Rhyming Prompt: December 18

One thing I love doing is planning surprises
As I’ve done for you. It emphasizes
How well I know you, and what you’ll enjoy—
If I didn’t know that these rhymes might annoy!
I think you should try it for one you adore.
They’ll be so grateful! And what is more
You’ll have the pleasure of seeing their smile
When you show them some fun in your own special style.

Download the prompts for December 17-20 here as a PDF or here as a Microsoft Word Document (you may have already printed these—I’m just re-posting them here for convenience).

A close-up image of the December 18 prompt. It is printed on cream cardstock with a green border and nestled in a lit Christmas tree. There is a gold wax seal of a frog in the lower righthand corner.

Other Materials:

TBD, it depends on what your child chooses for the activity!

Suggested Pose:

My pose is quite self-serving today. I have Frantz perched on the fort-building blocks in an effort to steer my older daughter in that general direction.

Activity:

Work with your child to plan a fun activity for someone else. This might be a sibling, someone else who lives in your house, a pet, or even the frog himself. I’ll have both of my kids plan and implement a fun activity for each other. If I had to guess, Clementine (4) will want to build a fort filled with board books for Lucy (age 2) and Lucy will want to set up a tea party for Clementine. It should be pretty cute.

Rationale:

This is all about perspective-taking. In order to pull this off, your child will need to carefully consider what someone else would enjoy.

Book Recommendation:

This is an odd choice, because it’s a picture book about Ramadan, but bear with me. Lailah’s Lunchbox, by Reem Faruqi and Lea Lyon, is a lovely book about a young girl fasting for Ramadan for the first time. The reason I like it for this activity is because it gestures toward the ways in which acts of kindness need to be specifically tailored for different recipients. Because Lailah is fasting, she comes to school without lunch, and she is initially reluctant to tell anyone why. Her classmates and teacher offer her beautiful and tempting food, which is objectively kind, but of course because Lailah is trying to fast, it is contextually unhelpful. Once Lailah reveals her reason for fasting she is allowed to enjoy the lunch hour in the library so she won’t be tempted, and the class is excited to learn about her culture. You can watch a read aloud here.

An image of the cover of Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story by Reem Faruqi and Lea Lyon.

There is nothing that makes my life easier than having everything I need on hand. I am embarrassed to admit how many times I’ve forsaken some planned activity for my kids because I need, say hypothetically, glitter glue and craft sticks, and what am I, a craft store? Am I just supposed to have everything ever in my house? Who has the room?! But I digress. To help us all avoid weeping in the Michaels parking lot during a pandemic (or am I the only one?), I’m providing a very detailed list of everything I think we will need for this project.

You will already have many of these items, and most others are available at the grocery store. I have broken them out into sections to make it easier to think about your shopping. I’ve provided links for some products, many of which are to Amazon for your convenience. Of course, feel encouraged to look locally and from your preferred retailers.

FOOD

Graham crackers
Powdered sugar
Meringue powder
Hot chocolate
Marshmallows (any size)
Snacks that are free of palm oil. You can find a useful list here. We’ll likely do veggie straws, honey maid graham crackers, and fruit. Anything fresh will be palm oil free.
Some shelf-stable foods like peanut butter, tuna, canned stews, or soups, OR money to donate to a local food bank, OR something to make and bring to a friend/neighbor/family member of your choosing.
You might want some small, festive candy style treats for setting up your frog, but this is optional. I’ll be picking up some Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark Dove promises for compliment day!

CRAFT SUPPLIES

FROM THE GROCERY STORE

Peanut butter, suet, lard, or vegetable shortening
Vegetable oil
Dish soap
Blue food coloring (optional)
Cotton balls and/or white pompoms
On 12/11 the kids will make a gift. This can be whatever you want it to be. If you want to have them make salt dough ornaments, you’ll need flour, salt, and ribbon or twine. We’ll be making some lovely lotion bars, which require coconut oil, cocoa or shea butter, beeswax, and some sort of silicone mold (ice cube trays work fine, or something like this).

FROM ELSEWHERE

Birdseed like this.
Clay. We’ll be using something like this.
Crayons in a variety of realistic skin tones. We have this set. You could probably find colors in your regular coloring supplies, but avoid traditional but reductive analogs (yellow, white, black, etc.).

TO FIND OR REPURPOSE

Pine cones (for bird feeders)
Magazines and catalogs for collaging

THINGS YOU PROBABLY HAVE ALREADY

String or twine (8-10 inches)
Glue
Craft paper (white/construction)
Crayons/markers/pens/watercolors—whatever you have and prefer—for creative expression
Scissors
A tray/bowl/tub that can get messy
At least one age-appropriate book with protagonists who are not white, heteronormative, cisgender, able-bodied, etc. Race/sexuality/gender identity or expression/disability does not need to be the theme of the story. You likely already have some of these in your child’s home library so it need not be a new purchase, but I’ll also post lots of recommendations throughout the month.
I’ll be making the daily prompts printable, so you might want to stock up on printer paper and ink. I’ll likely get some card stock to print on. If you don’t have a printer, don’t worry—I’ll keep the prompts short. You might want some fun pens/paper to write out the daily prompts if you won’t be using the tech!

GIFTS/EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIES

Lights of Winter: Winter Celebrations Around the World, by Heather Conrad and DeForest Walker. Alternatively, you could just have a conversation with your kids about what winter celebrations look like for other families around the world.
I’ll be purchasing this Toob of Penguins for a fun “clean your habitat” activity, but you might use any wintery washable figures you have on hand. They will get greasy.
Respect the Earth conversation cards. I love Eeboo as a company, and both of my kids adore their card decks. These cards focus on individual responsibility rather than structural change, but they are still a great way to get kids excited about having environmental conversations. Mary DeMocker’s The Parents’ Guide to Climate Revolution would be a great alternative, but I’ll also post a couple of discussion suggestions in advance if you don’t want to buy either.
Something to thank your postal worker or delivery people. This could be a card, a gift bag, a gift card, or even just a well-timed wave.
A book your kids have outgrown to leave at a Little Free Library.

December 18: Plan the Day