THEMATIC THURSDAY--How Do You Disguise A Reindeer?

Welcome Rudolph fans! We are counting down the days until the bright, red nose of everyone's favorite reindeer lights the way to pull Santa's sleigh!

Primary grade students will love reading and writing about real-life reindeer, as well as the team that pulls Santa's sleigh! Find links to resources and activities that are just right for theme days in your classroom!

I'm just in time to link up with my friend Carla over at Comprehension Connection for her Thematic Thursday! It is one of my resolutions for the coming year to include more book reviews and recommendations in my blog posts, and I hope you find them useful!

The first book that I'm going to rave about is a new one I just bought and cannot wait to share with my second graders! Memoirs of an Elf is a hysterical story about three of Santa's little helpers that was written and illustrated by Devin Scillian and Tim Bowers.

This creative team also produced Memoirs of a Goldfish and Memoirs of a Hamster, and their newest collaborative effort is written in the same "journal entry" style. Spark, Bobbin, and Nutshell are a trio of elves who accompany Santa on his Christmas Eve flight around the world. They are responsible not only for reindeer care, but for programming the sleigh's GPS, packing the toy bag, and bringing the Nice List! My favorite part of Spark's notes about his journey are the "little known facts" he shares, along with the "Elfies" he takes with his bright green cell phone camera! Here are a few of my favorites....

Little-Known Facts About Reindeer
(As reported by Spark the Elf)

Reindeer LOVE tinsel but it makes them hyper. It's like 50 cups of coffee!

At the last house, we always join hands and sing "Silent Night." The reindeer, too.

When flying during the day, reindeer must wear sunglasses.

Now if you are wondering, "Why sunglasses for the reindeer? What do they need a disguise for? And why are they flying during the daytime when Santa's journey is supposed to take place during the night?"

Alas, I cannot tell you those answers. It would ruin the story's grand ending. You are just going to have to read the book! You will also find out what kind of cookie is Santa's least favorite if you do! I guarantee that you will read this book with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face! After sharing it with your students, you might want to help them whip up a batch of Reindeer Food they can leave out for Santa's team on Christmas Eve! Click {HERE} for a full list of ingredients, free bag tags, and a tutorial on how to make it!

Credit: Amanda's Parties To Go

The second reindeer-related book that I'd like to rave about is a beloved Jan Brett classic, The Wild Christmas Reindeer. Set on Santa's Winter Farm and featuring a team of animals who are not named Donner, Blitzen, Prancer, and Vixen, this story is about a young girl named Teeka who is given the task of preparing the reindeer for their midnight flight on Christmas Eve.

Instead of becoming familiar with the habits and patterns of Lichen , Tundra, Bramble, and Crag, she tries to impose her own strict rules and harsh demands upon the reindeer herd. Chaos ensues, and a hard lesson about the importance of patience, gentleness, calm persistence, and kindness is learned. The stunning Nordic illustrations and the human-like expressions on the reindeer faces in this story make it one of my favorite holiday read-alouds. My students love comparing what they know from the familiar song, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, to Brett's version of how Santa's sleigh team learns to fly, and I plan to use this book companion to expand and enrich our story response activities next week!

It is one of the many Jan Brett units that was created by my friend Carla
over at Comprehension Connection!

Check out the full preview and her resource description {HERE}.

My Festive Fun pack includes six printable pages with a poem, two riddles, and a puppet pattern that are just right for a themed Reindeer Day in your classroom!
Click {HERE} to see the full resource and preview in my store.

In closing, I'd like to share a song clip of Gene Autry singing

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!

His version made the song famous way back in 1949, and I still play it on guitar for my students during the month of December! One more interesting piece of reindeer trivia is that Montgomery Ward originally published the story of Rudolph by Robert L. May

as a coloring book in 1939!