No, I’m not referring to my waistband. 🙂 That post will come after the holidays! The pinch on my mind is time-related and it begins right about now. Do you agree that during the months of November and December your to-do list takes on a life of its own? And I’m just talking about your teacher to-do list!
I’d like to help you with your teacher to-do list this year, and here’s what I’ve come up with. Beginning today, we’ll start a list of the “extra” things that teachers are either asked to do or want to do during the months of November and December. Then, each week during these two months, I’ll post a topic and we’ll all pitch in to help each other out by sharing our best ideas. I might post topics such as “Gifts for Students to Make,” “Secret Santa Ideas,” or “Classroom Management Tips for December.” You can count on surprise giveaways too!
So let’s get started! Who’s going to begin our list?
Happily,
Diane
Holiday Plays
Gifts to Give Students
Classroom Holiday Party
Thank you, Courtney, for starting our list! This is going to be fun!
Parent gifts,
songs to perform for the parents
How much Christmas is enough
What do you do with children who do not celebrate the season.
Gifts for students to make for parents
Getting it all done before Christmas break
How to do the Christmas party of meeting
Decorating the tree with homemade ornaments
the list goes on
Make holiday cards
Make holiday wrapping paper or gift bags
Make holiday gifts
Make time for parents to come in to celebrate holiday
Make reindeer dust
Make props for holiday sing a long
Practice for holiday sing a long
Plan holiday celebrations
We also plan to incorporate other holidays if some of the children do not celebrate the traditional holidays of Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanza.
I also need an alternative to a child that can not celebrate Christmas. When we are making crafts, what do I give them to make?
Christmas gift exchange – every year this is a fiasco! I started a book exchange last year, but had several bring coloring books (although my letter stated no coloring books). I also have done a $5 item exchange but then I have a child that brought a $20 present expect to get their own present. UGH!
I love this holiday, I just hate the chaos that goes with it! 🙂
Thanksgiving activities for the Mon &Tues before Thanksgiving break begins
Christmas program
Gifts for students
Gifts for parent liaisons
Gifts for others in the school who have gone above & beyond to help us
Trying to juggle school activities with family activities
Thanksgiving Art
Clean room for Thanksgiving Parent visit
Practice Thanksgiving Play
Prepare costumes, props, and music cd.
Contact gym teacher to ask for gym practice time.
Ask commucation teacher and AV crew to set up mics, cd player,etc.
Ask principal to introduce and welcome parents.
Begin mid-term test (kindergarten is always oral and individual)
Sell ticket for a fund raiser. Collect items for a class automotive basket to sell at the silent auction.
Work at the after school fund raiser.
Prepare homework for the next month.
Type plans into computer lesson plans.
Prepare centers for RTI groups.
Get out Christmas Tree
Plan and prepare homemade ornaments for the children to prepare. Stress out trying to find time for children to prepare the ornaments.
Ask parent to organize the Christmas Refreshments for party.
Practice for Christmas Play
Prepare mouse ears
Teach children the motions for the songs.
Prepare the December monthly calendar with all school events.
Find and wrap Christmas presents for the children.
Make pictures of all events. Develop photos for the children’s scrapbook.
Prepare scrapbook pages for Thanksgiving and Christmas events.
Try to keep room clean and students happy but quite.
Smile!!!
Oh,my…my list is filled and I always seem to be adding to it!
*Prepare all of the Thanksgiving Feast arangements, sign up sheets for donations for my class and the other classes. Have my classroom design the table covers.
*Set-up & clean-up of feast.
*Get room cleaned up from November/Thanksgiving activities and prepare for December/Christmas activities and decorations.
*Arrange to get a refrigerator box from local appliance store for the class life-size gingerbread house.
*Prepare for Gingerbread House Making Day…donation sign-up sheets for my class and the other 2 classes. Get the graham crackers prepared for each student. Make the royal icing to ‘glue’ the houses together.
*Plan parent gifts and ornaments for the kiddos to make.
*Prepare the family project…decorating large foam gingerbreadmen.
*Purchase stockings and write each students name on them with the glitter glue.
*Create classroom fireplace.
*Set up classroom tree.
*Purchase gifts for students and get them wrapped.
*Organize Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus party for my class and the other 2 that join us.
*Write-up all of December lesson plans to turn into the office.
*Find tme to relax, de-stress, and prepare for my at home activities, too!!!:)