Not onlywithin your own four wallsThe Advent calendar is very popular. Of course, it can also decorate the classroom and delight the children. The difference to the calendar at home, however, is that it does not contain (just) sweets, but rather interesting and, above all, encouraging things that are intended to complement the lessons in a fun way. Every day until the Christmas holidays, one child or all of them together can open a door. But what should you fill the primary school advent calendar with? We have put together a few ideas for you that are not only useful but also fun.
An elaborate design for the primary school Advent calendar is not necessary. Alreadysimple bags, sacks or bagsare completely sufficient to fulfill their purpose. You can even use the Advent calendar with the childrencraft in classand then fill it yourself, which is a great alternative to ready-made ones. In principle, you can make the Advent calendar in elementary school using a variety of materials. Below you will find three of our articles where you will find great suggestions.
So the calendar is ready and now it's time to fill it. But what is best when it comes to a school class’s Advent calendar? Here are some great ideas that all children will enjoy.
Advent calendar primary school – choose content
Of course, there can also be a little something to snack on in the school Advent calendar. However, this should not be the main content. After all, the purpose of school is to educate students. The content should be chosen accordingly. If the children open the calendar together every day, one isCandy or a giftNot a good idea because you can't divide it fairly among everyone. In such cases, it would be better if a different child was allowed to open a door every day. Whatever it finds inside, it gets to keep.
So far so good – but what can you fill the primary school advent calendar with? If no good ideas come to mind spontaneously and you have the feeling that something educational will definitely be boring, we will convince you otherwise in the following lines. Because these ideas are creative and fun! There are suggestions for various subjects and topics.
Advent calendar with history
A particularly popular idea for the Advent calendar for students is the story. However, this does not mean that every day contains a new story (although that would also be a possibility). Instead, a story is divided into 24 sections and placed in the calendar in the correct order. Which type of story you choose is of course up to you. It can be adventurous or Christmassy, educational or just plain fun.
It is also advisable to always separate the story for Advent calendars at points where it becomes more interesting. This way, the children will stay excited until the next day and they will hardly be able to wait to find out the next part. The child who draws the new part of the story from the Advent calendar should of course read it out loud themselves. In this way, reading aloud is practiced and memory is also promoted. At the end of the story you are welcome to join in toolittle quiz for the little onesprepare to check what everyone has remembered from the story (but without grading, of course). Every child is guaranteed to like an Advent calendar with stories like this!
A reading Advent calendar for elementary school can also be put together with poems instead of stories. And if the poems are added to the primary school advent calendar“Christmas” themes, “Advent” or “St. Nicholas” fits, all the better!
Advent calendar for school with songs
A great idea for music lessons is a primary school Advent calendar with song lyrics. These should ideally be on the theme of “Christmas” and can even come from different countries as desired and therefore not only be German, but also in another language (e.g. “I wish you a Merry Christmas”, “Feliz Navidade”, “Leise the snow is falling”). The song that is drawn is then sung by everyone together.
Secret Santa with the children
If you want it to be a small gift, you can also convert the elementary school Advent calendar into a Secret Santa game. Then, for example, lots can be drawn in advance for the Advent calendar, which determine which child prepares a little something for which other child. It doesn't necessarily have to be something purchased. The children can also do it in the form of homeworkmake something niceand in this way make gifts for the primary school Advent calendar. The gift must then be wrapped (for example, give each child a bag) and then hung on a string in the classroom or placed in a box provided and then opened by each child on a specific day.
Active Advent calendar for primary school
If you would like to design the Advent calendar differently than usual, amore active or more activeSuch a great idea too. What is meant? The children take an active part in the planning. Therefore, preparation should begin in good time. Give the children a few days to think about a specific task, which you then carry out on a specific day in December (the date can be drawn by each child using lots). Such tasks can be:
- sing a song
- play a song on an instrument
- read a story
- recite a poem
- read a story you wrote yourself
- Bring something you made yourself and then do it together with the other children
- Children who do a particular sport in their free time can show the others a few typical exercises and have them imitate them
It's best to sit on the floor with the children in a circle and let the children demonstrate their task. This is more familiar than standing in front of the whole class and also makes it easier for children who have greater inhibitions about such things. A Christmas carol can be sung as an introduction to minimize excitement.
