Category Archives: Holidays

Showing Random Acts of Kindness with Ceri and Deri

Mark Twain once said, “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Although this famous quote is still alive today, some people may take it for granted and forget to show kindness with their words or actions. That is exactly why National Random Acts of Kindness Day was established in the US.

 

The idea behind this annual event celebrated on February 17, is to make the world a better and happier place through simple, kind deeds. Kindness is magic we use to help each other, build meaningful relationships, spread positivity, and even improve our quality of life. As a children’s publisher, we believe that young readers can learn the importance of kindness by reading books with kindhearted characters. In celebration of National Random Acts of Kindness Day tomorrow, we would like to share the Ceri and Deri series by Max Low to illustrate small acts of kindness.

 

Ceri and Deri is a book series for children between 3 and 6, with stories revolving around Ceri, a cat with stripes, and Deri, a dog with spots. Stories about their friendship can help young audiences develop their sense of dignity and respect for others.

 

 

Ceri and Deri: Good to Be Sweet is full of random acts of kindness. First, a shop owner offers a bag of free candies to Ceri and Deri. The two hungry pals happily share their treats with their friend Dai. Young readers will learn the joy of sharing as well as the basic concepts of division and subtraction while enjoying this charming tale.

 

 

Another book in the series Ceri and Deri: Time for Clocks shows Ceri and Deri’s care and respect for one other as the two friends try to figure out the best time to meet up. This playful story is perfect for children to learn how to read a clock.

 

  

While National Random Acts of Kindness Day is celebrated only once a year, sharing kindness is something we can all do every day. In the forthcoming title Ceri and Deri: Build a Birdhouse the main characters help a stray bird find a caring home to live, sing, and dance. Start sharing kindness with strangers and loved ones, just like Ceri and Deri!

 

Look for these titles by Max Low:
Ceri and Deri: Good to Be Sweet
Ceri and Deri: Time for Clocks
Ceri and Deri: Build a Birdhouse (available May 2022)
Ceri and Deri: The Treasure Map (available May 2022)

An Ode to The Spooky Season: Ways to Celebrate Autumn

Boo! ’Tis the season for frights and autumnal festivities! With the new season comes a bevy of fun things you and your kid can do to celebrate the changing leaves and spookiest time of year. Below are some of our safe seasonal favorites. 

 

A staple of the fall holiday season is, of course, pumpkin-carving. Your child will get a kick out of selecting a pumpkin from a local pumpkin patch, while supporting local farmers and growers. The pumpkin patch is also an ideal autumn photo backdrop. Several markets and stores also carry pumpkins while in season, so your child can still discover the thrill of finding the perfect one! 

 

Once you’ve got a pumpkin, head home to start carving! Make sure to lay down some paper towels or newspaper wherever you plan to carve—it can be messy! Help your child pick out the right design. Afterward you can begin to carve the pumpkin.. Take off the top and gut it. You can either compost the guts or pull out the seeds and roast them for a snack. 

 

Time to draw and carve out the design! Once you’ve finished, choose a candle for the inside of the pumpkin. If you use a real candle, place the jack-o-lantern somewhere in your view. When using a battery-operated candle, allow your child to pick a fun spot on the front stoop or somewhere inside. Your child will love how magical the pumpkin looks when the lit candle brings it to life. 

 

Excerpt from Spook the Halloween Cat.

For families outside of urban areas, apple-picking is another holiday classic. It can be a sweet and healthy treat for your kids. Apple cider, apple pie, apple strudel, and apple cider donuts are all traditionally found at an apple orchard. Some orchards offer hay rides into the fields. You and your child can fill a basket of apples together! 

 

As Halloween approaches, you can also brainstorm homemade costumes for your child. A ghost, a witch, a robot, among others, are classic choices. Making costumes instead of buying them helps repurpose items from your home and gives your child a chance to get creative. Make it a fun project you achieve together! Identify household items that can be repurposed. Cardboard boxes can become a robot body. With a flannel shirt, straw hat, overalls, and a quick make-up job your kid is a scarecrow! An all-black outfit, paper ears, and a ball of yarn will turn your child into a cat. The possibilities are as limitless as your child’s imagination! Encourage them and see where their mind takes them. While you’re at it, make yourself a matching costume! 

