There are so many "days" in December to recognize it is sometimes hard to fit all of that wonderful learning into such a short teaching month. I have compiled a list of books that are not all holiday themed but relate to a special day in December. I hope you find something new to teach your students about this month.
Here is my December list, in order of the date of the special day.
December 4th is Cookie Day. I love this story by Jan Brett so I thought it was the perfect book for Cookie Day. After reading Gingerbread Baby you can share some cookies with your students.
December 6th is Mitten Tree Day. It is believed that this day came about because of this heartwarming story about Sarah and her mitten tree. There is a great lesson to be learned from this story as well as some fun activities you can do involving mittens.
December 6th is also St. Nicholas day. This book shares a great lesson on what it means to give at Christmas. The story is set in today's times so your students will be able to relate, and also come away with an important lesson on giving.
Hanukkah starts on December 8th and what a great book to read in honor of Hanukkah. This is a wonderful tale of courage and strength and believing.
December 12th is Gingerbread House day. I found this great book on how to make no bake gingerbread houses with simple instructions. This book and making these houses could lead to a great How To writing!
The poinsettia is such an iconic symbol for the Christmas holiday season it is quite fitting that December 12th is also Poinsettia Day. Tomi dePaola does a great job in this book introducing the poinsettia and how it came to be part of the holiday season.
December 13th is National Cocoa Day. This can be such a fun day in your classroom with so many activities on line available for you to do in your class. I thought I would add this book to my list because I love The Bailey School Kids. It is such a fun series and if you have students that are ready for chapter books, this is a great book to read out loud to introduce your students these fun books.
I cannot have a top 10 list for December without adding The Polar Express, so I have attached it to December 25th, Christmas Day. It just goes without saying that this is a W*O*N*D*E*R*F*U*L book!
December 26th is the start of Kwanzaa and this is the perfect book to introduce your students to what Kwanzaa is all about.
I am adding an extra book into my top 10 because December 26th is National Thank You Note Day. I think too many kids are not taught to send thank you notes for gifts they receive. So, I picked this book, Splat says Thank You! If Splat can take the time to write a thank you, then maybe your students will do the same :)
I hope my list of December books has inspired a great lesson.
Happy Reading!
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