Welcome to Storytime, today we're gonna read Ho Ho Homework.
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For weeks, Jack looked out of every window he passed, waiting for snow, wishing.
But there was not one flurry, not even a flake.
On this morning, Jack felt hopeful.
There's lots of clouds today, said his friend Rosa.
I bet it will snow today.
Maybe, said Jack, but it didn't.
When they got to school, no one was paying attention to the weather.
All anyone could talk about was the new substitute teacher.
Look at his beard, said Rosa.
And his boots, said Leo.
But Jack wasn't so sure.
Just because he has a white beard doesn't mean it's him.
Jeff did notice that Mr. Clausen was more patient than most teachers.
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When Houdini got out, Mr. Clausen's big laugh left most of the kids wide-eyed.
I don't know, Jack, said Leo, it sounded a lot like a ho, ho, ho to me.
But Jack wasn't so sure.
At lunch, Jack and Leo looked in through the window of the teacher's lounge.
Cookies and milk, reported Leo.
So what, said Jack.
Everybody likes cookies.
That doesn't mean anything.
Jack, said Leo, the cookies were shaped like reindeer.
During quiet time, the kids kept a close watch on Mr. Clausen.
Why is he making socks, Jack whispered to Rosa.
Stockings, Jack, said Rosa.
Those are stockings.
And Mr. Clausen did seem to be making a whole lot of lists.
During science, Jack got looks from all over the room.
So he likes sleds, said Jack, everybody likes sleds.
Not teachers, said Leo, not that much.
That afternoon, Mr. Clausen taught everyone how to make paper snowflakes.
Make a snowflake and write a wish on the back, he said.
That's your homework.
The next day, Mr. Clausen talked to the class about wishes.
Everyone hung the snowflakes all over the room, everyone except Jack.
But as Jack looked around the classroom,
even he had to admit that things were pretty cheerful.
Some kids were decorating Houdini's cage.
Tim and Evan were getting along and that never happened.
And Mr. Clausen was doing the jingle bell shuffle.
It was nice.
It was almost merry.
At the end of the day, Mr.
Clausen walked out with the kids to say goodbye.
Wow, said Rosa, that is a really big backpack.
It was.
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Just a minute, said Jack, this is for you.
Why, thank you, Jack, said Mr. Clausen.
And for just an instant, Jack thought Mr. Clausen's eyes twinkled.
That evening, Jack taught his sisters how to cut out snowflakes.
He was really patient.
On Christmas Eve, he helped them put out milk and cookies.
Then he showed them how to do the jingle bell shuffle.
And as he lay in bed that night, Jack thought and thought about his wish.
On Christmas morning, Jack opened one eye and looked out his window.
Then he opened both eyes wide.
Come and see, come and see, he shouted.
And that day, the whole neighborhood enjoyed Jack's wish.
Especially Jack.
Thanks for listening.
If you'd like to make your own snowflake wish like Jack did,
there are instructions in the back and Taia will show you how.
[MUSIC] Hi, my name is Taia Morley, and
I'm the illustrator of the new storybook Ho Ho Homework,
written by Mylisa Larsen and published by Harper Collins.
This is a fun winter holiday story and part of it features paper snowflakes.
I'd like to show you today how to make paper snowflakes, and
the instructions are included at the back of the story.
Step one, you need to have a square sheet of paper.
If you're working with letter size paper,
the easiest way to get a square is to take the one corner,
fold along the diagonal to the other edge so
they're lined up and then cut the extra away.
Once you have your square, fold it corner to corner,
then fold it again corner to corner so that you have this triangle.
Once you have your folded triangle, along the bottom edge,
the long edge, roughly mark that bottom edge into thirds.
Okay, once you've marked the bottom along thirds,
fold from this top corner here one side over to one of your marks,
and then fold the other side, keeping your center point to this edge.
Once you've got your triangle folded, go ahead and
cut along this edge so you get rid of all that extra stuff down there.
Now the fun part, cut away on your snowflake.
And just be free, have fun.
Just be careful, don't cut along at the tip because you want that solid center.
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And then the fun part to see what
your snowflake looks like.
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There you go. [MUSIC]
A paper snowflake.
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Another fun method to make a snowflake is to use a coffee filter, so
I'm gonna show you how to fold it.
It's the same folding pattern.
Fold it in half, then fold it in half again.
Then fold it in thirds from that top corner.
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And then from here,
once again, just cut away,
leaving your top tip uncut.
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And let's see what we have.
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Another paper
snowflake wish.
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