 

Excerpt from Spook the Halloween Cat, available on the Star Bright Books website.

 

Finish off the season with a kid-friendly Halloween movie or two. Scary movies are a staple of the season, but oftentimes inappropriate for young audiences. Luckily, there are plenty of age-sensitive movies and TV shows with Halloween and autumn themes. Check out our list of suggestions below!

 

Beetlejuice (1988) 

Caspar (1995) 

Coraline (2009) 

Halloweentown (1998) 

Hocus Pocus (1993) 

Igor (2008) 

It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (1966) 

Monster House (2006) 

Over the Garden Wall (2014) 

Paranorman (2012) 

Scooby Doo! and The Goblin King (2008) 

Scooby Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost (1999) 

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) 

 

We hope these activities help you and your child make the most of this exciting and spooky season. Whether it’s getting out and about in the autumn foliage or staying inside with a Halloween book, hot cocoa, and the jack-o-lanterns all lit, there are many ways to appreciate this special time of year and special time in your child’s life.

Artist Spotlight: Anna Kontoleon and Manos Kontoleon

Welcome to our Artist Spotlight section! Today, we talk with Anna Kontoleon and Manos Kontoleon, a daughter-father duo from Greece and authors of the forthcoming book Comings and Goings. Anna and Manos share their inspirations for the story, how the collaborative writing process took hold, fun travel experiences, and favorite memories during family trips.

 

Anna Kontoleon

Star Bright Books (SBB): What inspired you to collaborate with your father?

 

Anna Kontoleon (Anna): On one of my visits as a writer to a primary school in Chania of Crete, where I live, a young student asked me if I had ever written a book with my father. This question surprised me, realizing that I had never considered this possibility, though I grew up with his stories and I was certainly inspired by him to become a writer myself. So, I answered “no” to the young student, but I kept the idea in a corner of my mind. However, I did not want to collaborate with my father in a book, just because it would be a good idea to do it. I needed a good project that would justify our “co-existence” in the same book.

 

When I later had the idea of Comings and Goings I knew immediately that it was the right opportunity to do it.

 

Manos Kontoleon

SBB: How did it feel to write a book with your daughter?

 

Manos Kontoleon (Manos): The truth is that I had never considered the possibility of writing a book with my daughter. Maybe I should have, however, since Anna always used to be the first reader of my manuscripts and her subtle commentaries were often substantial in defining the last version of my stories. Therefore, when she proposed to me to collaborate in writing together a story inspired by the experiences of our own lives, I was delighted. Having confidence in her vision, I not only accepted her proposal, but I also let her [take] the initiative to develop the storyline and guide me through the whole process.

 

 

SBB: How was the collaborative writing process for Comings and Goings?

 

Anna and Manos: The funny thing is that this book was made in “social distance” far before the social distancing period imposed by the pandemic virus. We all worked remotely: Manos from Athens, Anna from Crete, Fotini Tikkou—who did the illustrations—from Denmark where she lived at the time. We never met [in person] during the writing process and the editing of the book. Thanks to technology this has become possible.

 

As for our collaboration in the writing process, it may not be obvious, but each one of us worked on different parts. Anna had the parts of Alex in a country of Northen Europe, Manos the parts of the relatives in a country of Southern Europe, who are waiting for him and preparing for his longed-for visit. Each of us worked freely and added our own point of view and temperament to the story, without much interference from the other, although of course we had some creative discussions at the editing process.

 

 

SBB: What inspired you to choose the theme for Comings and Goings?

 

Manos: I very often share my personal experiences with the characters of my books. This happened in this story as well. I consented to write the parts of the different members of Alex’s family in his home country, since, you see, Anna kept for her the easy part of the narration of just one main character, the protagonist young Alex and she “charged” me with the parts of seven different persons! (laughing) So, I had to “direct” the preparations of all these people for the visit of their beloved young grandchild, nephew, and cousin. It was expected that I would draw on my own experiences as the grandfather of Anna’s son to talk about my worries and feelings, but I had to get in my other characters’ skin in order to be able to speak for their own feelings and worries as well.

