Mrs. Claus Takes the Reins

We are in the final stretch to Winter Break and desperately trying to hold the attention of our excited students. Thank you, Sue Fliess for coming to the rescue with your new book, Mrs. Claus Takes the Reins!

If you have kids in your life, put on your Santa hat, grab your boots, and go get your copy today. Then try our activities to go along with the story. This book and these ideas are our survival kit for the next couple of days! Ho, ho, go Mrs Claus!

Finding Christmas with Lezlie Evans

We are so excited to bring you an interview from our friend and author, Lezlie Evans. She has written some amazing books for kids and we are here to share the scoop on her latest publication, FINDING CHRISTMAS. We asked and she answered. After reading, be sure to check out the Book Bite we created to use at home or in your classroom!

AMS/ER: People say authors write what they know. Did your idea for FINDING CHRISTMAS come from your own experiences?

LE: One Christmas Eve when my six children were still at home, I was swamped getting everything ready for the big day. A large pile of toys lay on our bedroom floor waiting to be wrapped. My husband offered to help and I gratefully took him up on it. He set about wrapping the gifts and finished the job in record time. But we soon realized he’d forgotten to put names on the gifts. I panicked! With no time left to buy new paper and rewrap the gifts, my husband suggested we put the presents under the tree without any names, let the children choose one at a time, open it, and then give it to the sibling they thought needed it/would love it the most. This turned out to be one of our most cherished family memories. Our children loved giving the gifts away to their delighted siblings, and my husband and I loved watching the sweet exchanges that took place. It was so much fun, our children insisted we leave the names off the Christmas presents the next year as well. That experience is very similar to when Hare, Squirrel, and Mouse give their gifts away. They find great joy, just like my children did on that memorable Christmas Eve. So I guess that experience did spark an idea! 

AMS/ER: Is Christmas your favorite holiday?

LE: I’m a holiday lover, that’s for sure. Probably because holidays provide opportunities to make memories and instill family traditions. There are so many things to love about the Christmas season – beautiful decorations, yummy treats, and buying gifts for others! Much like Hare, Squirrel, and Mouse, I love it when my little burrow fills up with family and friends and we sing one carol after another (sometimes at the top of our lungs, just like Hare)! So, yes, I’d have to say Christmas is my favorite!

AMS/ER: What advice do you have for kids who would like to give or do something for someone else?

LE: It doesn’t need to be big or complicated. Small and simple things are often the best gifts! A hug, a picture, a kind word such as saying, “come, sit by me,” to someone who needs a friend – those things can make a real difference. Giving someone your place in line, asking your teacher what you can do to help, or being the first to listen and follow directions. Those things will make your teacher’s day! Can you think of some small and simple things you can do for your family members to show kindness?

I’m super excited about the Gifts of Kindness Advent Calendar that Albert Whitman has created! It goes along with the theme of Finding Christmas. Follow the pictures and simple instructions (below) to make this fun, easy craft/advent calendar. With this advent calendar, you can fill the 24 days leading up to Christmas with all kinds of simple acts of kindness. Before you know it, your classroom or your home will be filled with the spirit of Christmas.

AMS/ER: Who do you think is the most important character in FINDING CHRISTMAS?

LE: Great question! I’m fond of all the characters, but if I have to pick one I would say Swallow is the most important. Without Swallow, there would be no story. Swallow enables the three friends to see the holiday in a whole new way. As Mouse, Squirrel, and Hare give up their gifts to help Swallow get better, they find the Christmas spirit. While authors do not usually dictate what the illustrator draws, I wanted the message to come through in a very subtle, yet powerful way. So I asked Yee Von if she would draw Swallow with her wings wrapped around the three friends in the final illustration. Yee Von’s depiction of this moment is even sweeter than I imagined!

AMS/ER: Rumor has it you have a cat as a writing partner. Tell us about that.

LE: Well, let me start off by saying that my dearest writing friend (the co-author of this blog) despises my kitty cohorts. Even though on several occasions my kitties have tried to cuddle up to her and extend a paw of friendship, she merely cringes when they come around. Ha! In all seriousness, writing is a solitary endeavor for many authors, but not for me. My two cats see to that! As soon as I sit down at the computer, Max is at my feet and Callie jumps up and sits in between the keyboard and my computer screen. They are the purrrrrfect companions! In fact, Callie loves me to read aloud to her when I am working on a story. In this video clip below, she is doing just that! She is a rather spoiled kitty, don’t you think?

AMS/ER: What is your next book coming out? Tell us a little about it.

LE: DADDIES DO is a rhythmic, rhyming shout-out to daddies everywhere. From a daddy bird who teaches his little bird to fly, to a anteater who makes his little ones a sticky stack of pancakes dripping with ants, these animal pairings prove that though daddies come in all shapes and sizes, they all have one thing in common… their love for their little ones! DADDIES DO will be out in time for Father’s Day next spring. Look for it on May 1st.

