Just for fun

Poetry by Ann Dixon

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January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

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While you can find parts of this information on the individual book pages, this section brings all the information together into one valuable resource for students, teachers, and parents. This saves you the trouble of having to print the indivdual links and activities information on the book pages. Here, you'll find all the links on this site in one convenient list.

Activities and links for The Sleeping Lady

The Sleeping Lady legend is a story about a real mountain in Southcentral Alaska. Look in an atlas at a detailed map of Alaska. Can you find Cook Inlet? Mt. Susitna? Hint: Look around the city of Anchorage.

Make up your own story about giants who turned into mountains. Explain why and how the change occurred.

If you live in an area with mountains nearby, try to find out if there are any legends about these mountains. Ask older persons who have lived in the area a long time. Also ask your librarian for information on local legends.

Do you think Nekatla would have been successful in negotiating peace with the warriors if someone had not thrown a spear? Why or why not?

Is it easier to start a fight or to stop one? Write about a time when you were in a fight with someone, or could have been. How was your problem solved? Would you solve it the same way again, or can you think of a better way?

Links:

For information about prehistoric Alaska -- or prehistoric fossils and conditions in your state -- visit www.geobop.com/paleozoo.

For more books about Alaska, check out www.gacpc.com. Click on "Alaska Northwest Books" or "Children’s Books."

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Activities for Trick-or-Treat!

How do you want to dress up next Halloween? Draw a picture!

Trick-or-Treat! uses many different words to describe "going" up and down the street. Which one of those words is your favorite to say? Which is your favorite to do? Can you think of other words to describe "going"? (A few examples: running, hopping, marching, skipping.) Write a list -- then do them!

Trick-or-Treat! counts by twos up to ten and back down to zero. This time, count to twenty and back. Harder: count by threes to 21 and back. Harder still: count by fives to 25 and back. You can also illustrate your counting by drawing a shapes, symbols, or simple objects to match the numbers.

Trick-or-Treat! has many words that rhyme. How many words besides "street" and "treat" can you think of that rhyme with "feet"? Make a list. Write two to four short sentences that rhyme using words from your list.

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Activities for Waiting for Noël

Make a gingerbread Advent candle holder. Roll out gingerbread cookie dough to between three-eighths and one-half inch thickness. Use a bowl to cut out a circle six to eight inches in diameter. Bake the cookie until done and cool. Place four birthday candles in birthday-cake candle holders around the edge of the circle. Place one candle in the middle. Begin lighting your candles!

Make a wooden Advent candle holder. You’ll need either a piece of two-by-four inch lumber about one foot long or a small, one-foot log, four to six inches in diameter and sawed or planed flat on one side. With a parent, use a hand drill or power drill to make five one-inch holes in the wood. (If using a log, drill the holes into the rounded side, not the flat side.) Drill the hole about one inch deep. You may sand and paint or varnish the wood if you like, or simply leave it unfinished.

Make an Advent calendar. Start with two big sheets of construction paper. On one, draw a large Christmas tree, star, stable, or other symbol of Christmas. Then draw twenty-five three-sided doors, each about one inch square, within your symbol. Use scissors, or with the help of an adult, a sharp knife, to cut the three-sides of your "doors" so they will open. Glue the page with doors onto the bottom page. (Glue along the edges, being careful not to glue the doors shut!) Cut out twenty-five small symbols of Christmas from old Christmas cards and magazines. Glue these onto the bottom page inside the "doors." (Or, draw your own Christmas symbols.) Use a small piece of tape to hold each door shut. Number the doors one to twenty-five and decorate your picture with paint, glitter, crayons, markers, etc. Beginning on December 1 with door number one, open one door each day. On Christmas Day all the doors will be open!

Make ice lanterns. If it’s cold enough where you live, make ice lanterns by partially freezing water in buckets or cans. Water will freeze first on the bottom and sides. Check the water every hour or so until solid ice has formed on the sides and bottom but there is still some water in the middle. Pour out that water. Warm the container just a little so the ice lantern will slide out easily. Be careful not to break it! Set the lantern outside in a place safe from fire hazards -- in the snow, away from wooden porches or steps -- and place a candle in the middle. When it gets dark, light the candle. It will be beautiful!

Light up the darkness. After it is dark outside, close the curtains and turn off all the lights. Sit in the dark for a minute or more. Can you see anything at all? Can you see well enough to walk across the room? Brush your teeth? Read a book? Now ask an adult to light just one candle. What can you see now? Can you see well enough to do some things? Sing the song "This Little Light of Mine."

