You know it’s hard, I know it’s hard, really keeping kids engaged right up to the break is one of the most difficult tasks teachers need to juggle. They feel like they should really already be on a winter break and if we are honest so do you. But you need to keep them engaged and sometimes that means shifting your regular curriculum to something more themed so that they can continue to learn, but be a little more engaged while doing so.
Here are some great things that I love to keep my kiddos engaged.
- The plastic ornaments from Michaels. These ornaments are awesome! Simply remove the caps, slowly pour a quarter sized amount of paint inside and swirl around to cover the sides. If kids want they can add two colours for a blurred colour effect. However the one pictured above only has one colour. If you want them to they can also paint on the outside (but I only recommend this if they will be super careful or it will ruin how awesome they turn out).
- Google draw. If you have access to technology Google drawings is a great option as it requires no supplies. Just as an aside…how can we run out of red and green paint and paper EVERY year??
- Directed Drawings You can find hundreds of these on Youtube and they are terrific at every level. It’s a great idea if you just need a little bit of quiet and focus. This is a great younger version.
- STEM activity – these are great not only for the science but really just for the coolness factor!
- If you are looking for some fun and engaging math have your students re-create their school but call it the ‘ultimate school’ project. They can add anything to their school that they think they will want. However I do have some stipulations
- Must have staff bathroom and at least 2 student bathrooms
- 5 classrooms (or whatever you think you want for your size of school)
- 1 gym
- 1 main office
- dimensions on all rooms
- They must calculate the area of their entire school
- Any outside features must have dimensions as well
- Math Card Games – this is a great time to introduce fun card games to your kids that will help their numeracy but also will keep them engaged.
- Sell me Your Christmas tree project – I can’t tell you how fun this project is both for me and for the kids! I absolutely love doing this one from year to year. This will cover persuasive writing, media, and the concept of euphemisms. So much fun!
- If your class wants to discuss a historical Christmas my Christmas in the trenches is a great one to use as well as my social justice language activities.
Truly it seems like a lot of work but most of these activities are very simple to implement and require almost zero prep on your part! I hope you have a great last couple of weeks before your break!