Celebrate Poetry All Month Long with Read, Discuss, Do

on
  Happy National Poetry Month! We are celebrating National Poetry Month with a weekly poetry challenge all month long. To follow along, subscribe to our newsletter or check back here every Monday and Friday throughout the month of April for updates.  Kickoff: Books and resources for National Poetry Month   Week one: Read and write haiku  Article: A Brief History of Poetry by Marci Whitehurst Week two: Read and write odes Article: Eight Creative Ways to Explore Poetry All Year Long by Rebecca J. Gomez Week three: Read and write riddle poems   Week four: Poet's choice! If you and/or your children/students participate in any of our challenges this month, we'd love to hear from you.  You can  email  us or  tag us  on Instagram (use the hashtag #RDDPoetryChallenge or #RDDPoetryMonth). We will be sharing some readers’ poems in a round-up post at the end of the month, so if you’d like your poems to be considered, please let us know when you s...
0

Ten Discussion Starters for HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRISTMAS CHILD

on

Review by Rebecca J. Gomez

Happy Birthday, Christmas Child!, a new board book by Laura Sassi and illustrated by Gabi Murphy, is a sweet and simple counting nativity story. The story begins with Mary and Joseph entering a stable with a sense of peace and anticipation, and ends with a joyful celebration of the birth of God's son, Jesus. The book follows the Biblical account of the nativity, while simplifying the language and taking obvious creative liberties to make the story engaging for the youngest audience. This book is a great way to share the story of the first Christmas with the youngest kiddos, and it can also be a great spring-board into a deeper discussion about the meaning of Christmas for the older ones! It would make a wonderful addition to anyone's Christmas book collection.

Because this is a counting book, a list of ten discussion starters seemed the perfect thing. I hope these questions will help foster deeper discussions for you and your children. 

1. Where did Mary and Joseph have to stay? Why?

2. Imagine spending the night in a stable with the animals. What would it be like? What kinds of smells and sounds might you notice?

3. Why do you think Mary and Joseph were feeling happy and blessed?

4. What was special about the baby in Mary's belly? What does the word "savior" mean?

5. How many different kinds of animals appear in the book?

6. What were the shepherds doing out in the hills at night?

7. What special message did the angels have for the shepherds?

8. How do you think the shepherds felt when they got such special news?

9. At the end of the book, everyone praises the baby Jesus. Why is that?

10. How can you honor Jesus when celebrating his birth and all year long?

Want some activity ideas to pair with Happy Birthday, Christmas Child? Check these out!

Printable activity kit

Easy Paper Mouse Craft (video)



Comments

Post a Comment