Holiday Gifts for our Librarians and Media Specialists!
Nearly 2 billion people in over 160 countries celebrate Christmas. A few countries like Uruguay refer to Christmas holiday as Family Day. Some countries like Jordan designate December 25th as an official holiday only for Christians. Regardless of what you celebrate, there is always something to look forward to during the winter holidays. And as cold as it may be during December, it's undeniable that this time of year is filled with warm celebrations!
We’d like to celebrate the last month of the year by gifting our librarians and media specialists with some fun library resources. We hope these books, lesson plans, and ideas will help you survive until the winter break!
Season of Sharing Books!
Did you know it is an Icelandic tradition to give books to friends and loved ones on Christmas Eve? It’s called Jolobokaflod, or “Christmas Book Flood". Starting in September, books in bookstores begin to disappear off shelves as people gear up for the season of giving. In the spirit of Iceland's traditions, we'd like to share a few holiday books with you. Check out these six picture books about different holiday traditions you can read with your students!
Continue the Icelandic tradition by letting your students share their favorite books with their peers. You can create a library display with notecards of students' favorite books.
Another fun idea is to choose one of the books above to read to your students. You can use this opportunity to highlight different holiday cultures and traditions. Afterwards, you can let students share their holiday traditions with the class or by writing on notecards. Use students' notecards to display in the library throughout December.
Plastic drop cloth or newspaper for controlling the mess
In this experiment, you'll get to conduct a chemical reaction between the baking soda and the vinegar. You'll begin by removing each ornament's caps and placing the ornaments in a tray. Fill the ornaments with two tablespoons of baking soda. Be sure to line the tray with baking soda too. You can add glitter and sequins for fun!
Next, mix up a big container of vinegar and food coloring. Use a turkey baster to transfer the vinegar to the ornaments. Don't be surprised when the vinegar makes contact with the baking soda– it'll shoot right out of the ornament!
This month we've rolled out a classic set of reading posters and social media graphics so you can encourage and uplift your patrons during social-distancing.
This month we've rolled out a classic set of reading posters and social media graphics so you can encourage and uplift your patrons during social-distancing.