O Christmas Tree…Thanks for the Memories

Read 'Penguin's Special Christmas Tree' on BigUniverse.com.

This is the latest we’ve ever put up a Christmas tree. It’s also the first year that both of my daughters have been away at college.

“Please wait until we get home, so we can get the tree together,” they begged.

Traditions are important to us – especially at Christmas time. It’s always been a family activity, so my husband and I waited for them to finish final exams and return home before getting a tree.

Eager to put equations, theories and philosophical debates behind them, they donned their scarves and gloves, and we loaded into our 1993 Ford pickup with the tired shock absorbers and the window that doesn’t seal properly. The only things louder than the wind whistling in the window, were the Christmas tunes on the radio – that, and the laughter.

It was dark when we got to the farm, but the white board fencing told us we had arrived. It was a few minutes past closing time, but the strings of overhead Christmas lights in the lot were still on. We piled out of the truck. It was not as cold as in past years – what with global warming and all. And, the selections were rather sparse, but we headed over to the stand of pines leaning against a support rail.

We poked and prodded. Was it tall enough? Was the tip going to support our angel tree topper? Did the branches leave enough room for our treasure of ornaments (each with its own unique story)? Was the trunk nice and straight, so our tree would stay securely in the stand…not like that one year?

Finally, a selection was made. Cash exchanged hands and the Fraser fir was deposited in the back of our Ford. We headed for home, stopping in at a local joint for enchiladas, tamales and way too many chips. The salsa was so hot, it made our voices hoarse when we laughed.

Had we found the ultimate shapely specimen? Not really. The tree had a sizeable dent in one side, resembling a boy with a bad haircut. Its trunk was a little off kilter, and all its needles would probably not stay intact until Jan. 1, the day we usually take down our Christmas decorations.  

No, it wasn’t a picture perfect, Southern Living kind of tree. The excursion was, however, perfect. We were celebrating a season very important to us, we were together, and we’d made another deposit in our collective memory bank.

Joy to the world!

Penguin's Special Christmas Tree on Big Universe Learning

Note:  Traditions play a big role in the fabric of holidays. Our family always made reading part of our Christmas season traditions: the Christmas story in the second chapter of Luke in the Bible, “The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey,” “The Christmas Kitten,” “The Night Before Christmas” and many more. BigUniverse.com offers several Christmas-themed selections, including “Penguin’s Special Christmas Tree”. Read about Penguin’s quirky tree-trimming efforts, as he tries to find the perfect tree topper before Santa’s arrival. The Christmas children’s book is written by Jeannie St. John Taylor, illustrated by Molly Idle and published by Lobster Press. The book is leveled for first-graders, but will be of interest to those 8 and younger. Click on this link for other bedtime stories at Big Universe Learning.

Crafts, Cookies and Christmas Tales Promote Literacy

While you might not link literacy to holidays like Arbor Day or the Summer Solstice, Christmas is an altogether different story. Opportunities to promote reading, writing and language skills are as abundant as the thousands of twinkling lights on the 74-foot Norway spruce in New York’s Rockefeller Center. Let me count the ways…

•  Create a written wish list for Santa or have your child write a letter to baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the wise men, or the shepherds. Kids are so honest and their perspectives are funny and sometimes very wise. Nine times out of 10, you’ll end up with a priceless keepsake to enjoy reading years down the road.
• Make homemade Christmas cards with your children. Print out colored card templates and then encourage your students to personalize the inside with a handwritten note. (Snowman card, wide-eyed Santa card, Christmas tree card ) Or, they can make a card from scratch. If their penmanship is legible, encourage them to address the envelope too. Christmas stickers are a good option for very young children who want to participate in this card-making craft.
• Make sugar cookies together from scratch. Help your children read the recipe, interpret the ingredient amounts, and mix them chronologically according to the directions. While children may need help with the oven, they can master the cookie cutters and sprinkles easily and with much gusto!

     Cookie Cutter Butter Cookie Recipe

     1 cup butter (not margarine), softened

     1 cup sifted powdered sugar

     2¼ cups of all-purpose flour

     1½ teaspoons of real vanilla extract

     Optional: sprinkles, icing, flaked coconut

To make this recipe, gather all your ingredients and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Now, you are ready to start.

First, beat butter in a bowl at medium speed until soft and creamy. Then, add sugar a little at a time, mixing well. Next, add vanilla and flour and beat well. Lightly flour a surface and roll dough to ¼-inch thickness. Use your favorite cookie cutter and cut dough into Christmas trees, lambs, angels, etc. Place them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Add sprinkles and bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes or until edges start to brown. Remove from the oven. Then use a spatula to place cookies on a cooling rack until they are cool.

