by Rebecca | Dec 18, 2020 | Educators, Parents
Hanukkah is a holiday celebrated in December for 8 days. The start date might change which begins each year on the 25th day of the Jewish month. This day is also spelled Chanukah. For centuries, Jewish people have had to fight for their religious freedom. Hanukkah is...
by Rebecca | Dec 17, 2020 | Educators, Parents
Kwanzaa is a holiday that originated in 1966 to help African-Americans think of their African ancestry. It is based on the East African principles from the Swahili language. Traditionally, Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26-January 1. It is where families feast,...
by Rebecca | Dec 11, 2020 | Educators, Parents
The deaf community has a rich culture. However, their language and experiences are still not fully understood. They have in the past have been called Dummy, Dumb, Disabled, and so much more. Throughout the years, however, thousands of deaf activists have pushed for...
by Liz | Dec 7, 2020 | Educators
We’ve all been there: we’re in the car or doing chores at home when we think of a song we want to listen to on our smartphone. So, we say “Hey Siri” or “Hey Google”, to put in the request and keep doing what we’re doing. But Siri and Google don’t pick up on what we...
by Rebecca | Dec 5, 2020 | Wordsmiths
Toni Morrison built a legacy on writing about women and Black people in her novels. Morrison challenged the Black experience and brought up topics that made mainstream media question and create a large discourse. With her efforts, Morrison earned the Nobel Peace Prize...
by Rebecca | Dec 4, 2020 | Wordsmiths
Crystal Allen and Mya Tibbs Crystal Allen gives life to a nine-year-old character named Mya. She is bold, fun, and free-spirited. Mya wears cowgirl boots, uses her braids to help her remember the date, and loves her friends. This nine-year-old girl’s personality was...
by Rebecca | Nov 30, 2020 | Parents, Wordsmiths
Jacqueline Woodson is an award-winning author who has written stories for young people, teens, and adults for over 20 years. Woodson writes so that “children will see experiences, they will gain empathy and their world will become bigger.” Woodson’s...
by Liz | Nov 27, 2020 | Educators
For the past 50 years, the conversation around equity in education has surrounded a central topic: the academic achievement gap. But what is the academic achievement gap? Born of the movement for standardized testing, the academic achievement gap is, as it is most...
by Rebecca | Nov 24, 2020 | Educators, Parents
As we celebrate the Thanksgiving, we can also celebrate Indigenous people who lived in America before America was colonized. With November being Native American’s People’s Month, we wanted to share books with you that celebrates their lives and culture....
by Rebecca | Nov 23, 2020 | Educators, Parents
Tents, chairs, flags, ancestral clothes, and a dedicated circle of Kiowa men and women gathered to honor their ancestral tribe. One by one the dancers methodically moved into the circle to the rhythm of the drums. Left-right-left-right dancers stomped continuously as...
