WRITING AND READING

Write out one or more of the following questions in the family notebook or on a coloured piece of paper: Does your family celebrate Christmas? What does your family do to celebrate Christmas? What are some Christmas Traditions that you can think of? What is your favourite thing about Christmas? What does Christmas mean to you?

Want to get your kids excited about reading? Make a box of Christmas books that you only pull out in December!

Here are some other Christmas picture books:

Clifford's Christmas, by Norman Bridwell, Scholastic inc., 1984 - Clifford the big red dog at Christmas...a family favourite from when my boys were small.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss, Random House, 1957 – This rhyming tale of the grouchy Grinch is a must read in our house every Christmas.

Hurry Santa, by Julie Sykes and pictures by Tim Warnes, Scholastic Inc., 1988 - Santa's alarm didn't go off so he has to rush and hurry.

The Night Before Christmas, by Clement C. Moore and illustrated by Mary Engelbreit, Harper Ocllins Publishers, 2002 – There are many different illustrated books for this famous poem by Moore. In our family copy Engelbreit’s bright pictures add to the magic.

The Penguin Who Wanted to be Different: A Christmas Wish, by Maria O'Neill and illustrated by Jill NewtonDot the Penguin writes to Santa becuase she wants to be different for Christmas.

The Polar Express, written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, Houghtonn Mifflin Company, the magical tale of a boy who journeies to the North Pole on Santa's special train.

Santa's Littlest Helper, by Anu Stohner and illustrated by Henrike Wilson, Santa's biggest helper tells him that he can't go with the others to help Santa deliver presents.

Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Christmas, by Melanie Watt, Kids Can Press, 2012 - Our family loves this character who is eternally afriad of everything.

BOOKS

How to encourage your child to write:

Choose the level of your child:
Toddler/Preschool – discuss the answer(s) out loud first and have your child draw a picture of the answer

Preschool/Kindergarten – discuss the answer(s) out loud first and write the answer down for him/her leaving one word for him/her to write out himself/herself with your help. You could also encourage him/her to draw a picture as well.

Early Grade School – have your child either write out the answer himself/herself (encourage phonetic spelling) without your help, or offer to help with spelling each word out loud one word at a time.

Grade School – have your child write a sentence or two on his/her own and then read over and discuss the response. (You decide whether to correct the spelling or not)

Older Child – have your child write a longer response (paragraph).

As A Challenge – instead of a question ask your older child to write a story or poem about Christmas.

Go to the library to find books about Christmas. Many libraries allow you to go online and search for titles based on subject. Reserve them if you can to save time..

Here are some non-fiction books about Christmas:

O Christmas Tree: Its History and Holiday Traditions, by Jacqueline Famer and illustrated by Joanne Friar, Charlesbridge, 2010 – This book looks at the history of the Christmas tree.

Celebrate Christmas, by Joanne Mattern, Enslow Publishers Inc., 2008 – Older children might enjoy this book as it goes into more detail about the history of Christmas as well as its cultural significance and symbols etc..

Christmas Around the World, by Mary D. Lankford and illustrated by Karen Dugan, Morrow Junior Books, 1995 – This book gives a one page description of Christmas in 12 different countries and includes some craft ideas at the back.

Christmas in Switzerland, from the Christmas Around the World, World Book series, World Book Inc., 1995 – This would be good for older siblings who might be interesting in focusing on a different country and learning about Christmas in that country. There is a lot of writing and photographs and even a section at the end with Swiss crafts and recipes. Other books in this series that we looked at were: Christmas in Ukraine and Christmas in Canada.

Why is This Festival Special? Christmas, by Jillian Powell, Smart Apple Media, 2005 – This book, with easy text and lots of photographs would be a good one to use if your family doesn’t celebrate Christmas and are interested in learning about it.

JOURNALING Question Prompt:

Here are some picture books about the birth of Christ:

The Christmas Story, retold and illustrated by Carol Heyer, Scholastic Inc., 1991 – Heyer’s beautiful acrylic paintings accompany this retelling of the birth of Jesus.

The Little Drummer Boy, by Ezra Jack Keats (based on the song by Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati, and Harry Simeon), Beautifully illustrated version of this song.

Santa’s Favourite Story, by Hisako Aoki and illustrated by Ivan Gantschev, Aladdin Paperbacks, 1997 – Santa tells the animals the story of the first Christmas in this beautifully illustrated book.

The Stable Where Jesus Was Born, by Rhonda Gowler Greene and illustrated by Susan Gaber, Scholastic Inc., 1999 – Beginner readers will like this rhythmic and repetitive retelling of Jesus’ birth.

Who is Coming to our House? by Jospeh Slate and pictures by Ashley Wolff, Scholastic Inc., 1988 - All the manger animals are preparing for the arrival of Jesus.

Christmas

OUR CHRISTMAS BOOK BOX!

WRITING ACTIVITY:

Write to Santa to this address and he

just might write your child a letter in return:

Santa Claus
North Pole
Canada
HOHOHO