 

 

SBB: Do you identify with any of the book’s characters?

 

Anna: The easy answer would be that I identify with the mother of Alex, which I do of course, but not more than the obvious fact that I am a mother too.

 

I would say that I may identify more with Alex. You know, my personal belief is that the young child we once have been keeps living inside us our whole lives and sometimes takes control of our behavior or our thoughts. And when this child is whispering in our ears, we choose to write children stories.

 

As a child, I traveled a lot on my own without my parents. I think what resurfaces finally in that story is my anticipation of these trips I did on my own, along with the stress before each one of them. Every new step for a child, every change or transition, even a desired one, comes along with intense stress and agony. Because this is how we move forward in life.

 

 

SBB: Were there any particular memories that resurfaced while writing Comings and Goings?

 

Anna and Manos: The story is of course inspired by our personal experiences: the fact that we live far away from each other—well maybe not so far away as we live in the same country, but we still need to travel by airplane or ship to meet since Crete is an island. [Also,] the fact that Anna’s son is always looking forward to visiting his grandparents for the summer holidays, especially at this time when traveling has been for so long forbidden, the preparations before each trip, the waiting and the anticipation of each reunion, the surprise and the joy such a reunion brings. All these personal memories resurface in our history.

 

 

SBB: How do you feel the illustrations represent the anxiety and thrill of traveling?

 

Anna and Manos: We think that the double motif the illustrations use in each [spread] to show what happens at the exact same time in the two different countries, the expressions of doubt, anticipation and anxiety of the characters, the focus on several details and objects that have to do with traveling, and a sense of movement that exists in every page, together with the secret hints to help the child identify where the action takes place (airplane taking off and landing and the compass) and put in order the chaos that precedes each trip, represent very well the anxiety and thrill of traveling.

 

 

SBB: What are some of the best family trips you’ve taken together?

 

Anna and Manos: In the distant past we did some marvelous trips as a family to many different Greek islands. It was a careless and wealthy period in our country’s history and we keep some very nice memories from that time. In recent years, we traveled mostly to meet each other, which is always wonderful, but doesn’t include the joy of discovering a new town or country.

 

We definitely reserve a special place in our hearts to the travel we did last year in London. Exactly one month before the pandemic wave forced a worldwide lockdown, we feel we had a last marvelous chance to explore the English capital as we used to know it.

 

We don’t know when and if we’ll be able to travel abroad again together, in what conditions and [under] what specific restrictions. Traveling tends to be complicated these days. But maybe one day we’ll travel together to the US. We won’t give up on dreaming.

 

 

SBB: Besides writing, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

 

Anna and Manos: Anna enjoys writing songs on her guitar and singing, spending quality time with her son, walking and exploring new paths, and would wish to have the time to read more.

 

Manos enjoys reading books (he actually has a tremendous library at home with bookselves almost everywhere), and he is writing book presentations of his own impressions as an eager reader in several book magazines, sites, and portals. And he is really active writing for his two blogs.

 

 

SBB: Do you have plans for any future collaborations?

 

Anna and Manos: We’re actually considering a sequel of Comings and Goings where we’ll have the chance to show how Alex spends his fabulous holidays with his relatives, while dealing with his homesickness. And at the same time how his parents, who are left behind in the North, deal with his absence, feeling a mixture of carelessness and emptiness at the same time. The story should end with a surprise reunion.

Comings and Goings by Anna Kontoleon and Manos Kontoleon

Creating A Cultural Learning Experience Through Vacation

The arrival of summer means planning family vacations! Although the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly reduced travel options, around 42 percent of Americans are cautiously optimistic about 2021 vacation plans. Small family vacation trips adhering to the CDC safety guidelines are definitely a possibility!