Think About/Discuss/Write. Why is light so important? Could we live without light? Why did Jesus say He was the light of the world? What else does the Bible to say about light?

Links:

For more books about Christmas and other Christian holidays, go to www.eerdmans.com, the website of Eerdmans Publishing. Click on "Young Readers" or "Children’s Books."

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Activities for Blueberry Shoe

Plant your own shoe! Fill an old, worn-out shoe with dirt and plant a flower or berry seedling in the dirt. Don’t forget to water it!

Write (or draw a picture -- or both!) about something you lost. Why was it important to you? Did you ever find it? If not, what do you imagine might have happened to it?

Bake blueberry muffins or a blueberry pie. When you’re done eating, take a look at your tongue!

Go on a wild berry-picking expedition. Then try berry-picking at a berry farm. Which is easier? Which do you think is more fun?

What kinds of berries grow where you live? Are any poisonous? Draw and color pictures of these berries, including the leaves.

Links:

For more activities, including a downloadable Study Guide, go to www.gacpc.com/gacpc/kids_studyguides.htm.

For information on blueberries, visit the website of the North American Blueberry Council.

To learn about animals and animal tracks see the website of the National Wildlife Federation.

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Activities for Alone Across the Arctic

Record the temperature and amount of rain every day for one week or more. Compare your measurements to the averages listed in your local newspaper.

Keep a journal for at least one week. Include the weather, any adventures or travels you might take, and your feelings about the things that happen. Write down any problems you encountered and how you handled them. Go back and read your journal. Did you learn anything about yourself? Now try keeping your journal for a month!

Take a day hike, go biking, canoeing or rowing; or use any other method of non-motorized outdoor travel. Record interesting things you noticed, including any animals, unusual plants, people, or surprises, and how you felt about them. Write a poem or letter to an imaginary pen pal about the day.

If you could go on an expedition, where would you go? How would you get there? What supplies, gear, and clothing would you need? Draw up a list and figure out your route. How long do you think it would take?

Links:

For more information and activities related to Alone Across the Arctic, including a downloadable Study Guide, visit www.gacpc.com/gacpc/kids_studyguides.htm.

For more information on adventuring in the Arctic, visit Pam Flowers' web site.

For more books about the Arctic, dog mushing, Alaska, and outdoor adventures see www.gacpc.com. Click on "Alaska Northwest Books."

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Activities for Winter Is

Write a story or poem about something you "can’t wait!" for.

Freeze water in a metal or plastic bowl. How long does it take for the water to freeze solid? How long to thaw? How is the bowl of water like the lake in Winter Is?

Name a wild animal that lives in your area. Draw a picture of it. What do its tracks look like? What does it eat? Where does it sleep? How does it live in winter?

Draw a picture of yourself doing your favorite winter activity. Why is it your favorite thing to do?

Links:

For more activities, information, and art projects related to winter, including a downloadable Study Guide, visit www.gacpc.com/gacpc/kids_studyguides.htm.

For more information and materials on wild animals and animal tracks, go to the website of the National Wildlife Federation at www.nwf.org.

For more books on winter in the North and wild animals, click on "Alaska Northwest Books" and "Children’s Books" at www.gacpc.com.

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www.akcenter.com -- Alaska Center for the Book
www.lcweb.loc.gov/loc/cfbook -- Center for the Book in the Library of Congress
http://litsite.alaska.edu/uaa -- Litsite Alaska

Children's literature
www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html -- resources
www.carolhurst.com -- reviews, ideas for teaching, professional topics
www.cbcbooks.org -- Children's Book Council -- books, catalog, authors, programs and awards, essays
www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander -- ideas and information

Writing and publishing for children
www.scbwi.org -- Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators; information on writing, publishing, SCBWI local chapters, conferences
www.write4kids.com -- Children's Book Insider, a newsletter for children's writers
www.underdown.org -- publishing information
www.aaronshep.com/kidwriter -- writing for children; books, articles, advice, info, forms

Authors/illustrators
www.mindydwyer.com -- Mindy Dwyer
www.pamflowers.com -- Pam Flowers
www.evonzerbetz.com -- Evon Zerbetz

Publishers
www.scholastic.com -- Scholastic
www.gacpc.com -- Graphic Arts Center Publishing Co., parent of Alaska Northwest Books
www.eerdmans.com -- Eerdman's Books for Young Readers

Teacher Guides
www.gacpc.com/gacpc/kids_studyguides.htm

Purchasing books online
www.amazon.com
www.bn.com (Barnes & Nobles)
www.booksense.com (independent booksellers)
www.powells.com (independent bookstore in Portland, OR)

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