Countdown to Christmas in this gorgeous advent calendar featuring enchanting illustrations inspired by the Harry Potter films. Have a magical Christmas with Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and all your other favourite characters from the Wizarding World in this official Harry Potter advent calendar. This gorgeous illustrated book unfolds to reveal 24 pockets - each with its own holiday surprise inside! From mini books and stickers to colouring sheets and holiday cards, there's something for everyone. Return to Hogwarts with this advent calendar inspired by the films The perfect gift for kids, collectors and Harry Potter fans of all ages! Includes mini books, stickers and more, for hours of fun.

Mastering Basic Skills(R) Kindergarten includes basic skills and concepts essential to kindergarteners. Topics include sight word vocabulary, reading readiness, time and money, language arts and phonics, handwriting, and math. The Mastering Basic Skills(R) series includes grade-specific math and language arts activities as well as reading lists, skills checklists, awards, and mini books. The comprehensive content and extra features increase the value of this series making it an appealing choice to parents looking for extra at-home practice for their child.

This illustrated handbook on teaching young children to draw has been developed using what the authors call the "negotiated drawing approach." It presents this approach to teachers, demonstrating how it works, ideas for future work, and concrete evidence that it actually produces good results.

This volume focuses specifically on narrative inquiry as a means to interrogate research questions in music education, offering music education researchers indispensible information on the use of qualitative research methods, particularly narrative, as appropriate and acceptable means of conducting and reporting research.

This anthology of narrative research work in the fields of music and education builds on and supports the work presented in the editors' first volume in "Narrative Inquiry in Music Education: Troubling Certainty" (Barrett & Stauffer, 2009, Springer). The first volume provides a context for undertaking narrative inquiry in music education, as well as exemplars of narrative inquiry in music education and commentary from key international voices in the fields of narrative inquiry and music education respectively.

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Design Genius Jr.: Adventures in Architecture for Kids introduces kids to the design challenges faced by architects today, including choosing materials, designing for diverse users, and considering the environment. Offering a world of possibilities for learning math, engineering, history, social studies, planning, geography, art, and design, this rich educational resource includes hands-on projects that allow kids to experiment, design, build, succeed, fail, and try again. Children will draw upon many fields of knowledge and sharpen a variety of skills, including observation and communication, as they: Complete building challenges with corrugated cardboard and geodesic forms. Look at how designers have solved impossible problems of gravity and space with creations such as suspension bridges, the Loretto helix staircase, and Brunelleschi's dome. Explore how materials can be used in interesting ways-how paper can go from flimsy to structural, for instance. Participate in family game playing: client and design team-finding creative ways to meet a client's wish list. Use games to test strength, balance, and structure. Engage in pure imaginative archi-doodling. Explain the why. Why did styles evolve as they did? What technology was available when? Design thinking-creative problem solving-will be crucial to resolving the global challenges in business, politics, and the environment facing the next generation. Each book in the Design Genius Jr. series teaches kids this important skill through fun, hands-on projects in a single area of design that challenge them to identify problems, explore possibilities, test ideas, and then come up with original solutions.

In this book from the highly acclaimed Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the incredible life of Harry Houdini, one of the most famous entertainers to have ever lived. When he was four, little Ehrich emigrated with his family from Hungary to the USA. Although they had reached a world of great opportunity, the family lived in poverty and Ehrich had no choice but to go to work from a young age. When he was just nine, Ehrich worked as a trapeze artist, and this experience led him into a life of entertainment. As he grew older, Ehrich continued to play to audiences with fascinating card tricks. But when working as a locksmith by day and honing his magic skills at night, Ehrich realised that he would need more than a deck of cards to really 'wow' people... and so, the great Harry Houdini came to be. As Houdini, the escape artist who could free himself from handcuffs, chains and knots like no one else, he toured the world and became known for his incredible death-defying stunts. This book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the entertainer's life. Little People, BIG DREAMS is a bestselling series of books and educational games that explore the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists and activists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream. This empowering series offers inspiring messages to children of all ages, in a range of formats. The board books are told in simple sentences, perfect for reading aloud to babies and toddlers. The hardback versions present expanded stories for beginning readers. Boxed gift sets allow you to collect a selection of the books by theme. Paper dolls, learning cards, matching games and other fun learning tools provide even more ways to make the lives of these role models accessible to children. Inspire the next generation of outstanding people who will change the world with Little People, BIG DREAMS!

