mtn. shadows - december

 

Title:  Bear Stays Up For Christmas  
Author: Karma Wilson 
Age:   K-3
Topic:  Bear/Hibernation
Comments:  I read the book "Bear Stays Up For Christmas."  I then asked the kids if they knew why the bear was having such a hard time staying awake for Christmas?  I answered it with the book "Why Do Bears Sleep All Winter?"  This book explained hibernation. 

Oakcrest Elementary December Read alouds

Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree      By: Robert Barry   All Grades

 

We discussed the importance of re-using items others no longer need or use, as well as sharing.

 

 

 

Queen of Christmas          By: Mary Engelbreit      All Grades

 

Discussed making out lists for Santa and only asking for a few items needed instead of things we want because others have them.

 

Columbia Elementary

Title: A Wish to be a Christmas Tree

Author: Colleen Monroe

Ages: All

This book has alot of great messages and the one we focused on was that you need to let the people in your life that mean a lot to you know that.  Share good feelings and be a friend all year log.

Columbia

This week at Columbia we are playing a bingo game with the kids and to be able to play they need to bring their books back.  We collect them all before Christmas and in a school that has a lot of missing and overdue books this helps a lot to get the back.

Terra Linda

We have been reading our classes some of our favorite Christmas books and some good old traditional favorites.  Here is a list of some of them:

 

Bless You, Santa! by Julie Sykes

Careful, Santa! by Julie Sykes

When Cows Come Home for Christmas by Dori Chaconas

Ernest's Special Christmas by Laura T. Barnes

Mr. Finnegan's Giving Chest by Dan Farr (The  illustrator, Chris Creek lives here in Bluffdale.)

The Christmas Candle by Richard Paul Evans

Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner

 

 

One of our all time favorites is showing The Polar Express CD ROM by Chris Can Allsburg and Houghton Mifflin. The kids really love watching it in movie form on the screen.  At the very end where he finds his lost bell wrapped under the tree from Santa, we shake our own Christmas bells and it gives the 

kids a good surprise and yes, we can still hear the bell ring.

 

HAYDEN PEAK

During the month of January we will be "Digging for Dinosaurs".  We will pull all dinosaur books & videos and put up a display, with some fossils.  There will be available book marks & posters. 

Heartland Elementary

We have some new favorite books! (Again this month!)

Cowlick which is a Utah Children's Book Award nominee. It is a darling book about what causes cowlicks in three little brothers hair one night. Cute pictures and text! It is written by Christin Ditchfield

 

Scaredy Squirrel is written by Melanie Watt. The story of a squirrel who is afraid to change his ordinary, everyday routine. He is forced to change and it is an adventure for him. Good lesson in believing in yourself and looking outside the box and trying new things.

 

There was an old woman who swallowed fly guy by Tedd Arnold. The kids love the fly guy books and enjoyed this new twist on the story of the old woman who swallowed a fly. It got them excited about all the fly guy books and they wanted to know if we had any other books by Ted Arnold.

The kids loved all of these books as well as we did! 

 

 

Falcon Ridge

Title: You I Ever Lie To You!
Author: Buehner, Carolyn
Age: All
Topic: Teasing, predicting
Comments: We compared with other books of hers and made note that this book has a different Illustrator than her other books.

Hayden Peak

November Reads:

Bear Feels Scared by K. Wilson

Bertie Was a Watch Dog by R. Walton

Hooray for Fly Guy by Arnold

Run Turkey Run

Christmas books!

Add a list of your favorite Christmas books to the blog!

Oakcrest Elementary

Election Day by Mir Tamin Ansary            Grades:2-6  

 

We talked about the process of elections and the importance of voting. We also had the kids guess how old you had to be to vote as well as to run for President.

 

 

The Thanksgiving Door by Debbie Atwell    All Grades

 

We talked about the importance of sharing and different ways we can share.

 

Westland

Title: My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks
Author: Hanoch Pivenanoch
Age: K-6
Topic: Family
Comments: This is a great book. It is entertaining as well as educational. It shows how you can use different words to describe. We have teacher who are using this book as a base for classroom projects.

West Jorday Elementary

 Have You Filled Your Bucket Today   by Carol McCloud

In a new twist on the golden rule, Have You Filled Your Bucket Today? explains to the children that we all carry an invisible bucket in which we keep our feelings about ourselves. When our buckets are full, we are happy; when they are empty, we are sad. It's important to know that we can fill our own bucket and so can others. We can also dip into it.

"Bucket Fillers" are those who help without being asked, give hugs and compliments, and generally spread their love and good feelings.

"Bucket Dippers" rob us of happy feelings by refusing to help with a task or by saying or doing something cruel.

I had a beautifully decorated bucket as a visual aide. The kids talked how they could fill buckets of their families and friends afterwards. Each student left with an invisible bucket of their own design.

 

 

Not Norman by Kelly Bernnett

Beehive Nominee 2008-2009

Fun pet story.