In most homes, baking is a Christmas tradition. Using the recipes provided in "The Shoe Box," your class can make a Christmas feast. Francine Rivers includes recipes for chocolate chip cookies, pie crust and apple pie filling. She also includes cultural recipes, such as cucumber salad, Swedish meatballs and Swedish Korv. Have each student talk about what kind of food is prepared for their holiday meal and why it is special. If appropriate, have each student bring in their favorite holiday recipe and create your own classroom recipe book.
The author also includes notes on "Handel's Messiah" and words to the Christmas carol, "What Child Is This?" Play the music for the students and have them sing along to "What Child Is This?" Teach them other popular Christmas carols and have them serenade other classrooms during Christmas parties before the winter break. They could even go on a field trip to a nursing home or hospital and sing their newly learned Christmas songs for patients.
In the back of the book, the author includes the story of the birth of Jesus. Just as Timmy acted out the pageant, have your students do the same. If a pageant is too labor-intense and time does not allow for it, have each student write down their thoughts about the Christmas story and which character they would like to play and why. Timmy wanted to be one of the wise men, so discuss why he would have wanted to do this. By placing themselves in the text, students are more likely to remember Timmy's story as well as the Christmas story.
For a more hands-on interpretation of the text, bring in old shoeboxes and felt, markers, glue and construction paper. Have the students decorate their shoebox, just as Timmy did. They can fill it with whatever they like. They can write down things they would like to ask Jesus or their wish list for Santa Claus. Have them take the shoebox with them throughout the day so they can write down their thoughts as soon as they occur to them.