25+ Gift Ideas For Learning To Read

It is that time of year when we scramble to find Christmas presents that a meaningful and thoughtful. This is what led me to create this gift list of handpicked phonics and reading products. Not only are these reading products great as gifts, but they are also perfect for classroom settings(if your budget allows). Some of these products come highly recommended by my Home-school pals too.

Maybe you are looking for guidance to teach your child to read or perhaps you are looking of ways to assist your teacher friend in their workplace? How about gifting a learning tool to the classroom? Maybe your child’s teacher doesn’t need another coffee mug but instead would appreciate some hands-on learning games and products so that they can continue to teach young children to read and write.

We have hand-selected 25 products that are great learning games and tools and you can see the full list here. Make sure you pop back as we add more and more products as they become available on the market. We would also LOVE for you to share your product reviews and suggestions too, make sure to leave a comment below if you know a product that is worthy of a mention to this list!.

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Fun End of the School Year Activities for the Classroom

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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Have you read?

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