Epic! Provides December Suggestions for Kids Who Don't Know What to Do With Themselves

https://cdn.getepic.com/website/educator-resources/BTS_Calender_December.pdf

This truly is the greatest time of year. At our school, our students have participated in wonderful, philanthropic activities that serve our community and convey the spirit of the holiday season. 

First, they raised money for our new playground equipment. While this may have been a bit self-serving, the equipment will last beyond the attendance of any child at Brookhaven.  All children who helped raise money can proudly point to the playground and tell younger children, "I helped build that."

Just yesterday the school wrapped up it's annual food drive.  The student council, under the direction of Mrs. Melanie Gore and Mrs. Hope Kelly, collected, sorted, counted and boxed a seemingly endless supply of canned goods.  Besides the management of the donated supplies, the student council was responsible for marketing this event, too.  It would be interested to me to find out what they learned in this process, if they thought they learned anything at all.  Trust me, they learned leadership and collaboration skills, with some marketing skills thrown in.  They are good kids who are going to be fantastic leaders.  They have wonderful teachers that set high expectations for completion of any project undertaken.

The classes have earned well-crafted rewards for their participation in these activities, and as usual, spirits have been (deservedly) running high, atop of the usual, understandable  Christmas merriment.  Each day I hear many excited tales of what the Elf on the Shelf did the night before, along with tales of what all children want Santa to bring.  It is wonderful to hear, but every now and then, kids need to unwind and decompress a little.  Here are some ideas from Epic that may help.

Epic!  is an ebook site that is free for teachers and librarians.  Parents may try a 30-day trial.  If wishing to continue, the cost is less than $8.00 a month.  Of course, parents should be reminded of the wonderful ebook resources provided by Monongalia County Schools and Morgantown Public Library.  If you need help accessing these resources, let me know in the comments. 

Greetings!

I recently ran across a post by Erica of WhatWeDoAllDay.com that listed her favorite 51 books every child should read.  That made me think of all the wonderful books I have read, wondering if I could even come up with a Top Ten, as new books come to fore and old favorites go out of print. But here is a shot of my favorite chapter books.  Hope you enjoy!

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt.  "The Tuck family is confronted with an agonizing situation when they discover that a ten-year-old girl and a malicious stranger now share their secret about a spring whose water prevents one from ever growing any older."  I read this book to both of my girls between their fifth and sixth grade year and also to a study hall full of seventh grade boys.  This book is amazing.  It has the most lyrical language of any book I have read.  Behold the first paragraph: 

"The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from the balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot.  It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color. Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone. There is no thunder, no relieving rain. These are strange and breathless days, the dog days, when people are led to do things they are sure to be sorry for after."

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. "As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space."  What would you do if you could correct a horrible mistake from your past?  What if you needed help?  Whom could you trust?  Miranda is troubled by the notes that ask her to keep this correspondence a secret, but it seems someone's life is in danger.  As the first note says, "I have come to save your friend's life and my own...I won't be myself when I reach you."  This Newbery Award winner is nothing if not thought-provoking.

Cherokee Sister by Debbie Dadey.  In the 1830s in untamed rural Georgia, Allie is friends with a Cherokee girl named Leaf, whose family runs the local trading post.  One day, as Allie is trying on Leaf's traditional buckskin dress, the Army arrives to drive the Cherokees away from their homes, on what would become known as "The Trail of Tears." Despite all the Cherokee efforts, no one can convince the soldiers that Allie is not Cherokee.  Allie realizes her family has no idea where she is and wonders if she will ever see them again. This novel clearly illustrates the brutality and inhumane conditions the Cherokee faced on their march.

Nory Ryan's Song by Patricia Reilly Giff.  Can you imagine being so hungry that you would scrounge the rocks at the edge of the ocean looking for seaweed to eat?  When the potato crop fails, Nory's family is on both the brink of starvation and losing their home.  From Amaon's website:

"Nory Ryan's family has lived on Maidin Bay on the west coast of Ireland for generations, raising a pig and a few chickens, planting potatoes, getting by. Every year Nory's father goes away on a fishing boat and returns with the rent money for the English lord who owns their cottage and fields, the English lord bent upon forcing the Irish from their land so he can tumble the cottages and clear the fields for grazing. Times are never easy on Maidin Bay, but this year, a terrible blight attacks the potatoes. No crop means starvation. Twelve-year-old Nory must summon the courage and ingenuity to find food, to find hope, to find a way to help her family survive."

Can Nory find a way to help her family survive without sacrificing herself?

 
Joey Pigza Loses Control by Jack Gantos.  We met big-hearted Joey as he was struggling to succeed in school and life.  With his mother's return and new meds for ADHD, Joey learns that he is a good kid who has made impulsive decisions as a result of his condition.  Now in the Newbery Honor sequel, Joey is visiting the father he has never known and understands more about his alcoholic family and things he must do to stay in control.

Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Scieszka.  Jon Scieszka is a genius when it comes to writing absurd stories that appeal greatly to boys.  In the first of the Time Travel Trio series, Joe and his friends are sitting at his kitchen table when they suddenly are transported to mideval England and find themselves facing a real black knight!  If your child enjoys action with a little bit of silliness, this book will be for your child.

Frindle by Andrew Clements.  Everyone has had that strict humorless teacher, and every class has the kid that thinks he can outsmart her.  Nick is that guy, and on the very first day of school it's on between him and Mrs. Granger. Nick's attempt to distract Mrs. Granger before she can assign homework backfires, and Nick is given a special assignment on the history of the dictionary. No one is more surprised than Nick when becomes interested in his topic.  His experiment to invent a new word catches on quickly, and before he knows it, the whole world wants to buy a Frindle.  Everyone but Mrs. Granger, who refuses to allow the world frindle in her classroom.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt.  From the online catalog:  

"In 1911, Turner Buckminster hates his new home of Phippsburg, Maine, but things improve when he meets Lizzie BrightGriffin, a girl from a poor, nearby island community founded by former slaves that the town fathers--and Turner's--want to change into a tourist spot".

 This is the most difficult book on this list.  It is on 7th grade level, but more difficult than the reading level is the emotional toll on the reader.  Turner is the son of the town's new minister, but the young people in the congregation are anything but welcoming.  They don't hestitate to let Turner know he is an outcast. Turner ends up with two friends - an eccentric old woman the town thinks is crazy and Lizzie Bright, a young black girl who teaches Turner to sail and accepts him the way he is.  Unfortunately, the town fathers disapprove of these friendships, making things harder for Turner. Schmidt has written a timeless book of power and prejudice in which the reader can palpitably feel the characters' pain.

Redwall  by Brian Jacques. Redwall is one of many books in a series by the same name.  It is an animal fantasy in which a young mouse named Martin must save the castle from an influx of cats and rats, led by Cluny the Scorge.  Can Martin and his friends turn back the invaders before Cluney overtakes Redwall?