Holiday "Pinspiration" for the Classroom
Three ways you can use Pinterest for fun holiday learning
With the holiday season underway, you may notice the anxious look on your students’ faces as they count down the days to winter break. Who knows? You, too, may be marking down your calendar. Well, here’s a gift to all you hard-working teachers out there: fun, engaging holidays ideas and inspiration via Pinterest.
Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that lets you organize and share images, or “pins,” in theme-based collections called boards. If you’re new to Pinterest, you can start by following some of our boards and the education category on the site. In my opinion, Pinterest is an excellent tool for sharing lesson plans, ideas, and activities with other teachers.
In the past week, I’ve come across dozens of creative educational pins for the holiday season. So to kick off the month of December, I’ve listed a few ways that you can use Pinterest for fun holiday learning:
Decorate your classroom
You don’t need to “deck the halls with boughs of holly” when you have a Pinterest account. For the holidays, I found a bunch of creative ideas: Decorate your classroom door like a reindeer stable or string your students’ names in paper holiday lights. But my favorite is the turn your students’ into elves idea. I’m sure your students would love to turn your classroom into a winter wonderland.
Source: artwithmschiddo.weebly.com via Educator Studio on Pinterest
Find materials and activities
There are TONS of fun and educational winter-themed activities and materials on Pinterest. Students can practice writing with the “If I was a snow globe” activity. Or they can create Winter sensory bins. How about a candy cane science experiment? There’s also a stockpile of printable materials, like this build your own snowman template for fun, engaging activities.
Source: lh3.ggpht.com via Educator Studio on Pinterest
Create holiday gifts and crafts
On those days where your students just can’t focus, an in-class craft project might be in order. Why not have your kids create gifts or presents for a parent or friend? Handmade thumbprint ornaments are popular choices on Pinterest. Or you could opt for something even craftier, such as marshmallow snowman cards. Just search “holiday crafts” or “Christmas crafts” on Pinterest, and you’ll find plenty of options.
Source: blogs.babycenter.com via Educator Studio on Pinterest
As you can see, there’s a wealth of interesting and creative pins on Pinterest for the holiday season. Follow our “Tis the Season” board on Pinterest as we share our favorite pins this month. Please share links to your favorite pins (or your own) in the comments section.