Do you have pets? Do you adopt them from shelters? We have three shelter cats and a bunny we adopted from a friend. Today I get to share a beautiful book about dogs at a dog shelter. This book has so many different connections and themes. It is a must read for animal lovers! It is an illustrated middle grades novel. The book is Dogtown by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko and illustrated by Wallace West. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12.
The holidays are upon us! Are you ready? Do you follow the five gift rules for Christmas? Are you looking for something for your younger readers to get for the Read gift? Today I am sharing five different books for different ages and interests. They include two board books and three picture books. I will start with the youngest kids first. The first book is '80s Baby by Hannah Eliot and illustrated by Alyssa Nassner. It is a board book and is recommended for preschool and up.
Over the years I have shared several wordless books. Books without words or with only a few words help develop children's imaginations. It can make story time really interesting and a wordless book's story can change each time. We have shared some of our favorite ones as well as new ones we reviewed. when we were at the Waldorf School it was suggested not to read young children books with words until kindergarten. Today I get to share another one that is very unique. It is Art by Marin Darmonkow.
Have you seen the post on Facebook or Instagram yet about Project Menorah? I have had several Jewish friends post it asking for support. It is rather simple. To show support for the Jewish people they are asking us to hang a menorah in our windows along with our other season decorations. Why should we do this? According to Project Menorah, antisemitism is up 388%. Many Jews are feeling afraid and isolated. In fact, one of the bloggers that shared a craft mentioned that this is the first year she is not going to put her menorah in her window due to fear and discomfort. Our Jewish friends and neighbors need our support. Hanukkah begins tomorrow (December 7th)!!
Do you still use wall calendars? I love having them. We actually use quite a few. I have one in my classroom, one near our desk computer, one in my sewing room and my husband hangs one in our bedroom too. Plus, he has one next to his desk. I always love seeing what different calendars are offered and I also think of them as great gifts. The pictures are often beautiful or fun and it helps to have the paper calendar to check dates, appointments, etc. Last week I shared two Page-A-Day calendars that I will use in my classroom, but today I am sharing two wall computers based on some of my favorite things: birds and teapots. The first calendar is Audubon Kids Birding Calendar 2024 by National Audubon Society, and the second is The Collectible Teapot Calendar 2024 by Sarah Archer with photos from Betty Shin Binon.
