I read A Christmas Carol out loud to my family this year. I loved it . . . I hope my kids at least kept with the storyline. It is so dramatic and there are emotional highs and lows all through it. No wonder it is a classic that is always pulled out at Christmastime.
For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself.~Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Here are some fun sites to help us know more:
Read Aloud @ the site of Wired For Books
A Christmas Carol Quiz @ Charles Dickens, Gad’s Hill Place.
Here is trivia from the same place.
The timeline of Charles Dickens life
The Bike Man
Here’s a gift for you, some holiday cheer and a smile, guaranteed.
ABC News Person of the week is a great guy. His name is Lewis H. Days. He’s 74-years-old and lives in North Carolina. He repairs and gives aways bikes to kids. Here’s his excellent story (:
The Screwtape Letters Production
Someday I want to go see a broadway play. I would love to take Danny and we could go see this play, The Screw Tape Letters. It’s at the Saint Clements theatre in New York City beginning January 5.
My husband introduced me to C.S. Lewis when we were dating. He is his favorite author. The Screwtape Letters are a series of letters by a senior demon to a junior demon in which the older gives advice on how to tempt people to sin.
Max McLean who plays the main character and who is well-known for reading the Bible. He is on the Our Daily Bread website.
Norman Rockwell
His talent can’t be overlooked nor can it be taken for granted because his painting are commonly scene. He is a man to be studied. The site ArtRenewal.org has large images of his pictures. His paintings need to be studied for all their details. Here’s some information I found with a family guide on NRM.org:
Doing Good
Fifteen to twenty years ago I had family members who fell into the belief of some Charismatic Christians that you could ask God for anything and He would do it. If you prayed for health, riches or a Cadillac hard enough and had enough faith God loved you so much you would get it! Oh my! how shallow. This is not true.
Quote For Lit. Teachers
I found this quote on Mrs. Happy Housewife’s site. It’s a good one because it offers advice from a former president, the historical first! It also encourages citizenship and then reading and the arts. . .
“To encourage literature and the arts is a duty which every good citizen owes to his country.”
-George Washington
Science Activities
The Discovery website has simple science activities. Here are some good ideas to help children learn about bacteria.
Alice In Wonderland And Pronouns Worksheet
Here’s a website that provides grammar worksheets and rules handouts called ABCTeach.com. I was especially impressed with one worksheet which mixed the classic Alice In Wonderland with choosing the correct usage of the pronoun she/her.
Here’s the pronoun exercise:
Dimunitive Nouns
DIMINUTIVES
Diminutives are used to describe a smaller or younger version of
something. For example, the diminutive of dog would be puppy.
Choose the best word from the box above to complete the sentences below.
gosling cub streamlet cygnet fawn
sapling duckling calf islet kid
foal lamb leveret eaglet rivulet
1. A young duck is a _______________________________________
2. A young goose is a ______________________________________
3. A young cow is a ________________________________________
4. A young eagle is a _______________________________________
5. A very small stream is a ___________________________________
6. A young sheep is a _______________________________________
7. A young horse is a _______________________________________
8. A young hare is a ________________________________________
9. A young goat is a ________________________________________
10. A very small river is a ____________________________________
11. A young swan is a _______________________________________
12. A young deer is a ________________________________________
13. A young tree is a _________________________________________
14. A small island is a ________________________________________
15. A young lion is a _________________________________________
©2006abcteach.com
Answers
Collective Nouns
Collective nouns are words used to describe a group of
nouns.
For example, 52 cards would be known as a
deck of cards. Complete each sentence by choosing the
correct collective noun from the box at the bottom of
the page.
1. Swimming in the shallow water was a ______________ of herrings.
2. A ___________ of sheep was happily grazing in the field.
3. All night we could hear the _____________ of wolves howling.
4. Looking out to sea, we noticed a ___________ of dolphins swimming.
5. The _____________ of lions slept all day on the African plains.
6. A long ______________ of steps led to the top of the tower.
7. Our cat has just had a _______________ of seven kittens.
8. We each picked a _______________ of juicy grapes from the vine.
9. The hen waddled by with her _______________ of chicks.
10. A ______________ of thieves stole the precious diamonds.
11. In the jungle, we could see a __________ of monkeys swinging in the
trees.
12. An enormous ______________ of locusts ate all the crops.
13. The ______________ of elephants stomped through the water hole.
14. The __________________ of geese made a terrible squawking sound.
15. We were in awe as we watched the ______________ of whales
swimming.
pod swarm pride flight school
herd litter gaggle band brood
pack troop flock bunch shoal
At the website ABCteach.com you can practice working with collective nouns.
Answers
Linda's Thoughts 