Questions our first grade students think all authors should answer: 

First Graders: How do you concentrate?

LE: My children are grown and gone now so my house is very quiet. This helps me concentrate because I don’t have a lot of distractions. If I really want to get something done though, I turn off my phone. Sometimes, if I am really struggling coming up with an idea or revising a certain passage, I have to get up and walk around the house for a bit. This clears my head. Sometimes it helps me get in the mood to write if I turn on music. For the pioneer novel I am working on I have a whole soundtrack of songs I have compiled that inspire me and put me in that time period.

First Graders: How do you think of great ideas?

LE: Great ideas are all around us! And the beautiful thing is my ideas are different than your ideas. I firmly believe that everybody has their own unique stories to tell. Many of my best ideas come because I make an effort to notice things. I like watching people. I like to eavesdrop! That may sound funny, but so many ideas have come to me from overhearing something somebody says that strikes me as funny. And I spend a lot of “quiet” time thinking about things too. Especially before I go to sleep at night. Then I’ll wake up in the morning and POW! I have a new idea. Early in the morning is when I seem to get my best ideas.

First Graders: Why did you become an author?

LE: Because I loved reading books with my six children and I wanted to write stories that allowed others to do the same. My kids and I used to check out dozens of books each week. At any given time, we had 50 library books in the house. One night when I was reading with my kids I thought, this is what I want to do when I grow up. I want to write for children. And so studied how to do it, I practiced writing stories, I worked at revising those stories, and, miracle of miracle, I became a published author!

The Holiday Gift that Kept on Giving: writing a children’s book song parody

Check out our guest post from children’s book author Sue Fliess!

The Holiday Gift that Kept on Giving: writing a children’s book song parody

WE WISH FOR A MONSTER CHRISTMAS, my new holiday book illustrated by Claudia Ranucci and published by Sterling Children’s Books (available now!), was both fun and challenging. Heavy emphasis on challenging. It started when my agent sent an editor a story I’d written, which she promptly, though kindly, rejected. This editor, Meredith Mundy at Sterling, happened to visit my website and see that I had some of my song parody videos I’d created about writing, one being a Christmas carol. In her note to my agent, she mentioned that her house does well with children’s books that are parodies. Might I consider writing one? Sure! I said. Why not?! I said. How hard could that be? I said.

Well.

First, my list of Christmas carols was long. It was just a matter of choosing one, right? But we soon learned that it had to be a song in the public domain. My long list suddenly became very, very short. But that didn’t stop me. I thought about them for awhile, of how I could change the titles, hoping that process would spark a storyline. Thankfully, it did. We Wish You a Merry Christmas became We Wish for a Monster Christmas. Now I just had to write it. What I didn’t realize until I started digging in, was that each stanza of the song required 3 rhyming words each, plus an ending word that rhymes with ‘year.’ For example:

He’ll eat all our peas.

We’ll check him for fleas.

He’ll hang by his knees from the brass chandelier.

Then there were the longer, stickier, multi-syllabic, stanzas:

He ate every chair and table.

He chewed through the TV cable.

So Dad says we won’t be able to keep him in here.

I started making lists of words that may play a role in a story of children wanting a monster, then getting a monster, for Christmas. I pulled it off. It was done. There may have been some tears. Okay, there were tears! But I was happy with the final story –and even better, it actually made sense! And the rhymes worked. We sent it to Meredith.

She asked for a revision.

“Sure!” I said. But what I was thinking was, “That’s impossible! I can’t do it!” Fortunately, I needed to add a stanza or two to break up the repetition, but didn’t have to change any existing stanzas, save for a tweak here and there. So I went back to my process, and came up with more ways the monster could cause trouble.

I was so happy (read: relieved) when we finalized this text. It was by far one of my most challenging projects to date, but in the end, I was so glad I volunteered to try it. The best part is that you can sing the whole book! I even made a karaoke version for you to follow. What are you waiting for, warm up those vocal chords and give it a try!

Real-World Geometry

If your students are having trouble remembering the names of geometric solids, jog their memories with this post-holiday project. Ask students to bring in presents they received (or other items from home) that correspond to the shapes you are studying. For example, a board game is a rectangular prism, a baseball is a sphere, and a gel pen is a cylinder. If you school has a digital camera, you could take pictures of the items and post them for students to use as a review when test time approaches. Follow-up with a walk through the hallways, where students observe shapes in their environment. Create a class book titled, “Our Shape Walk.” Have each student create a page for a shape they saw and combine the pages for a book that can be used as a quick reference.

Candy Cane Math

What’s on the minds of every elementary student this time of year? Santa, presents, and CANDY! Why not give them what they want with some Candy Cane Math?

