Holiday Lesson Ideas

Prior to class, set up the area by using the cones to arrange a large rectangle. Make sure to set up the cones a good distance away from any walls in the activity area. After students arrive, briefly gather the students and tell (or remind) them the story of Santa and his reindeeer, including where Santa "lives" (North Pole).

Have the students get into groups of four to five. Choose one group to be the "Santa's" (they get the hats and jerseys). Have each of the other groups choose which reindeer they want to be (i.e., Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, or Blitzen). Have the Santa's go to the middle of the playing area, while the reindeers line up in between two of the cones.

The goal of the activity for the reindeer is to make it across the "North Pole" without being tagged (e.g., caught) by a Santa so make sure you have taught your students chasing, fleeing, and dodging skills.

To begin, the Santa's huddle together and choose a reindeer they would like to capture for their Christmas sleigh ride. They count to three and call out a reindeer. (It may be best to have the teacher do this but that is up to you). If they say, "Blitzen", all of the students in that reindeer group would try to move (best to have students use locomotor skills such as skipping, sliding, walking, etc. as opposed to running) across the North Pole without getting tagged by a Santa. If they are tagged, they join Santa's sleigh by sitting down (or you can have them stand frozen in place) where they were tagged in the North Pole. These children can help catch other reindeers with their arms only.

The Santa's would then call out a different reindeer group to catch. If at any time, the Santa's call out "North Pole", all of the reindeers who haven't been tagged attempt to cross the North Pole together. The teacher has the choice to call this out at any time so as to make sure the game is fair. Play for a few minutes and then change to a new group of Sant's.