It’s time to get your classroom into the winter holiday spirit! Check out our favorite, educational, winter holiday videos, lesson plans, and games below!
Holidays are a topic occupying the thoughts of children — and teachers — during much of the year, but especially during November and December. This theme can provide a wonderful opportunity to introduce students to customs and cultures that may be unfamiliar to them and to help them recognize festivals as communal celebrations of culture.
Lesson ideas for using BrainPOP to teach about holidays, winter holiday activities for kids, and winter holidays background information for parents and teachers.
How are special days celebrated throughout the world? Every culture has its own special
traditions and reasons for celebrating and, in this project, students will learn how holidays and
festivals are celebrated all over the globe. Students will explore celebrations, traditions and
symbols related to a holiday or festival from their home countries and then investigate those from other parts of the world. In a culminating activity, students will share their information and create symbolic representations of their researched holiday from across the globe. This project is designed so that it can be done as a single classroom project with students collaborating in pairs or small groups and using various sources such as books, the internet and the ePals student forums for research, or, as a collaborative email-based project.
December is a month full of special days. Education World offers resources to help educators teach about all those special days. The resources include holiday lesson plans, holiday art and gift projects, and additional holiday resources.
Educational Games
Christmas Lights Math (abcya.com)
It’s time to put up the Christmas lights! But wait! Before you can put up the Christmas lights, you must correctly answer as many math problems as you can in one minute. You can practice addition, subtraction, multiplication or division facts. The more math problems you solve correctly, the more lights you will be given to decorate your house!
A Blocky Christmas is a challenging holiday puzzle for kids grades four and up. Players must use the keyboard arrows to move the puzzle pieces into place. There are sixteen levels of play!
Christmas Word Search is a fun holiday activity for children of all ages. Puzzles can be created two ways: a small grid with shorter words or a larger grid with longer words. This feature will allow younger children to enjoy the puzzles too! You can print or play online.
The Christmas edition of Sugar, Sugar is a challenging logic puzzle with a physics twist and a holiday theme. Each level of the game is a puzzle that requires planning and strategy.
Factory Balls is a logic puzzle game that will challenge kids and adults. The object of Factory Balls is to create balls with designs that match the Christmas ball in each level.
Civiballs Christmas is a challenging physics puzzle for kids of all ages! The object of the puzzle is to cut the chains and get the colored balls into vases of the same color. Trial and error will lead to solutions!
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
A friend or relative needs your help, their car is out of commission and they want to borrow yours for a quick errand. You like to think of yourself as nice and helpful, so of course, you say “yes”. While it may seem like a kind gesture, letting them use your car is actually putting you in a bad position.
What many people don’t realize is that auto insurance follows the vehicle, not the driver. That means when you lend your vehicle to someone, you are also lending them your coverage. While you lent your car for free, it could end up costly for you.
Here’s why; when we loan a car or truck to a friend or relative, that’s called permissive use. If you have “broad protection insurance” they are covered by your vehicle’s insurance policy. While most accidents will be covered, you could be liable if people are seriously hurt in the accident and the medical and other expenses are more than you are insured for. Those injured parties could sue you for medical costs, time lost from work and property damage.
Yep, you weren’t driving, but because the accident involved your vehicle you will have to:
Contact your insurance company
File a claim
Pay any deductibles
Cover expenses beyond your insurance limits
Prepare for a probable rate hike resulting from the accident
Here’s something to keep in mind: a permissive operator is a person who does not reside in your household, is not listed on the policy as a household member, and is operating the vehicle with your permission. A crash caused by a permissive operator will most likely be covered.
However – and this is very important – if you have named an excluded driver on the policy, insurance will not pay for damages caused in a crash by the excluded driver, even if they were using your car or truck in an emergency. So, before you let someone else use your vehicle:
Check that they have a valid driver’s license and insurance
Make sure your insurance policy will cover them if they have an accident
Contact your insurance company for a policy review and that you have adequate and broad protection
Be ready to accept the consequences if they cause a crash
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
Make the holidays more jolly for your wallet by taking advantage of the Holiday Skip Payment option.
Don’t let your budget impact your family moments. California Casualty helps you budget for the important things in life with the Holiday Skip Payment option. You can designate the two months you’d like to free up your money during the holidays.
California Casualty’s Holiday Skip is designed to allow you enjoy the spirit of the season with family and friends without worrying about your auto insurance payments.
If you are already a customer and would like to take advantage of this unique benefit, simply go online at www.calcas.com/payments to manage your account, or contact an advisor at 1.800.800.9410.
If you’re not a customer but would like to learn more about the skip payment option and all of the other special benefits available to Educators, Firefighters, Law Enforcement Officers and Nurses, request a quote today in the Start Your Auto Quote section on the right-hand side of this page.
In the US, home break-ins occur about every 18 seconds. That’s pretty alarming. Not only can a thief steal your belongings, they can rob your peace of mind leaving you and your family feeling violated, scared and even angry.
By taking the time to educate yourself and following some simple precautions, you’ll be better prepared to protect your family and home from a break-in ever occurring.