 

A family vacation can be a fascinating learning experience for children through cultural immersion. A 2019 survey by the US Travel Association revealed that 55 percent of Americans traveled in order to learn something new about a place, culture, or history, and 85 percent said they planned trips with the intention of creating an exciting experience for their children. With the US increase in cultural diversity, the need for cultural understanding through vacationing has also augmented as more families opt to teach their children about different heritages and cultures.

 

What are the benefits of a cultural immersion trip?

 

There are several different benefits of taking children on a culturally focused vacation!

From Alicia’s Happy Day, written by Meg Starr, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu

 

1) Cultural Saturation
By the age of 3 or 4, children are aware of their own racial or ethnic backgrounds. Children who experience multicultural surroundings become more aware of different lifestyles and other cultures. This in turn helps activate vital developmental and social-emotional skills such as open-mindedness and empathy. It also helps children to understand inherent biases and stereotypes and how to overcome them. Through cultural appreciation and understanding, children learn to adapt to diverse cultures and environments.

 

2) Increased Cultural Intelligence
As infants and toddlers constantly examine their environments, every moment can become a learning experience. In an article for Parents, child psychologist Dr. Margot Sutherland stated, “An enriched environment offers new experiences that are strong in combined social, physical, cognitive, and sensory interaction.” In other words, infants and toddlers become more attuned to the world around them and can begin to recognize differences and similarities between their upbringing and that of other children.

 

3) Multilingualism
Exposure to different cultures means exposure to different languages. Experts suggest that children under the age of 10 are more adept at learning a new language. “If you want to have native-like knowledge of English grammar you should start by about 10 years old. We don’t see very much difference between people who start at birth and people who start at 10, but we start seeing a decline after that,” said assistant professor of psychology Joshua Hartshorne, who conducted a postdoctorate study on children’s critical period for learning a second language.

 

4) Interconnection
Family vacations allow you to forge memories and bonds with loved ones that last a lifetime. With a cultural focus, your child will learn to embrace other communities and develop a personal connection with them. For multicultural families, a multigenerational vacation can help foster these connections as children learn about their grandparents’ heritage.

From The Girl on the Yellow Giraffe by Ronald Himler

How should I plan a cultural immersion vacation?

 

Admittedly, planning a vacation in these times is tough. However, there are several ways of ensuring a diverse vacation while also maintaining safety. Some of them don’t require traveling too far and can take place in your own city!

 

Below are a few tips for planning a trip that focuses extensively on a cultural experience.

 

1) Celebrate International Festivals
Most families plan vacations around popular American holidays such as the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. This year, you can also celebrate international holidays! The Diversity Calendar 2021 is a great resource that includes holidays and major events from other cultures such as the Lantern Festival, a Chinese festival, or Holi, an Indian festival. You and your child can read books on such festivals together and visit nearby areas where celebrations take place. This way, your child can simultaneously have fun and learn the significance of festivals in your community.

 

2) Visit Local Areas
Instead of visiting the same tourist spots and attractions, look for local museums and historical villages of different communities. For instance, the Museum of African American History in Boston focuses on Black culture and hosts collections of historical items accrued the last 50 years. Another great option is the National Museum of the American Indian, part of the Smithsonian Museum complex, which celebrates Indigenous tribes and houses one of the world’s most expansive collections of Native artifacts.

 

3) Try Local Cuisines
Book a hotel that offers cooking classes for cuisines from a different culture and whip up new dishes with your child! Another great way of assimilating cultures is by visiting local food markets and restaurants. This 2017 blog compiles all the best cultural markets in the US. Local cuisines offer a variety of dishes that will enhance your child’s palates. You can also extend their vocabulary knowledge by teaching them the local names of each dish. When visiting any restaurant, make sure to follow all current CDC guidelines and maintain social distancing wherever required!

From Zachary’s Dinnertime, written by Lara Levinson and illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright

4) Attend Local Events
Although difficult during the pandemic, live events are one of the best and most entertaining ways of learning about a new culture! Live music and dances are especially interactive, often inviting audiences to participate. In Los Angeles, a famous music festival called Mariachi USA is held annually. It features performances from Mexican and American mariachi musicians, along with other mesmerizing folkloric musicians.

