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Holiday Book Recommendation Merry Christmas, Old Armadillo

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I am back this week with another holiday book recommendation for you!  Have you read Merry Christmas, Old Armadillo by Larry Dane Brimner?   This book has been in my library for years (it was published in 1995) and it is a favorite of mine because of its sweet story of friendship and love during the holiday season. Lessons from the story... Compassion  The main character in this story is Old Armadillo. He lives alone, and on Christmas Eve his loneliness is very evident and so sad. This is a great place to stop and talk to your students about compassion for others. If students have neighbors or friends who are alone during the holidays this story might encourage them to do something special for others. I also think that this book provides a great discussion starter for focusing on kindness during the holiday season. I have included a simple activity that you could use with this book (or even on its own) to help students think about simple acts of kindness they could do for others.    G
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Holiday Book Recommendation The Trees of the Dancing Goats

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Holiday read alouds are the BEST! In the coming weeks I am planning on sharing some of my very favorites with you. First up is... The  Trees of the Dancing Goats  by Patricia Polacco. This is a touching book that really exemplifies the meaning of the holidays. I am a HUGE fan of Patricia Polacco.   Several of her books would make it on my Top 10 Favorites of all time list. This includes some of her holiday books, such as the one I will be sharing with you today.  This is a touching book about both Hanukkah and Christmas. I love how it celebrates and honors both holidays and their traditions in such a beautiful way.  This book is based on a childhood memory of Patricia Polacco's. The main character, Trisha, and her family are all set to celebrate Hanukkah when an epidemic hits their little town. Trisha is exposed to scarlet fever after a visit to the neighbors, and fortunately no one in her family becomes ill. Many of her neighbors are not so fortunate, though.  As Trisha's fam
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Edible Thanksgiving Turkey Craft Plus Book Recommendations

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Are you still teaching the week of Thanksgiving? Looking for a fun EDIBLE THANKSGIVING TURKEY CRAFT ? I mean, it is Thanksgiving week and that means eating, right?  My mother-in-law showed me this easy, cute, turkey craft about 25 years ago and I have made it with my class many times since. It does require some supplies, but the kids love it and it is very easy to put together. Add in a turkey read aloud or Thanksgiving video and your students can snack and watch (or listen). You will need the following supplies... large sugar cookies Chocolate Pinwheel cookies white icing candy corn *I also like to use some sort of Dixie cup for the icing and a popsicle stick to apply the icing- I usually have these on hand. I always go for the off brand to keep costs more reasonable. If you are planning this far enough in advance you could send a parent donation request note and ask parents to send in the supplies for the craft.  For each student you will need... 2 sugar cookies (be sure to buy enoug
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Balloons Over Broadway Thanksgiving Read Aloud Recommendation

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If you are looking for a Thanksgiving read aloud to spark your students' creativity and imagination- you have got to read Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet . I instantly fell in love with this book.  It is based on Tony Sarg- an artist who created puppets and the first balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  While I love all the turkey books, the book Balloons Over Broadway is a breath of fresh air in the collection of Thanksgiving read alouds!  The illustrations are perfect (the book is a Caldecott Honor Winner). After the read aloud I would suggest giving students the opportunity to read the book independently so that they can pour over the detailed illustrations. The author/illustrator Melissa Sweet uses a variety of mediums to create the pictures. I think this story lends itself really well to focusing on cause and effect. Tony is a problem solver and he demonstrates that time and again in the book. I have included a printable page that you can use if you
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How to Catch a Turkey Thanksgiving Read Aloud Recommendation

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New to the Thanksgiving read aloud scene this year is How to Catch a Turkey by Adam Wallace and Andy E llerton. What a FUN book- your students are going to love it!  There are several books in the How to Catch a... series and this is one of the newest ones. (Look for the How to Catch a Snowman blog post after the first of the year!). There are several skills you could touch on with this  How to Catch a Turkey  Thanksgiving read aloud... I created an anchor chart that you could use for any of the word choice lessons- let your students lead the discussion with what jumps out at them with the authors' word choice.  1. Word Choice (Vocabulary): The book is written in rhyme. The authors choice of writing in rhyme really sets the upbeat, fun mood for this story.  The vocabulary and the phrases are also spot on and a great teaching point for this read aloud.  After reading the story through once, you could go back and read page by page discussing the author's word choice. You could
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In November...

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Oh my goodness- I can't believe we are almost to November. Time to trade in the jack-o-lanterns for turkeys... or maybe even Christmas trees? I love November and December in the elementary classroom- so much to do and so much fun. It's a great time for strengthening your classroom community with all of the opportunities for giving that occur during this time of year.  I also love the crafts and celebrations that come with the holidays. Too often teachers feel the stress of the curriculum pacing guide and feel as if they can't or shouldn't do any crafts "just for fun", but I say shut that door and craft away! They are only little once... And I really LOVE  the wealth of picture books that are holiday-themed. Students are so engaged and you can teach so many skills using picture books during your reading workshop time. Over the next several weeks my plan is to share some of my favorites with you!  To start off November- I particularly love   In November written
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Halloween Read Alouds: I Need My Monster

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Happy Almost Halloween! It's hard to believe Halloween is next week- it seems like October has flown by! Is the excitement level in your room starting to CREEP up a little bit more each day?  Today I have a fantastic Halloween read aloud your little monsters will love! Plus if you make it all the way to the end of the post I have a link where you can grab a FREE Halloween Story Organizer that can be used with any Halloween fiction book! There is so much to love about this book- I Need My Monster  written by Amanda Noll and illustrated by Howard McWilliam.  This story is about a little boy whose regular monster has gone fishing and he is looking for a replacement monster. The book is humorous and creepy and the illustrations are GORGEOUS! The word choice in the book is so entertaining. Your kids will love it!  This book is available on Storyline Online- read by Rita Moreno.  I love the voices that Rita Moreno uses when reading this story aloud- it is great! (If you aren't famil
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