Know it: A security system may prevent a burglar from even attempting to break in.
Do it: Have a security system installed and monitored – and display the yard signs and window stickers you are provided.
Know it: Thieves sometimes rely on the cover of night, but most burglaries happen between 10am and 3pm while many people are at work or school.
Do it: Keep bushes and shrubs trimmed back. Consider getting motion activated security. Leave on a TV or radio. A barking dog can serve as a great deterrent to thieves – while you get to enjoy a wagging tail and a wet nose when you arrive home.
Know it: Burglars are often familiar with your neighborhood or daily schedule.
Do it: Varying your routine will make it harder for the bad guys to tell when you’re not home.
Know it: Signs that you’re on vacation or out of town for an extended period can make your home an easy target for burglary.
Do it: Put your mail, newspaper and deliveries on hold. Have a trusted friend or neighbor watch your home. Put indoor lights on timers. Some police departments offer an out of town home watch. If your local authorities provide this service, be sure to sign up several days prior to going out of town. Be vigilant about what you and your family post on social media.
Know it: 34% of burglars enter through the front door. Another 30% take advantage of unlocked windows or other unlocked doors.
Do it: LOCK YOUR DOORS AND WINDOWS! Keep your garage doors closed, even when home.
Know it: The top three things a burglar is looking for are cash, prescription drugs and jewelry but don’t doubt that these criminal opportunists will take anything they can get their hands on. Unfortunately, this often includes your identity.
Do it: Don’t leave valuables, cash or items that can be used for ID theft in plain sight or hidden in obvious places. Keep an up-to-date home inventory with a record of serial numbers from electronics to aid in filing police reports and insurance claims. Be sure to have an identity theft protection and recovery service if burglars get access to your personal or banking information.
We can’t stop all criminals, but California Casualty is here to protect you with quality auto and home / renters insurance with exclusive benefits not available to the general public. Every policy also comes with free ID theft protection.
California Casualty’s 9/11 Red Rocks Stair Climb Team
It’s hard to describe the emotions of being part of the thousands who turned out to honor first responders on the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 attack in New York. If you were lucky enough to be a participant, you know the mix of sadness, pride, and amazement that comes with each step at one of the many stair climbs held across the country. California Casualty helped sponsor a half-dozen memorial climbs, from California to Colorado and Ohio to Maryland.
We were honored to join firefighters, EMTs, law enforcement officers and medical professionals to remember the heroes who gave their lives to save others, and to support the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and its mission of providing emotional and financial help to the families of fallen firefighters. Students and teachers from various schools also attended, learning about the terrible events that day.
California Casualty’s Debbie Harris and Lorelei Seip at the Yellow Springs, OH, Stair Climb
Miami Township Fire-Rescue Chief, Colin Altman, who organized the 150-person climb in Yellow Springs, Ohio, was grateful for California Casualty’s help and presence. “Your field team not only provided snacks and bottled water, but they were supportive and wonderful, making a difference cheering people on,” he said. Chief Altman feels it’s important to teach young people who were born after 2001 about the impact of that day, and not to forget the heroism exhibited by first responders.
California Casualty feels a responsibility to the brave men and women who risk their lives to make our communities safer every day. Following another disastrous California fire season, in early September we donated $2,500 to the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC) Police Officers Relief and Education Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund. The fund assists law enforcement members whose homes were damaged or destroyed by wildfire, often while they were working to protect others during the firestorm.
California Casualty’s Jana Charles and Roxanne Dean presenting a donation to PORAC Insurance Benefits Trustees
And in May, California Casualty also had the privilege of participating in two important law enforcement memorial weekends. CEO Beau Brown and Vice President for Account Relations Roxanne Dean attended the California Police Officers’ Memorial Ceremony in Sacramento, commemorating six officers who died in the line of duty in 2017. California Casualty provided the blue light pens used at the evening candlelight ceremony, and is a donor to the California Police Officers’ Memorial Foundation scholarship fund, which aids the families of fallen officers. Roxanne is also an advisor to the Memorial Foundation Board and sits on the Fundraising Committee.
Roxanne and Account Relations Manager Alina Fayerman represented California Casualty at the 2018 National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and the National Association of Police Organization’s TOP COP Awards, held in the Nation’s Capital. The TOP COP Awards highlight the heroic actions of law enforcers and honors those who lost their lives in the line of duty. While everyone who attended felt moved by the events, Alina summed it up best: “It struck me that our protectors need protecting and their families need our love and support.”
California Casualty has partnered with law enforcement associations for almost 50 years and firefighter organizations for 45 years, and we appreciate their service and sacrifices.
TAKEAWAY:
Learn more about California Casualty’s commitment to first responders at https://mycalcas.com, and share your pictures and stories about the men and women who wear a badge at our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/CaliforniaCasualty.
Make the holidays more jolly for your wallet by taking advantage of the Holiday Skip Payment option.
In the US, home break-ins occur about every 18 seconds. That’s pretty alarming. Not only can a thief steal your belongings, they can rob your peace of mind leaving you and your family feeling violated, scared and even angry.
