Here in New England we have already been visited by Father Frost with a dusting of snow this past weekend. The nights are shorter, the days bitter cold, but I am warmed by the good company of family, friends, and of course, stories!Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa or Hanukkah, may your December be filled with grace.
Wishing you a joyous holiday season,
Karen
This illustration is The Frost by Arthur A. Dixon 1920: Courtesy of Jackie Baldwin at http://www.story-lovers.com/
"The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings." - Eric Hoffer
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
Christmas Language Arts Plan - For Grades 3 - 8 http://tinyurl.com/6omuop
December Holidays Around the World - A wonderful lesson plan to mix in some mulicuturalisim as we step into the season. http://tinyurl.com/5w6rju
The Gift of Holiday Traditions - Activity ideas for Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas. http://tinyurl.com/6s3wtl
Kwanzaa - Teacher Resources - While the title suggests that the only resources are for the celebration of Kwanzaa, there is also information and, crafts and lessons plans for Christmas, Hanukkah, winter and more. http://tinyurl.com/6xj4nf
Lesson Plan for The Twelve Months - Elementary to Junior High http://tinyurl.com/6rou75
Chinese New Year - Ring in the new year with crafty fun! Lanterns, tangrams, dragon puppets and more. http://tinyurl.com/3tbu3p
For more information and stories on this festive event go to the February 7 date on my blog at http://tinyurl.com/559mlp
If you love the above illustration, then give yourselves a treat; take some time and visit Jackie Baldwin's site. Looking for that unique holiday gift? Jackie offers a wide array of notepads, stationery and more with breathtaking fairy tale and folklore illustrations from long ago. In addition, with the help of Storytell listserv members, Jackie has compiled an extensive array of stories and books. You will discover your own private folklore library right at your fingertips.
BUSINESS NOTES
Championship Communication - Bill Lampton is a communications specialist, offering coaching to individuals and organizations. Through our cyber friendship we have found that his work and that of professional storytellers have many things in common. You can subscribe to his free, insightful, thoughtful newsletters,and articles at: http://www.commlampton.com/
WhoFish.org - Do you live in the New England area? Do you have an event to market? Then this site is just what you are looking for. Publish your events for free and let the cyber world know how to find you! http://www.whofish.org/
CRAFTS
Christmas Crafts and Printables http://tinyurl.com/yxwong
DLTK 'S Holiday Crafts - "Crafts to help you decorate, games to help you celebrate, worksheets to challenge your mind and songs to sing together!" http://www.dltk-holidays.com/
Gingerbread Man Ornaments - Preschool http://tinyurl.com/5g6pon
Holiday Origami
Spice up your holiday stories with two easy to do origami folds; a star
http://www.planetpals.com/ppcraft2.html
and a Christmas tree
http://www.tammyyee.com/origamitree.html
Penguin Fun! Coloring pages, mazes, worksheets, songs, riddles and more! http://tinyurl.com/5g6pon
"Books are the compasses and telescopes and sextants and charts
which other men have prepared to help us navigate the dangerous seas of human life."
which other men have prepared to help us navigate the dangerous seas of human life."
- Jesse Lee Bennett
STORIES
Folktales.net - Storyteller Eshu Bumpus generously shares a selection of folktales, highlighting the seven principles of Kwanzaa. http://tinyurl.com/6nsh5k
Holiday and Winter Tales - Warm up your winter with folktales of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, and other stories of the season. http://tinyurl.com/5u63wb
Nursery Rhymes Online - Like Alice in Wonderland you can fall down this hole and find a world of wonder! Rhymes, riddles, proverbs, fairy tales, crafts, activities and more! http://www.nurseryrhymesonline.com/
The Baker's Dozen - A charming folktale of generosity that harkens back to a story published in 1836 and perhaps further, retold by storyteller and author Aaron Shepherd. http://tinyurl.com/5swf25
After you read the story, add some delicious fun by making some of your very own St Nicholas cookies. You can find the recipe here: http://tinyurl.com/64xb6s
The Twelve Month Brothers - Ukrainian folktale to complement the lesson plan in the Curriculum Connections section. http://tinyurl.com/5grqn2
In the Company of a Star - A lovely holiday cut and tell shared with the generous permission of the author, Susan Dailey. http://tinyurl.com/65dow7
Helping Through the Holidays and Beyond
Give A Good Card - Give a gift card for charity where the recipients get to donate to their charity of choice. http://tinyurl.com/3bymu8%20
Oxfam America Unwrapped - For those of us who are blessed to have what we need, why not wrap up your holiday spirit and pick one of the 120 countries from around the world to help? Whether our budget is small or large, we can all do our part to help others in need. http://tinyurl.com/5uyjr5
RX for the Holiday Blues - The holidays can bring lots of happiness but also some unneeded stress. If you are feeling a bit blue during this season of white, stop by and read some of the helpful tips and you will be in the pink in no time at all! http://www.celebratelove.com/holidayblues.htm%20
Stress Relief - Coping With Life in a Difficult World - Read some of these interesting tips that will help put some spring back into your step! http://tinyurl.com/6zjstj
