Goodbye, Elf!

Let me start by saying there is no teacher shaming here. It's a real thing, and I'm not here to do it. This is just an alternative that has filled my holiday-spirited heart while reflecting on the needs of my kids. Who knows... you might just like it even more!?

We all know what Elf I'm talking about. She/he comes to your class every winter as a watchful eye and reports back to Santa. They appear in funny costumes, silly locations, or even sometimes with treats. If you know kids (and if you're reading this, you probably do), they LOVE this part of the year. It's exciting. It's magic. It's Christmas, am-i-right?

Now, picture this. The same class, but three of your students are Jewish. Two are Jehovah's Witnesses. One just got told Santa is not coming this year because money is tight. What feelings do you think an Elf might bring up now?

Let me start with saying that I have an Elf on the Shelf, and I went deep into the tradition last year. I had a blast thinking of fun activities, and my kids loved getting to see where the Elf ended up each morning. BUT while having an Elf might be a fun tradition for my family who celebrates Christmas, this isn't just my classroom. It's ours. As an educator, being responsive to the needs of our students' lives isn't just important. It's a necessity. Because of this, I made it my mission this year to find a way to bring some of that *magic* into the (virtual) classroom without the tie to a single holiday.

Introducing.......................... (drum roll please)

Shelly. Yes, Shelly is a tortoise. No, Shelly isn't from the North Pole. Shelly is from the book "A Loud Winter's Nap" by Katy Hudson. This beautiful book is about a lazy tortoise who hates winter and just wants to take a nap (anyone else? 🙋‍♀️). His friends keep trying to get him to play, but he refuses until a few mishaps accidentally show him that he can have fun in winter. Moral of the story: It's okay to change your thinking. Your opinion is malleable. This is huge for any human to understand, and it's something we celebrate in my class. You thought it was 8 cubes, but then you counted and now you think it's 10? Amazing. You thought bunnies could fly but the story said bunnies don't have wings? You betcha. I am proud of you because it takes courage to say I changed my mind. I was wrong, and it's okay. Shelly is a great model of this (and is in a cute winter story) which is how our journey started.

Since I teach virtually this year, everything had to be done through Zoom and Canvas. I started by reading the book to introduce the character. We talked about how the tortoise's feelings changed throughout. We celebrated his ability to change. Then, Shelly was introduced.

"Something magic happened today kindergarteners. I was reading this book before class, and the tortoise started crawling out of the pages. I dropped the book (dramatic book drop) and hid behind my chair. When I crept out verrrrrrrrry slowly, I saw it was real. There was the sleepy tortoise from our book! I just couldn't wait to tell you, so I invited him to our class."

Proceed with normal things you would do with an Elf:

• Vote on a name

• Hide them around the classroom or online (I put a clipart tortoise in a different place in Canvas each day. They can wear different outfits, hold signs, etc.)

• Write about them or to them

• Integrate with other content areas (we are talking about tortoise habitats, the needs of living things, patterns, color words, etc.)

• Join your Zoom session (if you're virtual)

One things that is different... NO reporting to Santa. Or anyone else. Shelly is not watching to see who is "good or bad". Instead, Shelly looks for persistence, openness to changing one's thinking, and overcoming challenges as a class. Shelly gives us virtual snowflakes that we can use to earn a dance party, show & tell, or whatever the class votes on. Now, I'm not a huge extrinsic reward fan (come see me for another blog post someday) but this is definitely a fun way to bring in some *magic*.

This is what works for me. What works for you and your students might, and probably is, entirely different. What I do next year might look different as well. What I do know is that I will keep my secret, winter visitor Christmas free. We will take time talking about the different holidays everyone in and out of our classroom celebrates, but our classroom will be surrounded by winter magic instead.

If you like this idea but want to make it your own, you could try:

• Winter fairy

• Polar bear

• Penguin

• Snowman

• Anything your beautiful, creative teacher heart can think of!

2020 teacher- you've got this! (Elf or no Elf 😉)