What are your Christmas traditions? On Christmas Day when I was small (and not so small), my siblings and I would be packed off to our rooms to get dressed while our parents constructed elaborate trails of string for each of us. The string would weave in and out of furniture, up and down the stairs - once even out of an upstairs window! - creating a path for each of us to follow. We would wind the string up as we went (although I never did manage to get it back into a ball), our excitement growing, until we finally reached the end of the trail and found the presents they had bought for us that year, usually in some obscure location like inside the piano stool or under the sink. I always thought that when I was a grown up and had my own family, I would do the same - it turns out I have a lot less patience than my parents and much prefer a lazy Christmas morning drinking tea! We have our own traditions though, which my children may or may not pass on to their own, but I hope that they look back on them as fondly as I do when I think about those string trails. 

Another tradition that I have always loved, but never taken part in, is the Icelandic Jolabokaflod: the giving (and immediate reading of!) new books on Christmas Eve. Nothing quite says cosy Christmas holiday like curling up and getting lost in a new story; and even better if it’s Christmas themed, which all the recommendations later in this article are! Reading Christmassy books is an excellent way to get into the Christmas spirit and one that comes highly recommended by your friendly festive school librarian.

Whatever your traditions, I hope that books feature in them in some way or another, and that you have a truly wonderful, cosy, relaxing Christmas holiday. 

Library News

This half term has been extraordinarily busy at either end, with a bit of a lull in the middle! All of the classes have been in for a session on story telling, and most have also done a fact finding mission too. As we’ve approached Christmas we’ve wound down a little with some festive stories and some Christmas themed activities, which have been very enjoyable. 

We’ve had this current library system of activities in place now since Easter this year, and are constantly trying to tweak and evolve so that each and every class (students and staff) can get the best out of our beautiful library. Listening to feedback is really important and so from January we will be making some further slight changes to how classes access the library. Each year group will have a fortnightly ‘day’ that is theirs to visit the library. The first of these each half term will be a targeted library activity; whether that’s story telling, fact finding, encyclopedia bingo, book chat, etc. The others will be a return to having an open time for reading for pleasure, which may look like: quiet reading, reading the class book, or Mrs Campling sharing something new and exciting. As with assemblies, three ‘golden’ stickers will be given out to each class for children who are demonstrating exemplary behaviour, which will equate to dojo points.

There will still be plenty of opportunities for independent book changing if needed; for KS1 weekly on a Friday and for KS2 in the mornings (up to lunch time) and at 3pm. 

Book Fair

It was fantastic to once again to see so many families shopping at the book fair last Friday - your purchases raised a whopping £488.67 for us to spend on books for school, so thank you very much!

Millionaire's Row

Congratulations to the following children who have joined the Millionaire's Row this half term:

Cian C, Alex B, Dominic C, Florence M, Alice T, Susnato M. And to Mason P who is now a 'triple millionaire!'.

Christmas Book Recommendations

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King’s Christmas Shenanigans by Alex T Smith

The eagle eyed (and elephant-memoried) amongst you will remember me singing the praises of Alex T Smith’s excellent The Grumpus last Christmas, and if you liked it even half as much as I did you’ll be just as excited to hear that he has another festive treat for us this year. The Nutcracker and the Mouse King’s Christmas Shenanigans is a rewriting of the classic Christmas story of ‘The Nutcracker’ (immortalised and softened in ballet form - if you ever read the original you’ll find it much more unnerving). Like Smith’s other Christmas gem, How Winston Delivered Christmas, the story unfolds in 24 chapters, making it the perfect Christmas countdown! Clara and Fritz journey with the Nutcracker into the Kingdom of Sweets, where the Mouse King is trying to stop Christmas by stealing all the sweets - especially the rocket drops that make Father Christmas’s reindeer fly! With the help of an ice chicken, a squirrel and the Mouse King’s daughter herself, our heroes must travel to save the Sugar Plum Fairy and stop the Mouse King’s shenanigans before it’s too late.

 

The Miraculous Sweetmakers: The Frost Fair by Natasha Hastings (recommended for UKS2)

This fantasy novel is set during the Great Frost of 1683, when the Thames froze over. Thomasina is a sweetmaker who blames herself for the death of her twin brother, Arthur. When she meets a mysterious stranger who claims to be able to bring Arthur back, she quickly agrees to his price, not realising that he is an agent of the sinister Father Winter - an ancient deity who feeds on the sadness in people’s souls.

Along with her friend Anne, can she break Father Winter’s curse and free the people he has trapped in the mystical Other Frost Fair?
The writing in this is absolutely fantastic, evocative and gripping; and for a bonus treat it’s illustrated by Alex T Smith (see above)!    

Little Robin Red Vest by Jan Fearnley

The 25th Anniversary edition of this gorgeous picture book really does feel like a cosy winter snuggle, and the illustrations are just lovely. It tells the story of a little robin who, over the course of the Christmas season, lovingly gives away all his brightly coloured vests to help keep other animals warm. His acts of kindness do not go unnoticed, and when he is found by none other than Mrs Claus, she herself knits him a beautiful red vest for him to keep forever.

^{Photo by Pierre Bamin on Unsplash}