December’s Dart, Arrow, and Boomerang selections celebrate the power of family and friendship and provide shiny opportunities to explore in dynamic new ways:
- writing,
- mechanics,
- and literary devices.
And this month’s Quill takes you on an exciting ride exploring modes of transportation, while also nurturing your child’s early reading, writing, and math skills.
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Cars! Boats! Trains! Oh, my! Get ready to move with the December Quill: Transportation!
In this Quill we’ll size up books as we explore book anatomy; label pieces and parts; get a move on to memorize as we develop gross motor skills; train fine motor skills with tracing; keep track with counting; and see how one thing is not like another as we compare and contrast.
NOTE: You can use any transportation picture books you have in your stacks or find at your library.
Some suggestions:
- Choo Choo: The Story of a Little Engine Who Ran Away by Virginia Lee Burton
- My First Day by Phùng Nguyên Quang & Huỳnh Kim Liên
- Room for Everyone by Naaz Khan, illustrated by Mercè López
- DK Smithsonian Our World in Pictures: Cars, Trains, Ships & Planes by Clive Gifford
- Stephen Biesty’s Incredible Cross-Sections by Stephen Biesty
- The Amazing History of Transportation: Machines in Motion by Tom Jackson
Get the Quill.
The Very, Very Far North by Dan Bar-el
Meet Duane, a lovable polar bear who finds friends and adventure wherever he goes!
Our story’s narrator this month has big opinions and can’t wait to share them with you! What a perfect way to demonstrate the role of the intrusive narrator, this month’s literary device!
We’ll also:
- wiggle our way through a look at verbs describing the ways animals move;
- encounter a passage that uses repetition again, and again, and again (to great effect);
- savor some lyrical language;
- ponder the delights of personification;
- split up parts of a sentence and make lists with semicolons;
- consider a cornucopia of color names, and so much more!
Get the Dart.
A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus
This heartwarming story of three siblings evacuated from London to live in the countryside during World War II is a feel-good story—a perfect family read aloud.
December’s literary device is genre. Find out what makes historical fiction unique and explore which genres your family especially enjoys!
We’ll also:
- capture conjunctions and cling or string ideas together;
- show respect with honorifics;
- search for short sentences and some long ones too;
- slide suffixes in at the end;
- discuss the ins and outs of dialogue;
- catch commas carrying out all sorts of jobs; and so much more!
Get the Arrow.
The Silence Between Us by Alison Gervais
This look at a teen girl navigating Deaf culture, high school, and relationship struggles is sure to spark Big Juicy Conversation in your home.
In this Boomerang, we’ll:
- contemplate how conflict is constructed;
- provide background details about narrative exposition;
- get acquainted with character development;
- wait and wait to find out about suspense;
- chat about colloquial expressions with y’all;
- enjoy an aha moment with an exhilarating epiphany and so much more!
Get the Boomerang.
For ages 15-18, check out the Slingshot.
