Elf on the Shelf

This year we will be having an elf on the shelf in the classroom.  It has been so hard with all the "have to" stuff- report cards,  CFAs to administer, teacher evaluations, professional development plan, IEP meetings and so on.  I find it difficult to make room for the fun holiday crafts and projects. I don't want my students to miss out on these things so I will do "elf on the shelf"! That will give them something to look forward to when they walk in the classroom and let them imagine what the elf did last night.   This will also give them something fun to write about in centers or writer's workshop.  I have collected a few of my favorite sites for ideas for my mischevious elf.  You can click on the pictures or links for the places the ideas came from.
 Idea #1 came from Saddle Up for 2nd Grade.  I love using the magnetic letters to write messages to students.  I think mine will scale the white board to spell out the message.

Idea #2 came from Life With My Littles.  It is definitely that time of year, when go through so much kleenex.  As my students get sick, this will be fun to lift their spirits.

Idea #3 came from A Few Shortcuts. We are a LEGO classroom, so this is a must!

Idea #4 comes from Simple As That Blog.  This would be simple to put up too!

 Idea #5 came from Seusstactic.  I just need to get a slinky for this one.

 There are also so many great products that can go with Elf on the Shelf on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I really like these:
Teach More Fear Less wrote letters to introduce and say good-bye. Click on the image below for the Freebie.

The Panko Post created this product that has notes written and ready to go! This freebie is in powerpoint format so it is easy to edit to put in your elf's names. This is such a TIME SAVER!!

And Of course, here is another freebie for your elf to have a diary for the students to write about the elf's adventures.  I like this product from Kindergarten Smiles.  I will create journals for students to write individually.  You could also do a class book and have students take turns writing through the month. 

I hope your Christmas is blessed and we all make it to our Christmas Break soon! Now I need to plan the class Christmas Performance.