Hello Book Bums families!
Did you know that the practice of cutting paper snowflakes for decorations dates back to the Victorian era? The beginning of our knowledge about snowflakes' shape and structure goes back even further, to the 17th century. In our house, we enjoy making snowflakes and hanging them on windows to create a wintry atmosphere.
This week in the newsletter we share a poem about snowflakes as well as a holiday craft, gift ideas, and more. Read on and enjoy!
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Word of the Week
ancestor (an-ses-ter) noun/person, place, or thing - someone a person is descended from
Three or four generations ago, my ancestors traveled to America from Italy and Ireland.
Literary Calendar
- December 10 is the birthday of American poet Emily Dickinson.
- Born in 1830, she wrote over 1700 poems.
- Most of these were published posthumously.
- A few years ago it was discovered that Emily Dickinson and Taylor Swift share a common ancestor. There is no record that he was a writer, though.
Pause for Poetry
From our Bookshelves
A bookish teacher I follow on TikTok recommended The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes for students, ages 14 and up, who might have a difficult time getting absorbed by the books they read independently. I read it, and she’s right! I got caught up in the storyline right from the start, and I’d bet some teens in your life would absolutely love it!
The story is a young adult version of the Criminal Minds show featuring kids who are “naturals” when it comes to solving criminal cases. Exceptional teens are hired by the FBI to do things like read emotions, determine when someone is lying, and offer facts that might be relevant to a case. Cassie, the protagonist in The Naturals, can profile people by simply observing their behaviors. She’s never been trained. She’s a natural, and she’s sharing a house with other naturals. Of course, there’s some teen flirting and some teen drama, but there’s also an intense storyline and a cool plot twist I did not see coming.
This might be a great choice for a holiday gift for a teen you adore.
Tips for Families
I’m all about having some fun with the kids in my life this time of year, and there are so many inexpensive things to do beyond just watching a holiday movie. Kids enjoy engaging in activities that yield cool products that is treasured from years to come. And nothing beats great memories made in the process.
This activity is good for elementary age kids. Younger hands may be prone to cuts from the foil pan, but they could do it with your assistance.
Materials you'll need:
- Aluminum foil pans (You can get these at the dollar stores.)
- Scissors
- Permanent markers
- Pencils
- Paper or templates for your designs
- Soft material for under the foil, such as a foam sheet or piece of cardboard or an old book
- Rounded tool for embossing (e.g., a blunt pencil or the end of a paintbrush)
Pushpin or other tool for making the hanging hole
Step-by-step instructions
- Cut the pan: Carefully cut the aluminum foil pan into your desired shapes. Be cautious of sharp edges.
- Create your design: Place your paper design onto the aluminum foil and secure it with tape.
- Emboss the lines: Place the foil and design on top of a soft surface like a foam sheet or cardboard. Using the rounded end of a watercolor paintbrush, trace over your design firmly to press indentations into the foil.
- Refine the embossing: Flip the foil over. Use a rounded object to rub the spaces between the lines to make the design stand out in relief. Flip the foil back and trace the lines again to make them sharper.
- Add hanging hole: Use a pushpin or other sharp tool to punch a small hole at the top of your ornament.
- (optional): You can use permanent markers to add color to your ornament.
Hang the ornament: Thread a string or ribbon through the hole to hang your new ornament.
Tips for Raising Readers and Writers
You know those families who share family updates at Christmastime? I’ve never had my act together enough to do this, but I know people who do!
How about having your kids create something to send to your family and friends this year?
They can brainstorm with you some interesting things you did as a family and things each person did on his or her own. Determine the topics everyone would like to include and assign a section to each person in the family. Of course, the kids can add a photo or an image they select from the internet to correspond with their sections.
You’ll support them by recommending revisions and by doing any needed editing. The most important thing is that you do this alongside them as they’re doing the writing, so your kids are not frustrated by having to re-do their whole piece.
Though I never created these at Christmastime, I always love receiving them! Your friends and family will too!
Practical Grammar
Some words have tricky plurals, and they are often misused.
First, let’s recognize that there are three kinds of compound words. Some are closed like gingerbread. Some are open like candy canes. And some are hyphenated like Christmas-colored (lights).
Now, there are some compound words where the first word in the hyphenated compound word is pluralized while the second word remains unchanged. That can feel a bit odd, right?
Some examples include:
sisters-in-law
passers-by
attorneys-at-law
jacks-of-all-trades
Now you can introduce your in-laws at holiday parties with no mix-ups!
News from Book Bums
We’ve got our first snow day in the books, and we’ve decided that we’ll maintain our tutoring schedules, even on snow days, so long as the roads are safe. Most days, by the time our centers open, the roads are fully cleaned and there’s no reason to cancel. Because we’re trying to get our students back on track just as quickly as possible, we’re going to really try to maintain our schedules. We’ll post closures on Facebook, and we’ll ask your tutors to reach out to you to learn whether you’d like to meet as scheduled or if you’d prefer to miss a session. Remember that when we only see students once a week, a missed week makes it a l-o-n-g time between sessions and that requires more time reviewing previously taught material and less time taking the next step in instruction.
Tips for Teachers
From Minding the Gap by Natalie Wexler
- Academic achievement has more to do with level of parental education than with race.
- A likely reason: highly educated parents transmit academic knowledge and vocabulary to their children.
- Schools can do a better job building that kind of knowledge for all students.
- Children from poor families who achieve academically are far more likely than others to experience upward social mobility as adults.
- If schools do a better job of building knowledge for kids from less highly educated families, they can significantly improve their chances of upward mobility.
Just for Fun
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