"It never occurred to me while growing up that art is an industry involving countless jobs, so if this book helps shed light to just one kid that it is a viable career option, then it has done its job, as art is indescribably important!" -Oliver Jeffers, Artist and Illustrator "This book so beautifully explains to kids what goes into making an art exhibition. It's not just about an artist hanging something on a wall for people to see: it's so much more lively, layered, and community-driven. Even I learned a ton about what truly goes into a fantastic art show!" -Joy Cho, Author and Founder of Oh Joy! "I wish I'd had this book when I was a kid! I always wanted my art to be in a big museum one day but, growing up in a small town, that just seemed impossible. Making a Great Exhibition is a beautifully illustrated behind-the-scenes peek at exactly how art makes its way from an artist's mind to the big white walls of a fancy gallery. Turns out, there are a lot of people, with some very cool jobs, who make the magic happen-and any book that shows kids (and parents!) they can grow up to have a career in the arts is okay by me!" -Danielle Krysa, The Jealous Curator An exciting insight into the workings of artists and museums, Making a Great Exhibition is a colorful and playful introduction geared to children ages 3 to 7. How does an artist make a sculpture or a painting? What tools do they use? What happens to the artwork next? This fun, inside look at the life of an artwork shows the journey of two artists' work from studio to exhibition. Stopping along the way we meet colorful characters-curators, photographers, shippers, museum visitors, and more! Both illustrator and author were raised in the art world, spending their time in studios, doing homework in museum offices, and going to special openings. They have teamed up to share their experiences and love for this often mysterious world to a young audience. London-based illustrator Rose Blake is best known for her work in A History of Pictures for Children, by David Hockney and Martin Gayford, which has been a worldwide success. Author Doro Globus brings her love for the arts and kids together with this fun journey.

This is the story of how a young girl from Florida began her career in musical theatre, before a big break on television propelled her to international stardom. This retelling of Ariana's life story is perfect for young fans to learn about the early life of a musical megastar, and her amazing rise to fame.

Discover a world where dreams really do come true!

At a young age, Yo-Yo Ma discovered a remarkable gift for the cello, playing Bach from memory by age four. His technique was far beyond his years, but even as he grew and became a world-class musician—studying at Juilliard, performing at Carnegie Hall at a young age, even playing on television before the president of the United States—he wanted to use his gift for something deeper, something bigger.

As he asked question after question, trying to understand his place in the world, he discovered something that every culture has in common: music.

Ma decided that he would spend his life not only performing for others, but learning from other cultures’ musical traditions and finding ways to unite people. Even as he dedicated himself to humanitarian work around the world, Ma also dedicated himself to teaching a new generation of young cellists to play with their whole hearts, bodies, and souls, like he does—how to find the music inside themselves.

From James Howe, bestselling author of Bunnicula, and Jack Wong, award-winning author/illustrator of When You Can Swim, comes the story of legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who is special not only because of his unmatched talent but also his curious mind and compassionate heart. Powerfully told and stunningly illustrated, this biography will inspire readers to discover the gifts inside us all.

Back matter includes an author’s and an illustrator’s note, a timeline of Ma’s life, and resources to learn more about his life and work.

This thrilling interactive scrapbook takes readers on a tour of iconic spells and charms, from Expelliarmus to the Patronus Charm, and even the three Unforgivable Curses. Covering everything from protective enchantments and useful jinxes to dangerous spells, it transports us into the magical world of Harry and his friends. With detailed profiles of each spell, hex, charm or curse, and information about key enchantments seen in the films, this is the ultimate guide to the magic practised at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and far beyond. Cast with the correct wand movement and incantation, the amazing spells seen throughout the Harry Potter films are conjured up in a way that is sure to delight wizards and Muggles alike. Gorgeously illustrated with dazzling concept art, behind-the-scenes photographs and fascinating reflections from actors and film-makers, the scrapbook gives readers a spellbinding insight into bringing charms and spells to the big screen.