 

As you can see, there are a myriad of possibilities in which you can help your child learn about new cultures through vacation activities. These experiences will aid children in developing cultural understanding, while also creating memories the whole family can cherish for a lifetime.

Regarding Rabbits and Eggs: The Origins of Easter Traditions

Easter is almost upon us, and soon the legendary Easter Bunny will make its annual Sunday morning appearance, delivering chocolate, candy, and toys, and (of course) hiding Easter eggs. The Easter Bunny, or Easter Rabbit, is certainly the most well-known secular symbol of this Christian holiday. But how did this beloved animal become so deeply ingrained in the celebration of Easter?

 

As with many ancient legends, the origins of the Easter Bunny are primarily unknown. One theory suggests the Easter Bunny’s beginnings are with the ancient pagan festival of Eostre. This celebration honored the goddess of fertility, Eostre, whose animal symbol was the rabbit. Even separate from this particular festival, some sources note that the pagans historically viewed the rabbit as a “symbol of fertility and new life.”

 

No one really knows how this rabbit of antiquity morphed into the Easter Bunny we know and love today. Research suggests the legend of the Easter Bunny may have traveled to America with German immigrants in the 1700s. German traditions at the time upheld the tale of the egg-laying Osterhase or Oschter Haws (Easter hare) that appeared specifically for Easter. German children would create nests for this creature to lay its colored eggs. After German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania, the custom soon spread to other areas of the United States.

 

Like the Easter Bunny itself, colorful eggs may also originate from pagan traditions. Eggs were traditionally regarded as a symbol of new life and were consequently incorporated into many different festivals celebrating the coming of spring. With the advent of Christianity, the egg and its accompanying symbolism were given new meaning and came to “represent Jesus’ emergence from the tomb and resurrection.”

 

The custom of decorating eggs for Easter Sunday may have begun as far back as the thirteenth century. In addition to its status as a symbol of new life, the egg was also on a list of prohibited foods—thought to date back to the fifth century—that Christians could not eat during Lent, the forty days of fasting and penance before Easter. In preparation for Easter, Christians during the 1200s began to come together to decorate the eggs they could eat again that Sunday. While eggs are no longer banned for modern observances of Lent, the practice of decorating eggs has since become a permanent fixture in Easter celebrations.

 

Whatever its history may be, the myth of the Easter Bunny and its colorful eggs is fully ingrained in culture today. In fact, the Easter Bunny is such a mythical creature that even rabbit children are convinced their father could be this legendary figure! This scenario is exactly what occurs in Lorna Balian’s Humbug Rabbit: while Grandma prepares for Easter, five little rabbit children, who live below ground, learn the legend of the Easter Bunny for the first time and are quick to believe their own father is the culprit. Watch the two worlds meet in a joyous celebration of Easter!

Celebrate National Reading Month at Home with Your Toddler

“You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book” —Dr. Seuss

 

The birthday of one of the most celebrated children’s authors of all time, Dr. Seuss, just passed, and it falls in March—National Reading Month. In 1998, the National Education Association of America established National Reading Month to honor author, cartoonist, and animator Dr. Seuss, and to encourage reading and literacy habits in children. The month-long celebration is intended to help children discover the pleasure in reading, while aiding their language development skills at the same time.

 

While schools all across America celebrate National Reading Month for children in kindergarten and above, parents can celebrate with their toddlers at home, too! Here are some roles that you can play to celebrate National Reading Month with your young ones in order to jumpstart language development and an interest in reading.

 

Let’s start with an activity as simple as singing the alphabet song, which can greatly improve a toddler’s literacy and cognitive skills. Singing out loud to children helps create a phonological awareness in them, which is the first step in early language development. They will gradually be able to pick up on the sounds of the alphabet and learn to associate each sound with a word. The best way to do this is to recite every letter using an alphabet chart or alphabet flash cards, while pointing to a related object (e.g. A for apple, B for ball, etc.). Animal ABC by Juan de Lascurain and ABC by Brian Wildsmith are two great titles that can help catch the attention of toddlers with eye-catching designs and colors.

