Happy Holidays! As we’re busy with Christmas preparations during December, I usually try to look for seasonal books that lend themselves to some good lessons. This month we are using A New Coat for Anna and The Clown of God, which are part of the curriculum we use, Five in a Row. We are also going to be learning the history behind some Christmas carols and listening to A Christmas Carol.
Of course, we take plenty of time for reading just for fun, too! Here are a few of our favorites that I hope you will enjoy.
There are so many to choose from for the younger crowd:
When my son was two, he could pretty much quote Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Christmas by Joy Cowley in its entirety. If you are not familiar with Mrs. Wishy-Washy and her barnyard crew, they are worth the search!
Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett has also been a favorite. I think that meeting authors is a great way to get kids excited about books and reading, so we actually took a road trip to see Jan Brett in Lawton a few years ago. If you ever have the chance to see her in person, it is worth a drive! This year we’re making sandpaper gingerbread men to go along with our reading time.
Steven Kellogg’s The Missing Mitten Mystery is another one that has been read many, many times in our home. It’s simple and sweet and fun to follow Annie as she looks for her missing mitten.
What Star Is This? by Joseph Slate—you may recognize him as the author of Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten—is a gorgeous book showing the journey of the star over Bethlehem.
I am sure There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bell by Lucille Colandro will be one of my daughter’s favorites this year. I’m going to guess we read There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves about 300 times last month, so it would be okay with me if she doesn’t like this one quite so much.
For kids who are a bit older, there may not be as many books, but there are still some good ones out there:
The Family Christmas Tree Book by Tomie dePaola has information about the history of Christmas trees and different traditions from all over the world. I don’t think we’ve ever read a Tomie dePaola book we didn’t like!
I had never seen Joan Steiner’s Look-Alikes series until my son found one at the used bookstore one day. You could spend hours looking through Look-Alikes Christmas to see what’s hiding in plain sight.
This year we will read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever for the first time and I can’t wait to hear my son laugh at the Herdmans’ antics. I know this one will be a hit!
One of the things I love about homeschooling is the ability to tailor our studies to our lives and I love doing that at Christmas! Enjoy the season!
