Welcome to the 201st Edition of the Carnival of Education!

December has come to represent a plethora of holidays, and each one has lovely things to offer us all. Picture December as a huge pile of glowing, glittering, good-smelling gifts. Inside each of those gifts is a fantastic idea, example, hint, or rant that will make us all better educators and parents. That’s a pretty nice gift, isn’t it! So light the menorah, put the star on the top of the tree, practice one of the Five Pillars, get out the La Posadas pinata, spin that dreidel, get out the kinara, hang your stockings, and let’s learn from each other!

Dave Johnston presents Admiral Brewer gets torpedoed posted at Friends of Dave.

Over on Steve Spangler’s Blog, we find out where Steve learned to insert a little magic into every science experiment.  There just might be something to this “heredity” business after all!

William Schimmel presents Teach for America (and Journalism in General) posted at No Cynics Allowed.

Rachel Rambach presents Red and Green are the Colors of the Season posted at Listen and Learn.

Clix presents WHO ARE YOU?? and Poems posted at Epic Adventures Are Often Uncomfortable.

College Degrees presents An Online Degree Education in Real Life Lessons: Second Life posted at Degree Talk Blog.

bookfundas presents FREE DOWNLOAD: Maya 8 Character Modeling: A Practical Approach to the Art of Professional Character Modeling posted at BookFundas.com.

Dave Saba presents Student Success Strategy posted at DoE- Dave on Ed.

Robert Pondiscio presents Poverty Matters vs. No Excuses at The Core Knowledge Blog posted at The Core Knowledge Blog.

Darren presents Patriotism and Two Interesting Sections of California Education Code posted at Right on the Left Coast: Views From a Conservative Teacher.

eduwonkette presents Are Racial Achievement Gaps Closing in Chicago? posted at eduwonkette.

Edmund Harriss presents Responsibility of Mathematicians posted at Maxwell’s Demon.

Jim McGuire presents The Age of Screenagers posted at The Reading Workshop.

Heather Johnson presents 100 Best Lifehack Lists for Recent College Grads | OEDb posted at OEDb: Online Education Database.

A. Lee presents The Importance of Visual Arts in Schools posted at e Art Fair .com.

Mrs. Bluebird presents Slice ’em and Dice ’em posted at Bluebird’s Classroom.

Casey Lankow presents Do we always have to blame the media? posted at My Perspective….

djoe331 presents Education of Security and Anonymity posted at Anonymity Online.

Erin presents The Benefits of an Inclusion Classroom posted at School Psychologist Blog Files.

woodlass presents Building blocks posted at Under Assault: Teaching in NYC.

Don presents Student Loan Options For Graduate Students posted at Student Loan Advice.

Becky presents Making it Up As We Go Along posted at The Life Without School Community Blog.

Britannica Blog presents Education Reporting of Research: Buyer Beware posted at Britannica Blog.

Amy Smith presents Why Boys Struggle in School: The Trouble With Boys posted at Kids Love Learning.

GrrlScientist presents Welcome to the World posted at Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted).

Bellringers (Carol Richtsmeier) presents Mood Swings, Dodgeball & Gift Giving posted at Bellringers.

Mathew Needleman presents Peforming Arts Help Students Write Sensory Details posted at Creating Lifelong Learners.

Scott McLeod presents World-class potty training? posted at Dangerously Irrelevant.

Rogue Teacher presents Education Debate posted at Edification.

desertjim presents Are unions really the bogeyman? – Teaching Excellence Network posted at Teaching Excellence Network.

Shen-Li presents Signing Time Promotes Earlier Speech Development | Babylicious posted at Babylicious.

Barry Wright III presents Developing Reading Systems posted at 3stylelife.

pennyryder presents Enthusiastic Teachers posted at Teaching Challenges.

Savings Toolbox presents Save Up For College with FreshmanFund’s 529 College Savings Plan Gift Registry posted at Savings Toolbox.

Jane Goodwin (Mamacita, of Scheiss Weekly) hates what we’ve turned into.

brigid presents Brain Fitness | New York Public Library posted at New York Public Library.

mister teacher presents Does dark have a short a? posted at Learn Me Good.

Mark Graybill presents Preparing for Programming (with Greenfoot) posted at An Infinite Number of Cats on Keyboards.

gil presents Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl posted at gilocafe.

siobhan curious presents when you are uncool posted at Siobhan Curious.

Peter Kimmich presents Online Degrees and Employers: Ponyboy or Donnie Brasco? posted at Ace Online Schools.

Tom DeRosa presents Seven Great Gifts for Teachers (and Three to Avoid) posted at I Want to Teach Forever.

Brain Blogger presents Are Boys Really More Hard-Wired for Math than Girls? posted at Brain Blogger.

Mark Montgomery presents Elements of a Good College Fit, Part One: Academics posted at Great College Advice.

Nancy Miller presents Time’s Are A Changin’… Global Warming Incorporated Into Educational Curriculum posted at Top Online Engineering Degree.

Lorri presents Woman denied teaching degree because of MySpace photo-are teachers expected to be saints? posted at New York City Education Examiner.

Thomas J. West presents But It’s Too Hard! The Myth of Difficulty posted at Thomas J. West Music.

avoiceinthewilderness presents Would you encourage your child to be a teacher? posted at The Chancellor’s New Clothes.

Mark presents Online Education Recession-Proof? posted at Ace Online Schools.

desertjim presents How valuable are high school community service hours? – Teaching Excellence Network posted at Teaching Excellence Network.

Larry Ferlazzo presents The Best Sites For Learning About New Year Celebrations posted at Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day….

Alvaro Fernandez presents Torkel Klingberg helps with Overflowing Brain & Information Overload posted at Sharp Brains.

The Little Professor gifts us with Star Trek XII: The Wrath of the Search for the Voyage of Finals Week. What’s not to love?

Jose Vilson tells us about The Mouth and the Giggler.

Joanne Jacobs blogs about re-enactments that go too far.

Mr. McNamar of The Daily Grind would like to know how to encourage students to volunteer.

Pissed Off Teacher’s students have come a long way, baby!

According to Hobo Teacher, the students aren’t the only ones who are flushing the “wrong things” down the toilet.

I want to apologize for not making this Carnival a more fanciful one.  The truth is, this is Finals Week and I’m exhausted.  I hope there is a nice soft pillow in one of those wrapped gifts.  I need one for when it’s finally Nap Time.  If I put three of those little orange mats together, that should work, right?  Move over, Billy.  Sorry about that, Susie.  And would one of you little munchkins please tell the principal to stop snoring?

Next week, the Carnival of Education will be hosted by none other than the magical, fantastical Steve Spangler, he who teaches us all that the best learning is the learning that gets our hands dirty and makes us say “Ooooohhh!!!!”