Note: If you use a lamb-shaped cookie cutter, sprinkle cookies with coconut before baking. If using icing, decorate the cookies after they are cool. (Hint: Parchment paper is the key to successful cookie baking. It’s available in the paper goods aisle near the wax paper.)  

• Read Christmas-themed books, poems and Advent passages together. DLTK offers a great Christmas Alphabet Poem that is perfect for the Sunday school setting or use at home. The website also offers holiday poems, including “Little Donkey” which has a cute graphic for coloring along with the text.
• Sing Christmas carols. If you go caroling, take a flashlight and large-print lyrics so following along is easier for young readers and ancient eyes.
• Christmas crafts expand vocabulary and teach hand-eye coordination through cutting, pasting, coloring, beading and stringing. You can make paper snowflakes to hang in the windows, string popcorn and cranberry garlands, glue or tape a paper chain together to help with the Big Countdown, make a KissMas Tree or create handprint Christmas wreaths.
• Bogglesworldesl.com offers nativity-themed crossword puzzles and word searches, which are good vocabulary builders.
• Give books as gifts – whether to family members, the school library or through donations to a literacy group. Books offer immediate enjoyment with long-term educational consequences and forever memories. “The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey” is one of our family favorites. The poignant story is of a Scrooge-like woodcarver and the inquisitive boy and gentle widow who transform his world. The watercolors are spectacular.

Big Universe’s publishing partner Sylvan Dell has added a new Christmas-themed book to BU’s shelves, titled “Christmas Eve Blizzard” by Andrea Vlahakis. Illustrated by Emanuel Schongut, the picture book tells the tender story of a cardinal who is trapped in the snow until rescued by a compassionate boy and his abuelo. The book is appropriate for children 6-12. Although written in English, it includes some Spanish language vocabulary.

 Christmas blessings to you and yours!

UPDATE: (Dec. 11, 2010) To expand on lessons about writing sequentially, BooglesWorldESL.com  has a worksheet titled “How Do You Decorate a Christmas Tree?”  The website also offers big letter alphabet coloring sheets for Christmas. Check them out.

“Miracle of Jonathan Toomey” a Holiday Superstar

“The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey” is by far my favorite holiday story. It’s something my family has read out loud together for years. While the story is poignant, the watercolor illustrations by P.J. Lynch are magnificent – perhaps the best I have ever seen in a picture book.

After a little research, I find that I am not alone in my assessment. Susan Wojciechowski’s sweet tale is an International Reading Association Teachers’ Choices Award winner, an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book, a Christopher Award Winner and a Parents’ Choice Honor Award winner.

“The tale is unfolded with such mastery, humor and emotional force that we are entirely in its power,” writes a reviewer from The New York Times Book Review.

 A Miracle Before My Eyes

For years, I read this book to my third graders during Sunday school class as Christmas approached. I found that the real-time miracle of “Jonathan Toomey” is that it had the power to calm the squirming bodies of 25 little ones who were hyped up on Christmas cookies and ready to get out of their street shoes and itchy collared shirts!

As I would begin to read, it was quite amazing to watch the calm sweep over the group and to watch their facial expressions change from distracted to enraptured. The oversized pictures were perfect, because even the children in the back of our reading circle could see the beautiful details. Now, with the availability of whiteboards, the book can be viewed even more easily in large groups.

Other holiday favorites for this flock of Sunday schoolers included “The Legend of the Candy Cane” by Lori Walburg with outstanding illustrations by James Bernardin, “The Christmas Day Kitten” by James Herriot, “The Gift of the Magi,” published by Candlewick Press  (and also illustrated by P.J. Lynch) and, of course, the Luke 2 passage.

Let’s Not Forget Thanksgiving!

Lest you think I’m one of those holiday-rushers, there’s still time to snag a copy of Cheryl Harness’ “Three Young Pilgrims,” which is recommended for ages 5-10. My girls also loved “Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving” by Eric Metaxas, which tells the historical story of how an English-speaking Indian happened to live in the exact place where Pilgrims landed to start a new life in the New World. This book is also recommended for ages 5-10.

No Time to Head to a Bookstore?

Witnessing that holiday time crunch already? Never fear! Big Universe offers its members several holiday-themed picture books online, including “Holidays,” the illustrated classic “A Christmas Carol,” “Mucky Pup’s Christmas,” “The Miracle Jar,” “Penguin’s Special Christmas Tree,” and “Cat on the Hill,” which is offered for free this week to everyone. Also check out the many free holiday-themed books created by members of the Big Universe community.

* The photo for this blog was taken of a book purchased by our family; however, all credit and honor is given to artist Patrick James Lynch who created his masterful illustrations (© 1995) for Candlewick Press.