Magic Pots... And Mops!

Yes! Strega Nona this week! It was perfect for this food themed month I have planned. Besides a subject theme of "food," our learning theme is "What's your story?" We'll be working on using our imagination, being inspired by what we read, and telling stories of our own!

I had this idea to make a magic pot of my own, using the pulley-type-system that I used with my Jack and the Beanstalk lesson. What could I use as the pasta, I wondered? What? What? What? Then it struck me: mops! I could buy a bunch of mop heads and bind them together to look like a heap of pasta!

Seemed like an easy enough idea. Let me tell ya though, mop heads are not easy to attach to one another. At least not the kind you buy at the Dollar Tree. It took me forever! After several tries, and much frustration, I figured out a way to attach them to one another somewhat securely.

Then I had the task of attaching the clear thread to the mops to make the pulley-system. What was I thinking?? The mass of mop heads weighed a ton! I had to thread at least five strands of thread through to make it strong enough to lift without snapping the thread. It all worked out though.

Strega Nona is a bit longer in length than most stories I choose for a Literacy Launchpad lesson. I worried the students would get bored, BUT they LOVED it! Even the young ones who typically have attention spans of about two seconds! This made me so happy, and proud of my little book worms!

Check out the fun they had making our magic pot boil over with pasta! I had them each come up with their own magic words to say to the pot. I got lots of "Abra Cadabras" and "Bippety Boppety Boos!"

Yup! Told you it was heavy! These kids are strong though!!