Polar Express Day in the Classroom

Polar Express Day is probably one of my favorite theme days in the classroom. I love the story, and the movie to go along with it. And I just find that there’s so many fun learning opportunities to go along with the theme. Plus, it’s the perfect theme day to rock up in your pjs, have some hot chocolate and enjoy spending some time with your students!

I know for some people, a theme day can be overwhelming. So to make it a little easier for you, I’ve done a blog post full of ideas, activities lesson plans and even free downloads for you to have the best Polar Express Day in the classroom!

Getting Started Tips

Before we start, here are some of my best tips for how you can organize this day to run as smoothly as possible;

• Give parents notice and information about what they need to do for the theme day. i.e. send in pjs for students to wear.
• Purchase the book; The Polar Express.
• Find the movie that you can watch.
• Prep things in advance and set it all up on the evening before you leave school so that you’re not stressing on the morning.

Daily Plan

Set up a plan for how you want the day to look. Will you have the class take part in the same activity at the same time all day like whole class lessons? Or will you break students into centers to rotate through and then come together for some activities?

The way that I like to run it is as follows;

• 9:00: Arrival at school. North Pole Breakfast. (I like to have the Polar Express theme song playing in the background.) Make slow cooker hot chocolate.
• 9:30: Morning meeting. Read the Polar Express book. I love to turn story time into sensory stories, So for this one, I use a sensory story script which you can download for free here.
• 9:45: Centers.
• 10:00: Playtime.
• 10:20: Snack.
• 10:40: Centers
• 12:00: Lunchtime & Playtime.
• 1:00: Afternoon meeting.
• 1:20: Time fillers and change into pjs.
• 1:40: Watch Polar Express movie. Blankets. Pjs. Hot chocolate. Snacks.
• 3:15: Hometime.

So obviously there’s bits missing from that schedule like free play if the polar express finishes earlier. Toileting etc. But that’s a general quick overview of how the day looks for us. Below I’m going to go more into detail of what type of centers we use as well as themed snack and how we make hot chocolate.

North Pole Breakfast

What better way to start Polar Express Day than with a North Pole breakfast? As students arrive, they are directed to their seats where the North Pole breakfast is already laid out for them! Obviously we don’t want to spend a fortune here so what we do is make some toast and use a train cookie cutter to cut out of the complete toast. We place it on a plate, add some marshmallows as steam coming out of the train and then a strip of streaky bacon for the track. Obviously you can change this up depending on what your students eat and dietary needs but this worked perfect for us!

Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate

Without a doubt, this is absolutely my favorite thing to do every year – not just in school, at home too! And it’s the perfect treat for Polar Express Day with minimal prep needed. Download the free recipe pack here. I love that it’s quick and easy to prep… Then just leave it cook for the day! It’s always perfect by the time we drink it in the afternoon while we watch the movie, and it’s something my kids really look forward to! See below how I set up the hot chocolate station.

Ingredients

• 175g tub of hot chocolate.
• 4 pints of milk.
• 1/2 small tub of single cream.
• 1 large scoop of Nutella.

Recipe

This is why I love this – you just bung everything in! I typically start by putting the hot chocolate and Nutella in first. Then add the single cream and milk. Give it a little stir, and set on low! I do tend to check in on it every half an hour and give it a quick little stir. It’s usually all done within 2 hours. I’ve also replaced the Nutella with different chocolate bars and spreads and it’s turned out super yummy too!

Polar Express Sensory Story

If you have been following me for a little while or are part of the VIP membership, you’ll know about the sensory stories that I do. But if not, here’s a quick overview and a free download for you too here.

So basically, I’ll read the story of the Polar Express, but I’ll also follow this sensory story script to bring the story to life! I introduce props so that students can feel more involved and part of the story, and it makes it more engaging for them.. Rather than just sat listening to me!

Centers

The centers that I like to have set up for Polar Express Day are;

• Train and Fake Snow Sensory Bin.
• Decorating Christmas Cookies.
• Counting Hot Chocolate.
• Letter to Santa.
• Christmas Tree Play Dough Mats.
• Santa Hat Sun Catchers.
• 2D Shape Train Craft
• If I Was On the Polar Express.. Writing Prompt.
• Color Your Own Polar Express Ticket.

See below for more information on each of the centers and to download the freebies!

Train and Fake Snow Sensory Bin

I love the Flisat table from IKEA and I use it for pretty much everything! So for this one, I fill it with fake snow and then added in a little train figure, some mini Christmas trees and tried to theme it like the Polar Express. My kids love it! And it’s a great way to work on vocabulary and language as well. How does the snow feel? What happens when you push the train through the snow? Can you make snowballs? How do the trees feel? Etc.

Decorating Christmas Cookies

So for this one, I always kinda cheat a little! I buy pre-made Christmas cookies that are plain and then provide students with different options to decorate their biscuits. The gingerbread man cookie sets from the supermarket are usually the best because you can have a bunch of those biscuits for a small price. Then with some icing, candy and chocolates, it’s a fun and easy center!

Counting Hot Chocolate

I love using this center with my students. Students have to use mini marshmallows to count in the hot chocolate mugs. It’s always a lot of fun – although it can definitely be a little tricky to keep students from eating the marshmallows! I find giving the students a ‘marshmallow snack bowl’ at the side for ones they can eat, and ones that are for the center works well. But, if you have students that you think will be unable to resist the temptation, white pom poms work well too!

Download it here.

Letter to Santa

One of my favorite activities to do with my students – a letter to Santa! I differentiate it for my students depending on their ability. Some tell me what they want and I’ll write it down in pencil for them to overwrite. Others we print out a bunch of pictures and they can choose things from the pictures in front of them.. While some just pick up a pen and off they go!

Download my free templates here.

Christmas Tree Play Dough Mats

My students love play dough mats. And while the play dough area used to send me in a bit of a panic with mess.. Since introducing play dough mats, I’ve found it much more manageable. And my students use it much more effectively now!

These play dough mats are always fun to watch students make the presents into different shapes using play dough and placing them under the tree. Download a copy here.

Santa Hat Sun Catcher Craft

You all know how much I love a sun catcher craft! I actually am going to be making some at home with Joseph this year to put on display in the window because they really do turn out so lovely! Here’s a Santa one that I like to do with my students each year, and I think it fits perfectly as part of our Polar Express day too!

If I Was on the Polar Express.. Writing Prompt

Writing prompts are a great way to encourage students to be creative and use their imagination.. While working on those all important writing skills! These writing prompts look great up on display when the students are finished.. And it’s so fun to see what they come up with! Download them for free here to use with your students.

2D Shape Train Craft

This 2D shape train craft is actually a craft that I’ve done before with students and been a huge hit. So I pulled it out again. They had so much fun using the shapes and putting them together to create their very own Polar Express shape trains! Download for free here.

Color Your Own Polar Express Ticket

Coloring pages are always a hit too. And they’re perfect time fillers if I’m looking for something to occupy students while we are prepping for the next thing; like helping students change into their pjs! This coloring page is a free download here for you. And it’s a great way for students to take away a little memory of their trip on the Polar Express! (I even use hole punches with them to hole punch their ticket to show that they boarded the Polar Express) Download for free here.

More Ideas

I know Pinterest is a little ‘old school’ for a lot of people know. But, I still love it! And here you can find a Pinterest board that I have filled with Polar Express ideas! There’s things like making Graham Cracker Polar Express snacks, making a huge train front for your classroom, decorating the door and so much more! Everything you could need to set up a fun Polar Express day with your students.

Find all of my Christmas resources here to download.

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