 

Rhyming and poetry books also serve the same purpose as alphabet books. Children will learn to pick up on rhythmic patterns and vibrations in sounds, making it easier for them to alter their tones accordingly. The added benefit is that reading rhymes out loud coupled with some fun activities will help toddlers recognize pauses and patterns in speech. You can play a picture-card game with your child and have them come up with rhyming words for every card they draw (e.g. if they draw a card with a picture of a ball, encourage them to come up with rhyming words like “tall,” “wall,” and “call”). Some Star Bright titles that can assist in this aspect of learning are Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses and Edith Baer’s Words are like Faces.

 

Wordless picture books may contain little or no text, but can be vastly important. They allow children to interpret the stories from only pictures, details, and character expressions. Kids learn the art of prediction and improve their observational skills and critical thinking. One among the many fun activities to do with wordless books is to ask your toddler to retell the story in their own words, and watch how the story unfolds in their imaginative eyes. Children pull words from their memory in order to recite their version—and honestly, they have so much fun doing it that we can’t help but smile. A Circle of Friends by Giora Carmi, with beautiful illustrations and an equally beautiful storyline, is a perfect fit for this activity.

 

Puzzle books and activity books go a long way in helping children exercise their brains and improve their imaginations. Although toddlers may be too young to solve the puzzles, it will greatly improve their spatial reasoning and hand-eye coordination. An in-home activity that you can try with your toddler is to bring together the different shapes (square, circle, triangle) in their favorite puzzle book and help match the shapes and shape colors to patterns in the book. Over time, they will develop a knack for recognizing patterns and shapes, and associate colors with them (e.g. an apple is a circle and is red).

 

Make this year’s National Reading Month a special one for your toddler by illustrating the impact reading can have on them and indulge in some fun, quality time with your tiny tot.

Leprechaun Lore

St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, and with it comes the ever-popular figure from Irish mythology and folklore: the leprechaun. Though not connected with the historical figure of St. Patrick, or the original celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, the leprechaun is now a well-recognized symbol of Ireland and Irish culture.

 

The earliest origins of this mythical creature are thought to date back to before the arrival of the Celts in Ireland. Some scholars speculate that leprechauns were originally linked to “faerie forts” and “faerie rings,” small mounds of earth with unknown origins scattered throughout Ireland. At some point in history, the leprechaun morphed into its own entity, distinct from the other fairy beings of Irish folklore. These early leprechauns were characterized as little old men and were thought to be shoemakers or cobblers for these fairies.

 

Leprechauns Never Lie by Lorna Balian

The legend of the leprechaun soon came to describe these supernatural beings as “crotchety, solitary, yet mischievous creatures”—diminutive shoemakers who hid the gold they made from their labors in a pot at the end of a rainbow or scattered throughout the mountains and forests. Additionally, leprechauns were originally thought to wear red, and only in the twentieth century did the image of the leprechaun change to a figure in green, coinciding with a general shift in associating the color green with anything Irish.

 

Today, leprechauns in popular culture are perhaps not as cranky, yet they still maintain a reputation for mischief. In Lorna Balian’s Leprechauns Never Lie, Ninny Nanny and Gram are in a bad state—the rain barrel is empty, the potato field needs digging, and all they have for food is rainwater soup! Yet, Ninny Nanny is lazy, so she decides to catch a leprechaun and find out were he has hidden his pot of gold. But finding the leprechaun’s fortune turns out to be much more than Ninny Nanny and Gram bargained for. The leprechaun leads them on a merry chase throughout their farm—all with the best intentions!

 

If young readers would like to catch their own leprechaun, consider helping them set up a leprechaun trap to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Construct a trap that lures the leprechaun onto a fake floor with spray-painted “gold,” or assemble a trap that uses a shoebox, a dowel, and (of course) gold to catch the leprechaun under the box.

