Christmas Countdown: A Classroom Management Strategy

Classroom Management in December

December is one of the most fun- and most challenging– months of the year! There are so many great activities to do- but the KIDS are so excited that it is hard to keep them focused and working hard! This Christmas Countdown is a great way to take advantage of every opportunity to keep students learning.

I am a firm believer in positive reinforcement! So, I came up with this fun idea for a whole class behavior incentive for December using a Christmas Countdown themed punchboard.

How to Create a Christmas Countdown Punchboard:

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The board is easy to make with a few basic supplies: foam board, disposable cups, tissue paper, rubber bands, a glue stick, and a hot glue gun. Add a cute heading and some clipart at the top using glue stick. Then, hot glue the cups to the board.

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Next, fill the cups with reward slips for the students to earn.

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Glue the circle pictures to the top of green tissue paper and then rubber band the paper around the cups. Be sure the reward slip and the top picture match!

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Using the Countdown to Christmas Punch Board

Now the board can be displayed, and your students can start earning the rewards! There is a different reward for each cup- enough for at least 12 days.

Work on one reward cup at a time. Each student receives their own page to color in with the matching picture. When the whole class exhibits great behavior, they all earn a coloring clue!

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I recommend using a cute Christmas themed box to store the clues. You can read the clues out loud to your class or choose a student to read it to them. You can reward any behavior that is important to you.

Some behavior ideas might include:

listening carefully to teacher directions
working without distractions
walking quietly in the hallway
lining up quickly and appropriately

Time to Celebrate!

When they color an entire picture (the clue box is empty for that picture), then they get to open the matching punch box cup and reveal the class reward! Once students have enjoyed the reward, you can begin working on the next cup. Your students will love making memories with this project, and you will love how it keeps them focused!

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Want to learn more about this Christmas countdown resource? You can check it out in my TPT store!

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Hi, I’m Jaymie! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I taught for 17 years including 12 years in First Grade, 4 years as a Reading Interventionist, and 1 year in Pre-K.

I have a passion for creating rigorous, easy to use primary resources that require little or no prep! I hope you find some easy ideas to take back to your classroom or use in your homeschool!