Curating resources & sharing stories to empower teacher & student ownership, wonder, and daring.
This is part of a series on writing booklists about holidays beyond Christmas. To read more about it, you can see it here.
Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) is still a few months away, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be added to our list of holiday picture books! These books were fun to look up and discover new titles. The Chinese culture has so much to offer and learn about, so let’s dive into my top favorites!
Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas
What books are you reading for Chinese New Year?
This is part of a series on writing booklists about holidays beyond Christmas. To read more about it, you can see it here.
Happy first day of Los Posadas! This holiday celebrates the journey Mary and Joseph made to give birth to the baby Jesus, celebrated in Mexico and parts of the United States. Here are some fun picture books to read during this holiday!
Uno, Dos, Tres, Posada! This book is fun because it incorporates Spanish and English and teaches someone who is not familiar with Los Posadas what the holiday entails.
A Pinata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas A cute spin on the Twelve Days of Christmas from a Latino perspective celebrating Los Posadas.
The Legend of the Poinsettia This book is longer, but a great one for learning about poinsettias and why they are significant to Los Posadas.
Nine Days to Christmas: I really love the simplicity of the illustrations in this book. It’s another great one to learn more about Los Posadas!
What are some of your favorite Los Posadas picture books to read?
Cover photo from tuscon.com
This is part of a series on writing booklists about holidays beyond Christmas. To read more about it, you can see it here.
Happy Hanukkah! Hanukkah started yesterday, December 10th, so let’s celebrate with a list of picture books to read during this festive time!
Hanukkah Bear- A book about Hanukkah, delicious food, and a fun bear! Such a cute read.
Latke, The Lucky Dog– A mischievous dog that goes through the day of Hanukkah with his new family.
The Story of Hanukkah- This one gives a good background on where Hanukkah came from and why we celebrate it. A fun history book with beautiful illustrations!
How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah?- A fun, familiar series of books with a Hanukkah version. This book gives the non-examples of how to act on Hanukkah for kids but then finishes by showing a great example of what to do, by taking turns and being respectful.
Meet the Latkes- I love that this book starts with some history behind the holiday before it begins. Such a fun book! This read aloud was one of my favorites I’ve watched so far, so check out this video by Mrs. Lemansky.
What are some of your favorite Hanukkah read alouds?
This is part of a series on writing booklists about holidays beyond Christmas. To read more about it, you can see it here.
Welcome to our list of favorite Diwali books! This holiday was a favorite of mine to research because of the colors involved with Diwali, making the illustrations in every book so fun! Here are my top four:
Festival of Colors by Kabir and Surishtha Sehgal
I love how this book is simple and on a child’s level, while still incorporating the Diwali jargon and vocabulary. It is also very inclusive of multiple races, showing that Diwali can be enjoyed by many!
Lots of LIghts: A Story About Diwali by Kavita Sahai
This one is fun because elephants are the main characters that walk kids through what Diwali is, again, on their level.
Rani Saves Diwali by Anita Badhwar
A princess saving Diwali! Such a fun book with cute illustrations.
Binny’s Diwali by Thrity Umrigar
Binny is trying to tell her class about her favorite holiday, Diwali. And her peers love it!
What other Diwali books do you love reading to your class? How do you observe Diwali in your classroom or school?
It’s almost time for Halloween! How are you celebrating in your town or school? Does it look different for you, or are things fairly similar?
I can’t let a holiday go by without sharing my favorite books for the season! It’s just not in me. Here are my favorite Halloween books.
The Legend of Spookley The Square Pumpkin. Maybe I love this book because my first-grade teacher (read about her here and how she gave me a love for books!) read this to our class on Halloween. But the message behind it is still great.
Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini
Room On The Broom by Julia Donaldson
It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown By Charles M. Schulz because how do you say no to a classic?!
Pete The Cat: Five Little Pumpkins by James Dean. I think there’s a special element of fun when a beloved, well-known book character celebrates the same holiday you do.
The Dead Family Diaz by P.J. Bracegirdle: it teaches about Day of the Dead from a unique perspective from the dead world side instead of the living world. It will also make you wonder if maybe the movie Coco stole some ideas and influence from this book….?
What are your favorite Halloween books to read to your class?
Martin Luther King Jr.: civil rights activist, nonviolence champion, Nobel Peace Prize awardee, assassinated martyr. Help students understand why the that holiday honors his life goes beyond having a day off school!
Continue reading “4 Reasons You Can Make MLK Day Meaningful with Your Students”
Veteran’s Day is observed on November 11 each year, the anniversary of the day World War I ended. Help your students to truly appreciate our veterans’ sacrifices by selecting one or more of the ideas listed here.
On Veteran’s Day, ask your students to bring a photo of a veteran they know. It could be a parent, aunt, cousin, great-grandfather, or even a neighbor. Have students bring the following:
Keep the photos posted in your halls for a few weeks–not only does this beautifully honor those who have served, but it also is perfect to renew the feelings of gratitude that we seek to magnify throughout the Thanksgiving season.
Poppies are a classic, but not all your students may be aware of their significance. Choose a way to share “In Flanders Fields” with your students, whether you simply read the text and background, watch a video, or show a picture book. (Alternatively, share Cheryl Dyson’s poem for a piece suited for very young audiences). Then, ask students to find meaningful ways they can express their understanding and appreciation for this poem:
Have students write letters expressing gratitude to a soldier. Mail these to soldiers at your closest military base or visit websites like Operation Gratitude. Students could also share their pieces created in the above Poppies & Poetry activity.
This project was started by Congress in 2000, and is sponsored by AARP. The goal is to “collect, preserve, and make accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.” As a class, you could:
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