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December 18, 2005
Twas the Several Nights Before Christmas
There are many Christmas stories out there. I like Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" myself, but "The Gift of the Magi" is a nice one too. "Twas the Night Before Christmas" is definitely a favorite. If you want more current fun Grinches certainly can capture your attention. Kids like to hear stories as well as read them. Imaginations are already running wild with what's under the tree and what's coming Christmas Eve so add to the excitement with a few stories.
Words make pictures in a child's head. The word pictures depend a great deal on words the child already has a picture for. Let's take snowman. I grew up in Arizona so my relationship to snowmen was very sketchy. It was based mostly on pictures in books until one year my parents took me to the woods in the north part of the state. We made snowmen and angels in the snow, threw snowballs, and finished the day with hot chocolate and cold toes. It was a great deal of fun and gave me a much better appreciation of Frosty.
You may not be able to visit Dicken's England, but pictures in a book matched with the word pictures in a child's head allows Scrooge and his ghostly friends to come alive year after year.
Read the stories. Look at the pictures. Hear the words. Build the pictures in a child's head. Enjoy the stories every night before Christmas.
Posted by Dr Joni at December 18, 2005 04:58 PM