A Spider's Gift

A group of 3rd graders were learning about holidays around the world. I taught them about Christmas crackers in England (and showed them the Queen's message, they thought that was cool). I also showed them the Christmas tree ornament of a spider that I have on my tree each year. They general consensus is that spiders are for Halloween NOT Christmas. Not so, I tell them and we read the Spider's Gift. The story is of a poor family that doesn't have enough money for Christmas presents but the youngest girl convinces them they should still have a tree. They search for a perfect one and decorate it with homemade ornaments (and it turns out they have enough money for a few Christmasy things). Just before Christmas the mother discovers baby spiders hatching in the tree and wants to throw it outside. The youngest convinces her to have mercy on the spiders and let them stay until Christmas.  The story ends when they return from church on Christmas Eve night and discover the spiders have turned the tree's paper and button ornaments into gold and silver. When we analyzed the theme of the story my students decided it was "mercy". "The mother shows mercy to the spiders, and the spiders show mercy to the family by providing for them." I highly recommend this book whether your are Ukrainian like me or just want to share a good holiday legend with wonderful message.

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