Fairy Tales: The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Children love to get really involved in stories ... helping to tell stories in any way, acting them out, drawing pictures of characters or scenes! This particular tale - The Three Billy Gots Gruff - is so much fun to really delve into, as the children always come up with different ways to extend it :) Extending a story through discussion, dramatic play, or retelling helps with comprehension - and, it's fun!

Before you read, see what materials you might have that correspond to the story characters or setting. Maybe there are some animal figures laying around or some art materials that could be handy. Blocks are great for scenery - like building bridges for trolls to live under :) Don't organize these, but have them available to be "found" for retelling - when the children feel ownership of a project, they get even more excited!

When you are ready to read, find a repeating line (or two!) that the children can "help"with and practice it before starting to read - they will love having a job! In Three Billy Goats, the kiddos love to play the part of the goats and/or the troll :) Plan on reading it through once, so the storyline is known, and then again, maybe in a dramatic retelling, with children taking parts. Taking a story and pulling it apart to retell it is a great way to make it memorable!

My kiddos always love to use toy figures to act out the story - for days afterward! They have "discovered" figures to use (sometimes a horse figure becomes a goat!), made block bridges, searched for blue paper to make into "water," etc. The hunt for a troll figure is always interesting, as they pore over different versions of the story to see that the troll always looks different, depending on the illustrator! Sometimes a troll drawing contest emerges!

Allowing time for all this to unfold is critical here - for their imaginations to really take hold and spur these different extensions of the literature! Stepping back and just observing is key also, as the children will most likely keep the ball rolling with little support. The last time I did The Three Billy Goats Gruff, we dedicated a table for building on top of, like a stage set, and left it up for a few days. It was a very popular spot!

Paper renditions of the troll and goats can be fun and silly. Looking at a model, then cutting and gluing to try to match it, is a great way to stretch skills like sizing, counting, cutting, etc. Our trolls and goats were all originals :)

Above all, have fun with it!

Fairy Tales: Jack and the Beanstalk

Jack and the Beanstalk is a favorite story with the little guys ... it has everything - magic, a giant bad guy, a castle - all their favorites in one fairy tale!

Make a playset to act out the story, including a castle in the clouds and a tall, tall beanstalk! A file folder, opened top to bottom, makes a great tall backdrop to situate your scenery on. Your children can set their castles near the top and make sure they add some cotton ball clouds. Next, have them use markers, chenille sticks, paper, or whatever you have around to make the tall, tall beanstalk that grew from the magic beans. Then, draw or color some characters and they will have their own "stage" to act out or retell the story.

Be sure to start out with "Once upon a time," and "far, far away" ... fairy tales help little ones sort out good and bad, and develop some sense of resolution, especially when the ending is "happily ever after."

Before reading the story, check for any background your audience has with this story or similar fairy tales.

Then, begin to relate the story in the style of an old-time storyteller, without the book ... just to spark their interest and get their attention.

Next, pull out the book, and launch into the story, pausing to have them participate physically whenever possible ... tossing beans, climbing up the stalk, peeking under the giant's door. They will love the movement, and it will help to imprint the story on their brains :)

When you're all finished, look for some short video clips - there are some great animated short clips of all the popular fairy tales - and compare and contrast with the story you read aloud! Your little ones will amaze you with their attention to detail :)

For more extension activities...

• plant some bean seeds ... use either dirt or get really magical with seeds sealed up with damp paper towels in ziplocs and hung in the window - roots and sprouts to come!
• sort all sorts of dry beans and count, pattern, etc. for math
• have friends draw pictures for each of the story parts, or the giant's special things, and practice sequencing 
• photograph your little ones in climbing poses, cut them out, and help them fashion a paper beanstalk to "climb" - they will get a big kick out it! 

Have fun!

Fairy Tales: The Three Little Pigs

Once upon a time, we read "The Three Little Pigs." The best way to remember a story, or anything at all, is to immerse yourself in it. So, read it, watch a video clip of it, act it out, make crafts, etc. When reading "The Three Little Pigs," give your kiddos some materials and let them make one (or more!) of the pigs' houses from the fairy tale.

Work on scissor skills by having little ones cut strips of red paper for bricks to build the brick house. They will need something to glue them onto ... so search around for some cardboard or a small container of some sort to act as the structure. We used cardboard food containers, like those for Chinese food, sold in multiple packages at craft stores, and they worked great!!

If your crew is up for it, you can keep going, like we did, and make a whole RETELLING KIT!! One house was not enough for us, and we did have a whole container to fill, so we cut up some small cardboard house shapes and thought about what to decorate them with. We let our little friends add straw (yarn) and sticks (cut up lunch bags) to complete their set of three houses. (Thanks for the great ideas, Amy!!) Both  houses are now stored in our brick house container!

When all the houses are complete, add three little pigs and a wolf. We made ours from paper, but you can do it any way you want. Clay, small animal figures, counters, etc. would all be interesting and fun. Practice retelling the story using all your new props, and talk about the characters as you go along! 

When you're reading the story together, make sure you include some little actors from your group - all they have to master is the repeating lines "Little Pig, little pig, let me in" and "Not by the hair of your chinny-chin-chin!" Of course, "I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down!" is a pivotal line, as well!

Have fun with the story and make sure you end with ... and they lived happily ever after (the pigs that is...)!

Looking for other play ideas to go along with the theme? Try adding sticks, yarn, chenille sticks, and small building blocks to a playdough table to build the pigs' houses - or just play!  

Have fun!

Summer Camp: Knights and Ladies of the Castle!

Get ready for this week's camp idea by assembling a few arts and crafts supplies: some cardboard, markers or paint, some craft foam and writing materials.

Set up some props to center your activity, either outdoors or indoors. Mark this area by hanging some sheer fabric or paper streamers or use my idea - take a 10' by 10' outdoor tent canopy (borrow one if you can) and only raise it up to half-height. This makes a perfect castle area for pretend play, after you hang a few decorative flags and some streamers! You might want to designate one or two special chairs as thrones and have some space for craft assembly and "fine dining."

Of course, dressing up is always fun - see what you have in the way of royal garb and add fabric or towel cloaks, if needed. Jewels, such as party-store rings and beads of all colors go over well, also :)

For crafts, start with a crown or tiara for your young royals. Every prince or princess, knight or lady likes a crown! Use light cardboard or craft foam to prepare some crown shapes beforehand (or order from a catalog supply) and then make available some glittery baubles and colored foam pieces to make them sparkle. It's always interesting to see who will make theirs a repeating pattern and who will go for "more is more!"

Making a shield with your personal crest is next on the fun craft list! Cut some small shields out of cardboard with long rectangular strips to be mounted on the  back for holding. Decorate as you wish with your favorite things - symbols, initials, cut-outs, stickers, whatever you want! Stripes of different colors or contrasting colored tapes could also be fun! When you have it just the way you want, turn it over and attach your handle - now you're ready for anything!

When you're ready for another activity, story-telling is an old favorite "at court." If you want to use props, you could use paper cut-outs, or copies from your favorite stories (mount them on a craft sticks for puppets) or maybe you have a set of finger puppets lying around - I've had these for a long time (IKEA has great little finger puppets!).

Lastly, write your own fairy tale!  Draw or copy some pictures and have your children dictate a beginning, middle and end of a story - make sure there's some action (maybe a witch or a dragon!) and a happy ending ... and dress it all up with a special cover - it will become a new favorite!

When it's time for snacks, serve your royals on a silver platter - maybe some fancy cheese and crackers and a bowl of fruit - with lovely napkins and a special cold drink! Have fun!