I like celebrating holidays in my classroom, but I try to do it in the most academic way possible. (You know, there are only so many days of school and there numerous standards to teach - even more for me since I teach multiple grades.) So, my holiday parties generally involve a Breakout activity. They may involve a lot of prep, but the kids love them.
Each group of students begins with a puzzle. Working together to solve that puzzle gets them the combination to the next box, which contains their next puzzle. One by one they solve the puzzles, and hopefully "breakout" and solve the problem.
I can't think of a better way to teach / practice cooperation and problem solving skills! (And, of course, eating snacks and having fun.) Most of the puzzles I use come from Breakout EDU, though theirs are designed for one big group to work on together. I've found working through a series of locked boxes in small groups works better for me that having the entire class working together on one puzzle at a time. In my experience that allows the kids who struggle a bit with problem solving to sit back and let the other kids do all the work. When they work in pairs or small groups, it allows all of the students to actively participate. This year they were able to unlock the boxes and save Trunk or Treat. Yippee!
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