Winding down for Christmas

It’s coming to that time of year: the kids are tired, you’re tired, and everyone is just trying to make it to the end of the term. With only three more days to go, why not start winding down with some fun activities for you and your pupils to enjoy?

CHRISTMAS MOVIES

Of course, this won’t be new to any teachers, but sticking on a film is not a cop-out. Watching a film in the afternoon, after all the work is done, will keep students engaged, while also teaching about the spirit of Christmas.

Why not let them watch some festive favourites, such as Elf, The Muppet’s Christmas Carol or Home Alone?

Plus, if you start a film today, and watch a little bit every afternoon, you’ll finish it by Friday, which is a bonus that will keep everyone happy.

BOARD GAMES

If you want to keep students off screens, why not ask each pupil to bring in their favourite board game, and spend some time learning about team work, sharing, compromising and being kind to each other?

Not only will it be fun for them, but it’ll teach them some important life lessons that you just don’t learn from doing fractions or spelling.

CRAFTS

This might seem daunting at this time of year, but arts and crafts is a great way for children to let off steam and allows them to experiment with their creativity.

You could make Christmas cards, decorations, or even just colour in some pictures of Santa and snowmen for them to take home and stick on the fridge.

OUTDOOR PLAY

We know, we live in Scotland and it’s cold and there have been indoor lunches every day for the last week because of rain. If there’s ever a window of opportunity, why not take your class outside to let off some steam and get some exercise?

It might be the last thing you want to do, but it might be exactly what they need for a couple hours of concentration for your lesson plan afterwards.

At the end of the day, you can try your hardest to carry on lessons as normal, but with everyone so excited for Christmas and the end of term, don’t blame yourself if things don’t go exactly to plan over the next few days.

Your class will be back to their normal, studious selves (we hope) in January after the holidays. But we’re not thinking about that yet.