere unexpected!}