Ms. Nancy Online

For those of you who signed up for The Nutcracker, remember to be at the front of Cerritos Performing Arts Center by 11:05 and gather around the Julian sign. They will not seat us until we are all there, so everybody is depending on you to get there on time. Please review with your student the following so they can better appreciate the performance. Content is taken from the curriculum guide prepared by the Friends of Arts Education at the Cerritos Center.

The story…It is Christmas Eve. Maria and her brother Fritz are anticipating with excitement and impatience the celebration that will take place in their beautiful home in Frankfurt. They are wondering if all their guests will come despite the snow storm. Maria is especially concerned about their godfather, Papa Drosselmeyer. The godfather arrives late and brings with him extraordinary presents among which is an unusual nutcracker that turns out to be a young, handsome prince. Thanks to Nutcracker, Maria is freed of undesirable guests, the mice, and travels to a world of magic and enchantment with her prince. They are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy, and entertained by acrobats and dancers from all over the world! Was it just a dream? What do you think?

The story of the story…The history of the Nutcracker tale is as rich as the story itself. Nearly two centuries ago, in 1815, the German writer E.T.A. Hoffman published a story called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, telling how a little girl’s love brought to life her cherished Nutcracker, an enchanted Christmas gift from her mysterious godfather. In 1847, the French writer Alexandre Dumas published a retelling of Hoffman’s story. From this adaption, the Russian composers Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky and choreographer Lev Ivanov created their ballet, The Nutcracker, which was first performed in St. Petersburg in 1892. Why has The Nutcracker remained so popular throughout the world? As the story explains, “if you love something very much, it is always alive.”

Writing application: Do you have a toy or an object that you love so much you wish it would come to life? If so, describe how you imagine that experience. What conversations would you have with that come-alive object? What in your world would surprise your come-alive object? What would you do on your first day together? (Many of my students (particularly boys) have loved The Indian in the Cupboard books which follow this pattern. ) Non-writers can draw a picture of the object and dictate a story.

The month celebrating Hispanic heritage began September 15th and there are some great resources on the web if you need ideas. I particularly like educationworld.com and teacher.scholastic.com/activities/hispanic. Both have numerous activities that are fun and interesting.

For students in high school, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros would be great reading. For younger students, you might try Love to Mama: A Tribute to Mothers, edited by Pat Mora. She collects pieces from thirteen poets that explore the relationships that are most universal and that tie us all together. Can there ever be enough celebration of mothers?

As I read this Newberry Honor book during the summer, I kept thinking it would make a great read aloud for a family as there is so much to discuss: relationships, history, science, economics, authority and submission, fantasy and reality. Three stories are woven together in this well written tale: the life of Whittington, the scruffy tom cat who wants to be part of the barn community, the 14th century legend of Dick Whittington and his cat told from a cat’s point of view, and the story of Ben, the orphan boy, and how he overcomes his reading obstacle. If you liked Charlotte’s Web, you’ll love this book. Talking animals aren’t my favorite (except in Narnia), but this book hooked me. I’d be interested to know what you think.

A number of parents have asked for suggestions for family or personal reading, so this is the place where you can get suggestions, either from me or someone in this group. In addition, if the students are all reading the same book at the same time, perhaps we can discuss issues that come up online. Last year the 3rd-5th speech/reading class got fired up about reading and talking about what we read. I will try to suggest books that lend themselves to a project or further research that might be suitable for an oral presentation at the project fair in the spring.