In this book from the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Bruce Lee, the martial artist and Hollywood film star. Born in San Francisco but raised in Hong Kong, Bruce Lee was the child star of Hong Kong cinema. But, after getting into trouble as a teenager, his father sent him to live in America. Starring roles were hard to come by for Asian-American actors in Hollywood, but Bruce went on to act in blockbuster hits, featuring his skill as a martial artist. This inspiring book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the great actor's life. Little People, BIG DREAMS is a bestselling series of books and educational games that explore the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists and activists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream. This empowering series offers inspiring messages to children of all ages, in a range of formats. The board books are told in simple sentences, perfect for reading aloud to babies and toddlers. The hardback versions present expanded stories for beginning readers. Boxed gift sets allow you to collect a selection of the books by theme. Paper dolls, learning cards, matching games and other fun learning tools provide even more ways to make the lives of these role models accessible to children. Inspire the next generation of outstanding people who will change the world with Little People, BIG DREAMS!

Develop creativity in students and reinforce learning in a variety of subjects through the joy of music. This resource combines 50 simple songs with related learning activities and reading suggestions. Each song has chord symbols for guitar and autoharp, with music for piano accompaniment on a separate page. Activities that support learning about self-esteem, home and family, and multicultural issues are accompanied by reproducible music sheets that can be used in the classroom or taken home by students. As song lyrics are written or learned, they encourage self-expression through the arts and promote vocabulary development and comprehension. Most of all, they encourage the joy of singing. Whether you have a limited musical background or are experienced in music, this resource has many classroom applications. Grades PreK-2.

This book introduces the application of drama and arts-related activities to the teaching of English as a second or additional language in early education. Joe Winston draws on both his own scholarly expertise and experience as a practitioner to provide a theoretical rationale, practical examples, tips and easy-to-read teaching guides intended to help busy professionals apply drama related methods in an efficient and accessible way. Detailed examples of schemes of work are included for all year groups and developmental stages between the ages of 3 and 7 years of age. Each scheme centres on a popular and easily obtainable picturebook or children's story. Detailed guidance on how to plan and structure lessons with specific learning objectives is offered, as is extensive advice on issues of classroom management. The practical approaches have been used successfully in early years settings in China and primary and pre-primary settings in the UK, and are adaptable to a variety of national and cultural contexts.

All Year Round is brimming with things to make, activities, stories, poems and songs to share with your family. It is full of well-illustrated ideas for fun and celebration: from Candlemas to Christmas and Midsummer's day to the Winter solstice.Observing the round of festivals is an enjoyable way to bring rhythm into children's lives and provide a series of meaningful landmarks to look forward to. Each festival has a special character of its own: participation can deepen our understanding and love of nature and bring a gift to the whole family. All Year Round invites you to start celebrating now!

This revised Student Edition includes an introduction by Bess Rowen, Visiting Assistant Professor at Villanova University, US, which looks in particular at the play's treatment of rape, vulnerable people, mental institutions (especially in connection to Williams's own family), sexuality and sexual desire. A Streetcar Named Desire shows a turbulent confrontation between traditional values in the American South - an old-world graciousness and beauty running decoratively to seed - set against the rough-edged, aggressive materialism of the new world. Through the vividly characterised figures of Southern belle Blanche Dubois, seeking refuge from physical ugliness in decayed gentility, and her brutal brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski, Tennessee Williams dramatises his sense of the South's past as still active and often destructive in modern America. METHUEN DRAMA STUDENT EDITIONS are expertly annotated texts of a wide range of plays from the modern and classic repertoires. A well as the complete text of the play itself, this volume contains: * A chronology of the play and the playwright's life and work * An introductory discussion of the social, political, cultural and economic context in which the play was originally conceived and created * A succinct overview of the creation processes followed and subsequent performance history of the piece * An analysis of, and commentary on, some of the major themes and specific issues addressed by the text * A bibliography of suggested primary and secondary materials for further study

This book creates a platform for music educators to share their experience and expertise in creative music teaching and learning with the international community. It presents research studies and practices that are original and representative of music education in the Japanese, Asian and international communities. It also collects substantial literature on music education research in Japan and other Asian societies, enabling English-speaking readers to access excellent research and practical experiences in non-English societies.