 

Have fun building and decorating a trap, but don’t forget that leprechauns are mischievous and smart creatures, so you never know what to expect!

Valentine’s Day as a Teaching Opportunity

Valentine’s Day can be an excellent teaching tool for young students. Today, rather than focusing on the “Hallmark holiday” aspect of Valentine’s Day, many elementary teachers and parents instead seize the opportunity to discuss the concepts of inclusivity, kindness, and generosity in the classroom and at home.

 

In Miriam Cohen’s Bee My Valentine, all the first graders in Jim’s classroom are excited to exchange valentines. “Everyone must send a card to everyone else in the first grade,” says the teacher. “Then nobody will be sad.” When Valentine’s Day arrives, everyone is happy—except for George, who somehow receives fewer valentines than everyone else. Through the encouragement and guidance of their teacher, Jim and his classmates find different ways to show George how much they care about him.

 

If valentines are distributed to classmates, as in Bee My Valentine, some teachers remind children they must bring enough for everyone. Doing otherwise easily results in hurt feelings (like George’s). Perhaps not all students want to bring valentines for everyone in the class. But some elementary teachers, like Eric Henry from Skokie, Illinois, counter this stance with discussions on fairness and inclusivity. Eric explains different scenarios to his students and asks how they would feel if they didn’t receive any valentines, or were given poorly made ones. Students are encouraged to see things from another point of view and empathize with one other.

 

Other elementary teachers integrate different activities, rather than ask students to exchange valentines. Jessica Boschen, for example, incorporates an activity focusing on self-love into her Valentine’s Day syllabus. Jessica notes that many children in her class “don’t hear words of affirmation on a daily basis nor do they come to school with a positive self-worth.” In her classroom activity, students are asked to reflect on three things: what they can do, who they are, and their different character traits. The students must then pick their favorite attribute and write it on a heart to be posted on the wall for everyone to see!

 

Parents can also use Valentine’s Day to celebrate kindness and generosity at home with their young children. Before Valentine’s Day arrives, parents and children can hold a valentine-making session together: construction paper, markers, glitter, and stickers are all part of the fun! Kids will have fun creating valentines with personal messages for friends and family members, and parents can use this time to talk about being considerate and compassionate to others. On Valentine’s Day, some parents begin the morning with a special breakfast before school, such as heart-shaped waffles and strawberries, and leave little notes of appreciation for their children to find throughout the day, either at home or in backpacks and lunchboxes. Other parents volunteer at retirement centers or pet shelters with their kids. During dinner, parents can initiate a conversation in which kids go around the table and name what they love and appreciate most about each person there.

 

While generosity, kindness, and inclusivity are all concepts that children can learn throughout the year, focusing on these ideas in celebration of Valentine’s Day will only make the holiday more meaningful. This February 14th, use the day as a teaching opportunity (and a time to eat chocolate)!

The Origins of Black History Month

February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate the essential role of African Americans in United States history and commemorate African American achievement. It is important to take a moment to understand how and why Black History Month came to be.

 

Widely regarded as the “Father of Black History,” African American historian Carter G. Woodson made it his life’s mission to remedy the dearth of information about black historical achievements and black contributions in the making of the United States as we know it today. The son of former slaves, Woodson felt a proper education was vital in understanding and upholding the right to freedom, noting: “If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.” In 1912, Woodson graduated from Harvard University with a PhD in history, the second African American ever to obtain a doctorate from the school. (The first was W.E.B. Du Bois, who graduated in 1895.)

Carter G. Woodson

 

Given his academic focus, Woodson was acutely aware of both the distinct lack of attention given to black history and the potential consequences this could hold. Consequently, in September 1915, he joined forces with Jesse E. Mooreland, a prominent minister at the time, to found the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). Today, this organization is known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).

 

In 1926, under Woodson’s guidance the ASNLH sponsored a national “Negro History Week” and chose the second week of February for the event, since the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and Frederick Douglass (February 14) are celebrated during this time. Woodson, together with the ASNLH, printed and distributed photographs, books, historical bibliographies, and other literature that suggested different ways to celebrate, such as parades featuring notable African American figures, banquets, speeches, poetry readings, and lectures.

