In this episode of The Firstieland Podcast for elementary teachers, your host Molly Schwab shares practical and encouraging tips to help you survive (and even enjoy!) the busiest month of the school year. December can feel chaotic - with excited students, endless to-do lists, and classrooms bursting with energy - but it doesn’t have to leave you drained.

You’ll learn:

✔️ Why slowing down and simplifying your plans will save your sanity

✔️ How to make meaningful classroom memories your students will never forget

✔️ Easy low-prep activities and games to keep kids engaged and learning

✔️ Simple ideas for calm days

✔️ Ways to let students take the lead and give yourself a well-deserved break

✔️ How to build independent choice time into your day for quiet moments of peace

✔️ What to include in your very own Teacher Survival Kit to recharge during your planning period

By the end of this episode, you’ll have a fresh list of teacher-tested ideas to help you simplify December, calm the chaos, and head into winter break feeling relaxed and accomplished (not frazzled and fried).

Resources Mentioned

JOIN THE FREE WINTER READ ALOUD CHALLENGE - https://firstieland.com/challenge

Winter Writing Prompts - firstieland.com/winterwriting

No-Prep December Games – firstieland.com/games

Teacher For The Day - https://firstieland.com/teacher

Blog Post - Best Tips For Teacher Survival During December - https://firstieland.com/teacher-survival

Winter Playlist For Kids - https://firstieland.com/winter-music

Let’s Stay Connected

Visit our website: www.firstieland.com

Need resources? Visit our TPT store: https://firstieland.com/TPT-store

Need more ideas? Message me on Instagram @firstieland

To check out all the resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the show notes: https://firstieland.com/podcast

Enjoying The Podcast?

Be sure to tap the follow button so you don’t miss an episode.

How To Rate And Review

If you’re enjoying this podcast and it’s helpful to you, I’d love it if you’d leave a review.

🍎 Apple Podcasts

🎧 Spotify

Have a wonderful day, and remember to make learning feel like play… see you next week! 💜

Molly

Full disclosure: Amazon links in my descriptions are affiliate links, which means if you purchase through that link, I receive a very small percentage of the sale.

In this episode of The Firstieland Podcast for Elementary Teachers, your host Molly Schwab shares nine festive and easy ideas to add some joy to your classroom morning meetings in December. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by holiday chaos, you’ll discover simple ways to bring cheer and connection to your classroom - all while keeping students calm, focused, and engaged.

You’ll learn:

✔️ Fun holiday morning meeting greetings

✔️ Simple Christmas jokes that get kids giggling and set a positive tone for the morning

✔️ Seasonal Question of the Day ideas that spark conversation

✔️ How to create a morning puzzle scavenger hunt that builds anticipation for classroom rewards

✔️ Magical holiday read-aloud ideas

✔️ Quick activities like a sight word snowball fight, North Pole Santa Says, and festive word searches

✔️ How to add classic holiday songs to your mornings to build classroom community

By the end of this episode, you’ll have a bundle of stress-free ideas to sprinkle holiday magic into your December morning meetings, without extra prep or overwhelm.

Resources Mentioned

JOIN OUR FREE WINTER READ ALOUD CHALLENGE - https://firstieland.com/challenge

December Morning Meeting slides - https://firstieland.com/decemberslides

Blog Post - 40 December Morning Meeting Ideas –https://firstieland.com/decembermeeting

Blog Post - 15 Best December Read Alouds –https://firstieland.com/decemberbooks

Books Mentioned

Shop December Read Alouds here: https://firstieland.com/decemberbooklist

Let's Stay Connected

Visit our website: www.firstieland.com

Need resources? Visit our TPT store here: https://firstieland.com/TPT-store

Need more help or ideas? Send me a message on Instagram @firstieland

To check out all the resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the show notes – https://firstieland.com/episode24

Enjoying The Podcast?

Be sure to tap the follow button so you don’t miss an episode.

How To Rate And Review

If you’re enjoying this podcast and it’s helpful to you, I’d love it if you’d leave a review.

🍎 APPLE PODCAST – https://firstieland.com/apple

🎧 SPOTIFY – https://firstieland.com/spotify

Have a wonderful day and remember to make learning feel like play… see you next week! 💜 Molly

Full disclosure: Amazon links in my descriptions are affiliate links, which means if you purchase through that link, I receive a very small percentage of the...

Fun Holiday Activities In The First Grade Classroom

In this episode of The Firstieland Podcast for Elementary Teachers, your host Molly Schwab shares seven fun and easy classroom activities to help you stay calm, keep your students focused, and avoid December chaos. Instead of fighting the holiday excitement, you’ll learn how to embrace the season with meaningful, low-stress lessons that still hit your standards.

You’ll learn:

✔️ How to use Gingerbread stories to teach comparing and contrasting while keeping kids engaged

✔️ A creative Gingerbread Baby adoption project that teaches responsibility and inspires writing

✔️ How Holidays Around the World can cover social studies standards in a calm, structured way

✔️ Simple no-prep games that give you and your students a much-needed brain break

✔️ Hands-on writing prompts that make students excited to write again

✔️ How to plan magical theme days like Elf Day or Santa Day—without the overwhelm

By the end of this episode, you’ll have a list of tried-and-true December ideas that keep your students learning and your classroom peaceful, all while creating magical memories they’ll never forget.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

FREE MONTHLY READ ALOUD PLANNER - https://firstieland.com/planner

Gingerbread Baby Resource – https://firstieland.com/gingerbreadbaby

Elf Day Activities – https://firstieland.com/elf

Santa Day Activities – https://firstieland.com/santa

December Writing Prompts - https://firstieland.com/winter-writing

December No Prep Games - https://firstieland.com/games

Holidays Around The World - https://firstieland.com/holiday

Books Mentioned

Gingerbread Books - https://firstieland.com/holidaybooks

Gingerbread baby toy - https://firstieland.com/gingerbreadtoy

Let's Stay Connected

Visit our website: www.firstieland.com

Need resources? Visit our TPT store here: https://firstieland.com/TPT-store

Need more help or ideas? Send me a message on Instagram @firstieland

To check out all the resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the show notes – https://firstieland.com/episode23

Enjoying The Podcast?

Be sure to tap the follow button so you don’t miss an episode.

How To Rate And...