December in a classroom is crazy, folks. Between classroom parties, end of the semester assessments, and final deadlines of the year, it can be tempting to throw out all classroom management strategies. Wait! Don’t do it. I am excited to share a classroom management activity that not only helps maintain sanity in the classroom, but also spreads holiday cheer. Pretty cool, right?
Maybe you've heard about the Kindness Challenge in the classroom or the "R.A.K."--Random Acts of Kindness. Basically, the idea is to complete actions of kindness and respect. I absolutely love this idea and wanted to pass along some ideas you could use specifically during December. This is an easy to conduct challenge. Something different for the kids. And as you know, they are more engaged when the activity is something different.
Here is the idea:
Every day you challenge the students to complete the kindness action of that day. Now, you could reward those who completed the challenge. I think it is fair to give students who completed it a ticket for a drawing of a special prize at the end of the 12 days. Although the goal is not the reward, during December... We need a little extra push.
I wanted to create a simple, yet fun, "12 Days of Holiday Kindness" display to go along with the challenges. Something that would be different from the norm and would motivate students to complete the challenges. First, I thought of several different challenges:
- Write a thank-you note to a lunch room helper or cook.
- Tell another teacher thank you.
- Ask an adult in your family how their day went.
- Smile at 3 people in the hallway.
- Bring one can-good tomorrow so we can take it to a food bank.
- Here is a stack of post-it notes. Write an appreciation to someone and give it to them.
- Give 5 friends high-fives.
- Draw a picture of a flower so we can put them together to place them in the front office.
- Put candy canes on teacher's desks.
- Write a note to an adult in your life, telling them how much you love them.
- Make a holiday card for a custodian.
- Make a get-well card for kids who have to spend the holidays in the hospital.
Next, I wrote these on a small piece of paper to be placed in a drawstring canvas bag. To make the banner I gathered these materials: DIY Mini Canvas Drawstring Bags Nifty Knob Number Stampers Gold Bakers Twine Classic and Tropical Giant Stamp Set Mini Bright Clothespins 
After gathering the materials, I stamped the drawstring bags different numbers. 
Hung them up and voila. Easy peasy. 
I loved putting this together and I hope you have fun doing this too! Most importantly, I hope you and your class have fun completing the challenges and keeping everything just a bit more sane. Have a great holiday season!