Advent calendar with puzzles for children
It's no secret thatChildren's puzzlesjust love. This makes them a wonderful idea for the Advent calendar at school and for all ages. Of course, the puzzles for the primary school Advent calendar should also correspond to the age of the children. Search for easy puzzles online and write down the solutions. Simply write the puzzle on the calendar paper. Each day a child can then take a piece of paper from the calendar and read the puzzle out loud. Then everyone can guess together.
If you want, you can expand on this idea by giving the child who guesses correctly agive a small gift(e.g. a piece of candy or a small toy). But so that the same children don't always get something as a gift and everyone else starts the Christmas holidays frustrated, each child is only allowed to receive something once. So everyone has a chance.
Vouchers for primary school in the Advent calendar
Who doesn't like vouchers?? Of course, this also applies to the children. In this case, this does not mean shopping vouchers, but rather, for example, the free choice of seat, a spontaneous polonaise through the classroom with all classmates, singing a song, a day without homework for everyone, a 5-minute early break, etc. You can use the vouchers in Prepare the form of cards and then store them in the calendar. The children can then conveniently store their cards until they want to redeem them. So that the whole thing doesn't get delayed until the end of the school year, you can also set a deadline (e.g. until the end of January).
Idea for English lessons
Children who have already learned a certain vocabulary in English can also benefit from the following idea: Write down different actions in English on 24 cards. These can be “hug”, “high five”, “elbow bump”, “jump”, etc. For example, if a child pulls the hug out of the calendar, they can hug their classmates.
Another variant would be simple words like “house”, “sun”, “car” and similar, which all children should then draw. For this purpose, the drawn word is not translated, but simply read out in English. Everyone then draws what they think they have understood. Did all the children remember the vocabulary and draw the correct thing?
Advent calendar with mathematics in primary school
Every day you can find a new math problem in the calendar. Admittedly, tasks for the Advent calendar may not sound particularly exciting or fun for the little ones at first. But apart from the fact that children at this age are still relatively motivated, you can also prepare small prizes. Those who solved the task correctly receive a larger prize (such as one of the vouchers mentioned above) and those who were wrong but made an effort receive a small candy. You can come up with any gifts for the elementary school math advent calendar that suit your ideas.
Puzzle as Advent calendar ideas for primary schools
Or how about this fun idea for the elementary school Advent calendar? Have a class photo turned into a 24 piece puzzle. Alternatively, 48 parts can be chosen and divided into 2 parts per day. Of course, the puzzle pieces are stowed together in the calendar, so that a few days have to pass before the first pieces can find each other. This keeps the excitement going and the children can hardly wait to finally receive new parts every day.
Radio plays
Find a radio play CD with 24 stories or put one together yourself. The story then offers the perfect start to class every day, where the children simply have to listen and can relax. Of course, the story can also be played at the end of the lesson or school day. If you want, you can increase the children's attention by spending a few minutes after the story and asking the children questions (you can also ask them before the story). Did everyone listen?
Crafting with origami
Spontaneous crafting without special materials works particularly well with origamis. So why not use this great folding art for the primary school Advent calendar? There are two options: Either you lay it downa guidewith the necessary amount of origami paper in the calendar so that the child folds the figure independently at home and shows it to the class the next day, or you just put the instructions in it and then distribute paper to all the children so that they can all be together in class make the figure. The finished figures can then decorate the classroom by placing them on a cupboard or shelf, or you can tie them with string and hang them on the window. If the children prefer to keep their figures and take them home, they can of course do that too.
Craft materials
Feel free to fill the Advent calendars toowith various craft materials: Scissors, brushes, pine cones, pom-poms, pipe cleaners, paper, fabrics and much more are suitable. A new item is found every day. All of these things are collected over the course of the weeks and at the end everyone has to make something of their own choosing.