 

The week then began to gather momentum. US cities and towns held various celebrations, founded history clubs, and hosted events, while teachers enthusiastically gathered relevant materials and dedicated coursework to the occasion. Soon, the Departments of Education for various states like Delaware, North Carolina, and Virginia partnered with the ASNLH to promote the event.

 

Over the next few decades, mayors throughout the country established proclamations that recognized “Negro History Week” every year. In 1969, African American professors and members of the Black United Students group at Kent State University proposed extending the week to an entire month, and, in 1970, students and faculty celebrated the first Black History Month. Other colleges and universities soon followed suit.

 

On the fiftieth anniversary, President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976, calling on American citizens to seize the “opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” Since this announcement, every US president has put forth proclamations that officially endorse the ASALH’s annual theme for Black History Month.

 

Since 1928, each of these weeks—and later, months—has been oriented around a specific theme in order to even further direct the attention of the public. Such themes have ranged from “Civilization: A World Achievement” to “African Background Outlined” to “African Art, Music, Literature: A Valuable Cultural Experience.” ASALH provides the full list of these themes for further exploration. This year, the theme for Black History Month is Black Migrations, which, as the ASALH describes, specifically highlights the “movement of people of African descent to new destinations and subsequently to new social realities.”

 

Today, Black History Month is celebrated throughout the United States in schools and communities through lesson plans and classroom activities, history clubs, lectures, performances, museum exhibitions, and so much more. Starting in 1987, other countries also began celebrating Black History Month: Canada in February, and the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Ireland in October. Be sure to research what events are being held in your area for Black History Month so you and your family can participate!

Make a Friend Day!

February 11th is National Make a Friend Day!

 

Good friendships play an important role in maintaining a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. In fact, some studies have shown that having close friends can positively impact your health, boost confidence, reduce stress levels, and even increase your chances of living longer!

 

Friends are key for everyone, but studies have found that friendships in young children may have even more of a mental and emotional impact since such relationships are highly influential in a child’s development. A study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign determined that friendships made during a child’s preschool years can provide a valuable setting for developing communicative, emotional, and overall social skills. Even at such a young age, these friendships give children feelings of security and a sense of being part of a group. Additionally, similar to its effects on adults, having friends can lower children’s stress levels and thus increase overall health and happiness.

 

Dr. Paul Schwartz, a professor of psychology and education at Mount Saint Mary College and an expert in child behavior, further explains some of these crucial social skills learned in childhood friendships. Schwartz notes that friendships create an area for children to learn about differing viewpoints, as well as grow to understand the nuances and rules of conversation. Schwartz even speculates that a child’s experiences with good friendships could be a factor in positive school performance.

 

How can children demonstrate how to be good friends? In Friends at School by Rochelle Bunnett, which intertwines friendship and learning at a mixed-ability preschool, friends go to the park, eat snacks together, and tell stories. At the end of the day, all of the students put on their coats and wave goodbye to each other before going home.

 

For slightly older children, Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire! by Miriam Cohen shows readers how they can notice when someone is lonely and begin a new friendship. When Alex, the new kid at school, gets in trouble for lying, everyone shuns him—except Jim, who decides Alex needs a friend.

 

 

Be Quiet, Marina! by Kirsten DeBear and Laura Dwight illustrates how children can be friends in light of differences and difficulties. Two girls—Marina, who has cerebral palsy, and Moira, who has Down syndrome—have a hard time playing together. However, the two soon learn to communicate their feelings, and are now the best of friends!

 

In Show Me How To Be A Friend, J.A. Barnes helps young children on the Autism spectrum understand how they can be good friends. The book opens with “What do I do to make a friend?” before displaying young children sharing toys, taking turns, and saying sorry when they hurt each other. Pictures throughout the book feature children hugging, laughing, and playing, to help the reader understand how to be a good friend.

 

Today, encourage your child to make a new friend!