FAIRY
TALESFAIRY
TALES
From
Stormie:
Create A Puppet Stage: Cut
an opening into a large box (appliance size) and let the children paint the outside
of it. When it's dry, allow them to glue pictures from magazines and/or
old ragged storybooks all over the box which represent characters or props in
various Fairy Tales (wand, slipper, wolf, small girl, red hood/cape, etc).
Make a simple stage curtain by attaching a colorful pillowcase to the top of the
box opening.
Puppets: These are a little time consuming but once completed, you'll be glad to have them. Buy fairy tale coloring books from $1 stores that have nice large pictures of individual fairy tale characters. Color them, cut them out, glue them onto stiff cardboard, and laminate them. Glue large craft sticks (or paint stirring sticks--found at paint stores) to the back of each puppet. Children can then hold onto the sticks as they move the characters around on a puppet stage.
Sequencing: Ask the children to tell you a fairy tale. This is a good language activity and good practice for the skill of being able to remember the sequencing of events.
Drawings: After reading a fairy tale, ask the children to draw their own picture of someone or something from the story. Ask them why they liked this character or object. Write their exact words at the bottom of their papers.
Try reading or telling fairy tales without pictures, allowing children's imaginations to make the stories come alive.
King and
Queen Gross Motor Game: Let children decorate an old high-seated chair or
ottoman. Then have them take turns "sitting on the throne" and giving royal
commands to their "subjects" (roll, hop on one foot, skip, etc).
Related
Art Project: Cut a crown for each child (simply make zig-zag cuts through
large sheets of construction paper). The children can decorate their crowns
with collage materials.
Introductory Grouptime Discussion: Are fairy tales real? Can the things that happen in fairy tales REALLY happen? How do you feel when you hear a fairy tale? Are you sometimes scared? Are the characters real?
Act out fairy tales with the children.
IN
CASE YOU'VE FORGOTTEN THE STORYLINES TO SOME OF THE OLD FAVORITE FAIRY TALES,
HERE'S A WEBSITE THAT HAS THEM IN PURE TEXT:
GRIMM'S
FAIRY TALES
CINDERELLA:
Broom For Cinderella: Children can decorate cardboard
tubes then glue construction paper strips and yarn to one end.
Weave
An Apron: For each child, round off the bottom of a large sheet of construction
paper. Punch holes in a row across the top of the apron. Children
then weave ribbon through the holes--if the ribbon is long enough, children can
wear their aprons.
Cinderella's Cat: Two-day
project: Let children paint a small paper plate black, brown, yellow, or other
"cat" color. Let the plates dry overnight. The next day, provide collage
materials so children can give their cats eyes, nose, and whiskers.
Mouse:
Give children a gray sheet of paper and let them "tear" out small mice shapes
then give them eyes and a tail. Who can tear out seven mice? (Tearing is
one of the best fine motor activities.)
Beautiful
Dresses: Children look through magazines and choose a dress for Cinderella,
cut it out, then glue it on paper.
Cinderella's
Coach: Two-day project: Staple two paper plates together creating a
kind of pocket. Punch holes around the edges except for the very top.
Have children paint both sides of their "coach" and let it dry overnight.
The next day, children can string yarn or ribbon through the holes.
Find
the Matching Slipper: Cut "slipper shape" pairs from various patterns of wallpaper.
Give each child one slipper from one pair. Then, as you beat a drum or table
to the count of 12, have children find the person who has their matching slipper.
Grouptime Discussion: If you were Cinderella's
sister (or brother) and you saw her working hard, what do you think would be a
nice thing to do? 
From
Missy S.:
Math (One to One Correspondence):
Begin by reading a version of "Cinderella". When the story is complete,
ask the children what things were "magically" turned by Cinderella's godmother.
As the children are naming those things, place white cutouts (pumpkin, Cinderella,
mice, etc) on a flannelboard. Review with the children what each item became
after Cinderella's godmother used her wand. Show that each thing on the
board has a matching "partner." Using one-to-one correspondence, match the
items that "go together."
Extensions:
Art: After doing Stormie's activity above (Find
the Matching Slipper) which is also one-to-one correspondence, give each "pair"
of children a big sheet of white paper. Have them glue their slippers at
the bottom and then create a picture of Cinderella from the shoes up.
Cognitive
Development: Collect real slippers and store them in a box or bag. Use
this as a center where kids can go to play a memory game by turning the shoes
over to the white side. They can take turns turning up two slippers at a
time trying to find its partner.
*NOTE
FROM STORMIE: FOR THE SAKE
OF SPACE ON THIS PAGE, I EDITED MISSY'S IDEAS BUT YOU CAN SEE
HOW SHE SENT THEM TO ME USING THE LESSON PLANNING FORMAT OF MADELINE
HUNTER.
PRINCESS
AND THE PEA:From
Piper:
Matresses: Using scrap material cut into thin rectangles,
have children glue several of them together on a sheet of paper, making a tall
stack. (They look like stacked mattresses.) The children then glue
a dried pea onto the bottom of their papers and draw their own version of a princess
on top of the mattresses. These look really cute!
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