Elf on the Shelf Ideas for the Classroom

November 20, 2023 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

If you have a classroom elf, it can be hard to come up with Elf on the Shelf style ideas every day along with all the other things you have to do in the crazy runup to the holidays.

My daughter had one in a couple of her elementary classrooms, and the teachers had the after-school staff move them at the end of the day once the kids were gone. Brilliant!

If you’re doing it yourself — or even if you’re doing it at home — let this post of Elf on the Shelf ideas for the classroom make things a little easier for you.

First off, K Teacher Tiff wants to remind you that doing the elf thing doesn’t have to be hard. Especially with little kids, you don’t have to do big, dramatic scenes, you don’t have to use the name-brand elf, and you can find lots of inspiration online. Which is what we’re here for. She also has an elf journal on Teachers Pay Teachers you can give to kids so they can track the elf’s movements.

For some of that inspiration, Saddle Up for Second Grade has 15 Elf on the Shelf ideas for the classroom, which includes some classics like taping it to the clock or wrapping it in a roll of paper towels on a cold day.

Simply Kinder has a couple of posts with Elf on the Shelf ideas. If you have centers in your classroom (or your house!) there are lots of easy things you can do like have the elf reading a book or doing math. The second post linked here shows some fun accessories she bought her elf, which can give you some ideas for other scenes and things you might craft for your elf. (The candy cane grappling hook is adorable, but you could make something similar with pipe cleaners, for example.)

Chaylor and Mads has a printable introduction letter you can download to share with your class on the first day. That post also has a list of potential names if your class has trouble coming up with one, and ideas for things the elf can do in your classroom.

Sweet for Kindergarten has more cute ideas, including having the elf hanging from a paper chain from the ceiling! And if you need even more ideas, Ms Rachel Vincent has 20 on her blog. I love the idea of having all the elves from different classrooms team up to cause chaos one day (but kids might get emotional trying to ensure “their” elf gets back to the right place, so make sure you know which one is yours!).

Elf on the Shelf Kit for making the 24 days a little easier with props and suggestions.

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Elf on the Shelf Learning Activities

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Book Review: The No-Brainer Brain Explainer

Human brains are pretty amazing, allowing us to think, feel, create, communicate, move and more. But humans aren’t the only animals with cool brains, as Crab Museum explains in the book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer (illustrated by Bruno Valasse).

This book, aimed at kids in grades 1-4, is colorful and silly but also educational about how brains actually work, with billions of neurons sending electrical and chemical signals around the body.

“Everything we think, feel and experience comes from an electrical relay race, with neurons passing chemical batons to each other,” the book says. “The constant chatter of billions of brain cells creates your entire world.”

The book compares the brains of mammals to those of crabs (the book is “written” by a crab after all) and notes that crabs have fewer neurons and of course are much smaller, but they have separate parts of their brains that control their eyes and their legs. Crabs are also capable of remembering things, using tools and solving puzzles.

Some animals’ brains allow them to know more about their world in different ways from humans, such as spiders being sensitive to vibrations in their webs and catfish having an amazing sense of taste, with taste sensors all over their bodies.

It notes that 95 percent of brain activity goes toward things we do unconsciously, like breathing, walking and catching a ball flying toward us. It also talks about dreams, memory, how our emotions try to predict the future, where brains came from and fun facts about brains. For example, did you know a sperm whale is believed to have the biggest brain of any creature that’s even lived? Their brains weigh 18 pounds, compared to just 2.5 pounds for humans.

Information on what creatures have the smallest brains, the toughest brains, the most brains and those who actually eat their own brains will delight kids (and maybe gross them out a little bit). They’ll also enjoy learning about the mycelium network of fungi, which is like a brain without a body, and slime molds, which are like a brain without a brain.

It ends talking about why human brains are so special because we’ve found ways to work together, communicate and build communities on a scale bigger than any other animal.

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this colorful, silly and informational book about brains!

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $19.99.

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