Print out our measuring sheet (in color or black and white), purchase miniature candy canes, and have a great time!

Winter Surprises

The joy that students have during this time of year is undeniable. I gladly nurture it using some exciting projects in the classroom. A few years ago Ann Marie and I decided to compile many of our fun activities into a “Winter Surprises” basket. It gives students something to look forward to and you can use it as motivation for good behavior and work habits.

Below are 15 activities that I’ve had in my basket before. I print out these cards and put them in boxes, bags, envelopes, etc. and each day we open a new one. I like to label each container with a number and keep a list of what activity is inside, because I need to make sure we have time for the chosen activity. One idea involves going outside, so I always look at the weather forecast before deciding when to do that one.

1.  Light up somebody's day.
I found this idea on Pinterest. I like to open this one first so my class can pick a new idea each day. It really helps encourage kindness in the classroom. (Which can be hard to come by right before winter break!)

2.  Write a letter to someone who lights up your life.
Use this paper to have students write a letter to someone who makes them happy. I’ve had students write to bus drivers, Girl Scout leaders, parents, friends and even me! One year I took the letters and put them on a bulletin board with a banner that said, “Who Lights Up Your Life?” We added a tree decorated with light bulbs colored by students and covered with translucent glitter.

3.  Eat a snowy treat.
I found white cheese balls called “Snow Balls” and knew I wanted to share them with my class! You could also use powdered doughnuts or marshmallows.

4.  Make a paper plate popup snowman.
Another Pinterest find! I had a parent volunteer trace a template, like the one from the tutorial, onto plates and made sure to tell my class many, many times NOT to cut on the dotted line. I’m glad we had some extra plates because my “Distracted Donnie” cut the dotted line anyway and needed a new plate. 

5.  Make a silly snowman.
Visit this website and have your students create a silly snowman. There are tons of choices and the students have a blast making them. (To avoid choruses of "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" use the word *make* or *create.* OR: Go all in and ask them the question.)

6.  Make a candy cane reindeer.
These are adorable! To encourage students to use their reindeer as an ornament rather than a snack, I recommend giving students another candy cane to eat.

7.  Write a letter to Santa.
There are tons of templates online that students can use to write their letter. If you want to go the extra mile, grab an envelope to decorate and/or address to Santa.

8.  Make peppermint fudge.
Use this really simple recipe to make tasty, no-bake peppermint fudge in the classroom. You can even print out recipe cards on cardstock and give them to students to take home. (Bonus: no one's hands touch the fudge!)

9.  Open me.
Wrap a book to read to the class. It can be a new book, or any book that your class hasn’t read this year. This is one of the most anticipated surprises because students can see the wrapping paper and are always itching to rip it open.

10.  Go outside and use chalk to build a sidewalk snowman.
Since we typically don’t have enough snow outside to make a real snowman, I like to have my class use chalk to draw them instead. They have a blast choosing accessories for their snow people. 

11.  Build a mini fire and roast mini marshmallows.
We use small pieces of cardstock and different colors of construction paper to make tiny fires. When students finish they come get a toothpick and a mini marshmallow to “roast” over their fire. 

12.  Draw a portrait of Santa.
One more Pinterest project. Check out these easy steps to draw a picture of Santa. Even kids who always say, “I can’t draw that!” are able to follow the steps. Every Santa turns out different and adorable!

13.  Make a marshmallow man or woman.
Give a rounded square shape to your students and have them create a marshmallow man or woman. Encourage them to add some wintery accessories like scarves, hats and mittens.

14.  Design a wintery bookmark
Cut pieces of blue cardstock or construction paper into bookmarks. Let students decorate them using white and silver pens or crayons. When they’re done, sprinkle the bookmarks with glitter to really winterize them.

15.  Have a silent snowball fight
I’ve done this two different ways. I’ve had students make and throw imaginary snowballs and I’ve had them throw cotton balls. They’re both entertaining and get students out of breath quickly.

Just typing up this idea has me anticipating the last 3 weeks before Winter Break!!

Enjoy!

All the Stockings are Hung with Who, What and Where!

We have been working on story elements and wanted to show what we know in a hallway display. (You could also make this a bulletin board activity.) After reading Fletcher and the Snowflake Christmas, each student completed a stocking, copied on cardstock for sturdiness. I glued thumbtacks to one side of clothespins and inexpensive ornaments to the other side and attached everything to a colorful border.  I also added a sign. If you have the time, you could make a paper chimney/hearth to create a cozy holiday spectacle.

Can’t Miss December Books

As you are pulling out your books for December, consider adding these to your list. Some are sweet, others are educational and several are laugh-out-loud funny. Plus we’ve included some ideas for reading follow-up. Let us know if you have some good December books we should be sharing with our classes!