Episode 2: Chilly's Christmas

Click here to listen to CHILLY'S CHRISTMAS

Hello All,

The holiday season is upon us and our house, probably like yours, is buzzing with excitement! Our second story, Chilly's Christmas, was written by Chris and Melissa Bugaj. As you listen to the story consider the following, Have you ever been in a situation where things are different from what you are used to?

What did you say? A word of the day!

That is right! In our story there are many juicy words that are fun to learn and say! I am going to post a word or two or three from the story that would be fun to try to use in your conversations throughout the week.

Admire: to regard with wonder, pleasure, or approval.

Gingerly: with great care or caution

Illuminate: to enlighten, as with knowledge. To supply or brighten with light

Muster: to come together; collect; assemble; gather

Scrumptious: very pleasing, especially to the senses; delectable; splendid

CRAFTY CORNER

Click on the PDF files below to create one or all of your favorite characters from the story!

E the Elf Activity

Jerry the Gingerbread Man Activity

Chilly the Snowman Activity

The directions and templates are there for you to use or you can create your very own!

Either way, send us a digital picture of your project to nightlightstories@gmail.com .

We would love to see your creations! As always, keep your light glowing brightly!

Have a happy and healthy holiday season!

JUST ADD IMAGINATION!
Try these activities to keep your imagination glowing
after hearing the story.

1. The family in Chilly's story celebrates Christmas, but a lot of people do not celebrate Christmas. Learn about another holiday and some of their fun traditions.

2. Create one of the activities from the Crafty Corner in this blog.

COMPREHENSION CHALLENGE
After listening to the story, can you recall the details to answer these questions?

1. Convince Chilly that being on the back of the tree is not as bad as he thinks. What are some positive things about being on the back of the tree that you can think of?

2. Where was Chilly staying before he was on the tree?

3. What senses did Chilly use to experience of the holiday happenings?

Episode 1:Mojo and The Magic Couch

Click here to listen to Mojo and The Magic Couch

Hi All,

The first of the stories is up for your listening pleasure. I am so thrilled to have started this and get the light glowing bright! I wanted to share a little background on the story of Mojo and the Magic Couch. My husband and I are the authors. We came up with the idea for it after we noticed our ferret, Mojo, was escaping into the depths of our couch. He literally had dug a hole in between the cushions and would leap in there while we desperately tried to get to him before he wriggled his slinky body all the way in. We always joked that he was going in there to a magic land, and so that is how the story came to be.

As promised, here is the picture of Mojo,

the little rascal!

What did you say? A word of the day!

That is right! In our story there are many juicy words that are fun to learn and say! I am going to post a word or two or three from the story that would be fun to try to use in your conversations throughout the week.

Scamper: To run or go quickly and lightly. A quick light run or movement.

Smidgen: A very small amount.

Wriggle: To twist to and fro; writhe; squirm.
To move along by twisting and turning the body, as a worm or snake.

FAN ART

What did you picture while you were listening to the story? What was your favorite scene? What did the inside of the couch look like? We would love to see how you pictured our story! Send us a picture of your favorite scene or anything that has to do with the story. Submit the pictures to www.nightlightstories@gmail.com. I will post these illustrated works of art as I receive them. We look forward to seeing your imaginations at work! As always, keep your light and minds glowing bright!

SHARE IT!

Feel free to contact me at my website, nightlightstories@gmail.com with any comments or suggestions you may have. I have just begun my journey with podcasting and blogging and would love to hear from you! Keep your minds glowing brightly!

Night Light Stories is also available for free on iTunes!

JUST ADD IMAGINATION!

Try these activities to keep your imagination glowing after hearing the story.

1. A male ferret weighs about 2.5 pounds. How much do you weigh? Use a scale to find out. Who weights more, you or a ferret?

2. Mojo is a curious ferret, which means he is interested in new things. What are you curious about?

COMPREHENSION CHALLENGE

After listening to the story, can you recall the details to answer these questions?

1. Mojo's parents did not want him to go into the couch. What was their reason?

2. List 2 things Mojo saw when he did wriggle into the couch?

3. What did Mojo share with all the other ferrets that was special to him?

All About Us

Hi All,

Welcome to Night Light Stories!  We are so happy you found us! My name is Miss Mel and my partner-in-podcasting is Mr. Chris.  My husband and I are both special educators both with over forty years of combined experience. 

I have taught all grade levels from preschool to college level in both general and special education. Currently, I am proud to be a Dean of Special Education at my local high school.  I also teach Human Growth and Development and Reading as an Adjunct Professor at a local university. My side venture is being a personal Uber driver for our two kids, who are extremely active.

Mr. Chris works as an Assistive Technology Specialist in our school district. He also presents internationally on how we can empower all students to learn through differentiated learning and the power of communication.  After hours he produces and co-hosts another podcast called Talking with Tech where he and his co-host, Rachel Madel, discuss supporting complex communication needs with alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) and assistive technology.  He also produced a podcast he retired from weekly production called A.T.TIPSCAST , where he creatively discussed free or commonly found technology that can be used to help students meet their educational goals. Each episode is still available and free for download on the linked site or iTunes! He has co-authored and solo authored a few books as well. You can learn more about them here. 

Mr. Chris and I created the podcast called Night Light Stories where I narrate original children's stories that we've written. Every episode is available for free in audio format on our compendium blog or on iTunes. On this blog you will find vocabulary from the story as well as comprehensive activities that engage the child's imagination. We also produce a weekly visual dictionary called "Lighting The Way With Words" where we choose a vocabulary word, pair it with an original photo and use the word in context. The audience is invited to send in their own pictures to help define the word. Our goal is to promote education and family time.

We started the podcast and blog as a creative thing to do together. We thought it would be a fun alternative for families, educators, and classrooms to listen to our stories on car trips, around the house, transition times in the classroom, or anytime.  We also thought that since our kids seemed to enjoy the stories, other kids around the world might like them too.  We say in the podcast that the stories are "for children of all ages" and it is our hope that families are enjoying the stories together.  

With the recent development due to COVID-19, we found ourselves itching to start producing our stories again. Now, with two extra teammates of our dynamic teenagers, we're having fun as a family recording, creating activities and releasing our novella chapter by chapter that was originally written in 2012. 

Besides the blog, you can find us on Twitter and our Facebook Page . This is where people can get updates about all things related to Night Light Stories; including what's going on with story development, recent pictures, and more. We hope you enjoy listening to our stories as much as we enjoy creating them!  As always, we look forward to watching the glow grow brighter with the many stories we can share together.

Family recording session in our very "fancy" studio. 

Stories Coming Soon!

Welcome to Night Light Stories!

Night Light Stories is a podcast featuring original children's stories. These stories were all originally told by the friendly glow of a child's night light. We invite you now to share these stories with your own children, at night, in the morning, or anytime...anywhere.