Deck the Dance Tree: A Festive Classroom Management Game for the Holiday Season

Looking for a simple, cheerful way to boost behavior, focus, and effort in your dance classes this December? Say hello to the Deck the Dance Tree—a free, printable classroom management game that turns good dancing and positive behavior into a fun holiday challenge your dancers will love.

This activity works beautifully with preschool dancers all the way through early elementary, and it adds just the right amount of seasonal magic to keep your classes motivated during a busy time of year. Plus, it’s incredibly easy to prep, easy to use, and instantly rewarding—win, win, win.

🎄 How It Works

Start by printing the Christmas tree page along with the ornament cutouts. You can prepare the ornaments ahead of time or turn cutting them into a quick, festive warm-up job for your early arrivers. Hang the tree in a visible spot in your classroom—somewhere dancers can watch their progress grow as the class goes on.

As you teach, keep an eye out for moments of great behavior, teamwork, focus, kindness, effort, or beautiful technique. When you spot something wonderful, simply invite that dancer to choose an ornament and add it to the tree. It’s quick, seamless, and incredibly motivating.

The goal? Work together to decorate the entire tree before class ends. It becomes a joyful team effort and encourages dancers to notice and celebrate each other’s successes, not just their own.

⭐ Why It Works

Kids love visual progress—and they really love putting ornaments on a tree. The game turns positive behavior into something concrete and exciting without disrupting the flow of class. It also creates a shared goal, reminding dancers that the whole class benefits when everyone contributes positively.

Teachers love it because it’s adaptable, fast, and requires almost no explanation. Dancers understand it immediately and stay engaged from warm-up to cool-down.

🎁 Want to Add a Little Extra Magic?

You can choose to give your dancers a small prize if they decorate the tree before time is up. This doesn’t have to be big—think stickers, a quick holiday freeze dance, or a short “festive freestyle” moment at the end of class.

You can also add an optional twist by using different colored ornaments for different goals:

• ❤️ Red for kindness

• 💚 Green for focus

• ⭐ Gold for beautiful technique

• 💙 Blue for teamwork

This helps you tailor the game to the specific growth areas your class needs most.

🖨️ Free Printable Set

To make this extra easy, we’ve created a free printable set that includes:

• A classroom Christmas tree

• Ornament cutouts

• Instructions for teachers

Just print, hang, and play!

Bring some festive cheer into your studio this season—and watch your dancers light up the tree while lighting up the room with their best behavior and beautiful dancing. Happy holidays and happy decorating! 🎄✨

-Whitney