Holiday Party Idea for Students and Scouts

During the Reader Retreat I attended this weekend, author Becky Wade used M&Ms to illustrate the steps required in the creation of a novel. In this super fun activity, participants passed a bag of the colorful candies around the room. We each took one piece, and the bag was passed around four different times.

In Round 1, the color of our M&M determined the genre of our novel. We learned the setting of our story in Round 2. The professions of our heroine and hero were discovered in Rounds 3 and 4. We then spent a couple of minutes brainstorming different events that could bring our heroine and hero together. In the next step, we listed her story goal as well as his. Then we wrote and revised the first sentence of our story.

I woke up this morning with the thought that this activity could be fun to try with students during a classroom party or with Scout troops during a holiday party. I spent a few minutes jotting down possible characters and settings for Halloween and Christmas stories. I do realize the Halloween jobs are stereotypical, and I included a couple of faith-based ideas. These can be modified to fit the needs of your group.

HALLOWEEN

                Setting                     Heroine's Role                   Hero's Role

Red           Castle                        Cheerleader                        Cowboy

Orange  Haunted House                   Nurse                              Pirate

Yellow    Graveyard                      Princess                            Fireman

Green     Pumpkin Patch                   Witch                        Football Player

Blue       on the Moon                       Baby                         Superhero/Jedi

Brown  Deep in the Woods                Cat                                Soldier

 CHRISTMAS

                Setting                     Heroine's Role                   Hero's Role

Red      in Santa's Sleigh               Nutcracker                         Scrooge

Orange  under the tree                    Angel                              Santa

Yellow      Toyland                         Caroler                             Grinch          

Green     in a manger                        Elf                                Rudolph

Blue        on the roof                     Mrs. Claus                          Frosty

Brown on the Polar Express      Gingerbread Man                       Elf

Depending on the party agenda, you could have the kids stop after the first sentence has been written and ask for volunteers to read them aloud to the group. Or additional time could be given to allow the kids to write a short story. They could illustrate the paper as well, and then this exercise could be considered both a game and a craft. Not only will they be practicing their writing skills, it's free, and there's no clean up. Sounds great to me!

I hope your kids have a great start to the school year. Before we know it, teachers will be asking for classroom party volunteers, and the planning will begin. I wish you the best as you settle into a new routine this fall. As always, thank you for reading.