jgarcia's blog

Kwanzaa, a seven day festival created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966 to bring African-Americans together to celebrate their African heritage, takes place from December 26 to January 1. Although Kwanzaa is celebrated throughout the world, it is mostly an American holiday. The words "matunda ya kwanzaa" mean "first fruits" in the Swahili language.

Join KidsSoup and Santa Claus as he visits 10 different countries and brings back souvenirs (see emergent reader booklet "Santa, Santa, What Can You See?). Invite children to join you on a trip around the world to visit other continents and countries and experience their culture and how their winter holidays are

Enjoy the colorful fall leaves by making a Fall Wreath Craft with your children. In fall, when the leaves are changing colors, go outside with your children and gather some large leaves. Then, form a coat hanger into a circle and have children lace the leaves to create a colorful wreath to grace your doorway.

The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot, our focus book for the month, is a humorous retelling of the classic children's tale, The Three Little Pigs--reimagined in outer space.

Fall offers plenty of natural materials to use with children--twigs, rocks, pinecones, you name it! Especially beautiful and useful are leaves. Leaves and their different shapes, patterns, and changing colors give children many opportunities to learn. These activities will inspire you to incorporate leaves in your next activities. Click on each picture for more details.