Tator Tot Tic-Tac-Toe - Halterman and Clark Style!

As you already know, Hope and her mother Louise spent many Christmas Eves in the same booth at Chuck's Chicken and Biscuits on U.S. Highway 4 playing tic-tac-toe with their cooling tator tots. Mrs. Clark and I very much wanted to recreate this scenario for you all as a *fun* way to culminate finishing the book...and so our classroom was transformed into Chuck's (as best we could!) complete with tator tots, tic-tac-toe paper plates, and Hope's special sauce - 2 squirts of mayonnaise, 2 squirts of ketchup, and a small squirt of mustard!

What fun! We loved serving you and watching you *try* the special sauce - at least those of you who were brave enough to try it! Here are a few photos of our classroom diner:




We hope you enjoyed the experience - as well as the book. I'm looking forward to reading many more books with you this year.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Love,
Mrs. H

And What's Next for Hope? #2

Well, we've finished the book and I just loved seeing your eyes light up at the end of Christmas Jars when you figured it all out! What an amazing story, huh? There is a sequel to the book that just came out this fall and it's called Christmas Jars Reunion...but I'm not going to tell you about that yet.
I would love to hear your ideas of how you think the story will continue. What do you predict in Hope's future? Will she remain friends with the Maxwells? Will she have a relationship with her newly found mother Marianne? What will happen to the Christmas Jar tradition? What will happen to Adam's business now that he is gone? How about Hope's career?
What do you think about all of this? I want you to tell me what you think will happen in the next book!
And Merry Christmas to you all! See you in January!
Love,
Mrs. H

What do you think? Share your opinion! #1

Well guys, we are almost finished reading Christmas Jars, and it is my *hope* that you have enjoyed it as much as I have. The story certainly gives a person much to think about and ponder on long after it's over. In fact, there are a few questions that I have, and I would love to hear what you think about them.

Please pick one and let me know what you think. Here goes...

1) Who do you think deserves to receive a Christmas jar the most? Why?
2) Is it better to give gifts or to receive gifts? Why?
3) Is it ever right to do something wrong? Why?

I can't wait to hear what you have to say!
Love,
Mrs. H