Ryers Readers - Hooray for the Holidays!

Episode Date: December 15, 2023

Gavin is excited to share his holiday traditions with his classmates and also learn about the different holiday traditions they celebrate!

Let's do this. Thank you so much for tuning into today's story. Don't forget to rate and follow so you never miss out on all the Ryers' readers fun. Before we get into the story, do you want to know a fun fact? Did you know that I would like to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season filled with love, laughs, and lots of wonderful memories? Thank you all so much for being part of the Ryers Readers community. Okay, story time.

Today, we are going to read, Hooray for the Holidays by Catherine Hapka. Gavin is in kindergarten. It is the day before winter break. Are you all excited for the holidays? Asked Miss Green. Yes! The kids cheer.

Families celebrate different traditions during the holidays. They pass them on year after year, says Miss Green. What does your family do for the holidays? Miss Green asks, Draw your family tradition. The kids get to work. Gavin grabs a green crayon. He draws a Christmas tree.

He draws a present. A new soccer ball! soccer ball is inside. Abby looks at Gavin's picture. That looks like fun, she says. Thanks, Gavin says. I love the holidays. Miss Green claps her hands. It is time to share our family traditions. Who wants to go first? she asks. Me, me, Gavin says. Gavin shows his pictures. My family celebrates Christmas. We sing Christmas carols, he says.

We put out cookies for Santa. This is Christmas morning, Gavin says. We go to church, then we open gifts. Good work, Gavin, Miss Green says. Who wants to go next? Gavin wonders what his friends drew. Will all the pictures look the same? My family is Jewish.

Ben says, we celebrate Hanukkah. It lasts eight days. We light a candle on the menorah every night. We play a game called Dradle. We get a present every night too. Jada is next. My family celebrates Kwanza, she says. It is an African-American holiday.

We celebrate for seven. Seven days. Kwanza honors our history and community. We light candles on the canara. We have red, green, and black balloons. Next comes Abby. My family is from Sweden, she says. We celebrate St. Lucia's Day.

It is the shortest day of the year, so we celebrate light. Kids wear white and carry candles. Then we have a parade. Now it is Roberto's turn. My family is from Mexico. We celebrate Christmas for nine days. We have a pinata, he says. It is filled with treats.

We break the pinata and eat the treats together. My family is from Haiti, Jack says. We celebrate on Christmas Eve. We leave our shoes on the porch. Santa fills them with presents. It would be fun to share all these traditions, Gavin says. We will, Gavin, Miss Green says. It is time for our holiday party.

Hooray! Gavin cheers. The other kids join in. Miss Green leads the way to the lunchroom. There is a Christmas tree and a menorah. There is a canara with candles. There is a pinata filled with yummy snacks. and there are shoes filled with presents.

Gavin cries. Happy holidays, everyone. The end. Don't forget to stick around to see if you can answer today's paying attention question. Before you go, do you think you can answer today's paying attention question? When Gavin draws a picture of his holiday tradition, what is in favor of? side of the present he drew. If your answer was a soccer ball, you did it. Great job. You sure were paying attention. I hope you enjoyed that story. I wonder what we're going to read next.

Happy holidays, everyone.