Grow Jack's Beanstalk in Your Classroom!

When I do one of my fairy tale units with my students, I tell them the story of "Jack and the Beanstalk" and use fun props. My magic beanstalk that grows to the ceiling is my favorite prop! This prop idea came from another preschool teacher that's a genius, and whom I absolutely adore. I wonder if she knows my students have been loving and adoring her beanstalk prop for years now?

You'll need everything mentioned in the photo here, plus some scissors, a pencil, a marker, and a sewing needle (don't worry, it's just to pull the fishing line through your fabric, no serious sewing involved here!) You choose the kind of fabric you want. I think I just chose a soft, cotton fabric that was on sale. Remember that Hobby Lobby and Joanne Fabrics always have coupons online!

I think I got about a yard of green fabric (maybe two?) and I drew a beanstalk on it that started in the bottom left corner and wound up to the top left corner with my pattern, then back down, then back up... And so on and so forth till I got all the way to the end of the right side. This way you use every bit of your green fabric. It's doesn't matter if your beanstalk is drawn and cut straight across the fabric, because it's all going to hang from the ceiling anyway and will be straight when it does. You can trace over your penciled pattern with a marker to make it easier to see, and then cut it out. 

Take the end of your clear thread or fishing line and thread your needle. Poke the needle through one end of your beanstalk. You just need to secure it so it can pull your beanstalk to the ceiling without coming undone. Secure it with a good knot. It doesn't have to look pretty, nobody is going to see it anyway. It just needs to hold. 

You'll have to measure or estimate how tall the ceiling is in the room you'll be using. Or how tall you want your beanstalk to grow. Your fishing line will need to be about twice that length. Tie your washer to the end where you cut it. The washer will weight down your thread so it stays low where you can reach it to pull. It will keep your beanstalk apparatus from falling down before you even begin. 

If you do not have a drop ceiling to use, you could secure a nail, or 3M hook to the wall to drape your fishing line over. If you do that, you don't have to worry about using a paperclip. Just make sure your nail or hook is high enough to inspire some awe in your kiddos when the beanstalk grows!

I pull the line and make the beanstalk grow, then "chop it down" myself, when I first tell my students the story. But when the story is done I let each student have a turn to pull the line and make the stalk grow. We pretend they're Jack and say things as they pull the line like, "Wow, _______, your beans really are growing! Amazing!" Then I hold the line for them and let them use the toy axe to swing at the stalk and chop it down (let go of the line when you want to let the stalk fall). Be careful when letting them swing the toy axe. I've had a student or two get bumped by some very enthusiastic axe-swingers!

At one point I was using my own homemade faux axe with my students. I made it with cardboard, the cardboard roll from inside an aluminum foil roll, some paint, and some hot glue. It worked great for a couple years, but eventually broke. 

We do this story the last week of our fairy tale unit, and it's always a fun finale. I hope it works great for you. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer them! And let me know how it turns out!

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Making Story Time Magical

Looking for a way to add some magic to your story time? How about a visit form Cinderella!

My dear friend, Erin, embodies the Cinderella persona like nobody else! She came to visit our local library story time this past week. Word got 'round that Cinderella was coming to read stories and the story time room was packed to the hilt. Mostly with little girls in princess dresses, but there were some boys too! There was such a crowd that Cinderella had to use a mic to be heard.

Cinderella read stories, sang beautiful songs, had crafts for us to make, and took photos with the kids. The kids (and adults) were all dazzled, and a good time was had by all! Isaac's buddy was there at story time with him, and both boys seemed totally mesmerized. Isaac even wanted to stand in the mile long line for a photo with Cinderella!

I loved Cinderella's animated reading. Marsha, the librarian, worked as the book holder, and you know a good children's librarian when they can't resist making animated facial expressions even when they're just holding the book!

What a great idea to have Cinderella come be a great reading role model!

And Cinderella does story time at birthday parties too! What a wonderful way to celebrate a special day, and encourage reading! Brilliant!

Getting Cozy In December

December is all about print awareness. We are learning about the purpose print serves and practicing our hand at "reading" and "writing" our own print!

Last week we read The Jolly Christmas Postman by Allan and Janet Ahlberg. I let the kids play with all the fun pieces in the pockets within the book. We played a game of Bingo (our version was called "MAIL") that had the finding each word on their game cards (with the assistance of pictures). After the game we "wrote" our own letter to be mailed or delivered ourselves. The kids adored getting to mess around with my notepads and fancy pens and envelopes.

This week we read The Three Bears' Christmas by Kathy Duval. The kids got a kick out of this fun twist on the classic fairy tale. After I read it to them, then they got their own rebus reader version to read with me. They all did fantastic with it! Better than I imagined. What really impressed me was how they all wanted to read it with me. I worried that it might be an activity that wouldn't really hold their interest, but they loved it and really took ownership of it. I sent them home with the assignment of reading it to someone at their house. They all seemed to take that very seriously, and so I can't wait to hear how their reading went when I see them again next week.

I had a blast making this fun little faux fireplace to take to class with me this month. The idea behind it was that I wanted to use this as a spring board for talking up the idea of curling up with a good book, in a cozy place, during the winter months. I brought in a bunch of Christmas books and laid them around the fireplace, and as they finished their work and headed over to have a look, I chatted with them about where they like to read at home. It kind of took a funny turn when I heard about some of the places their mommies and daddies like to read too (the bathroom). I love that my students have great reading role models at home! I will bring my fireplace again next week and see if I can entice a few more students to curl up with a book in front of it!

Literacy Launchpad For Parents

Potty training My Little Reader has provided some perfect opportunities for busting out some of my Literacy Launchpad fun for him (we've been pretty cooped up in the house).

This week we read The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall. Then we made pig and wolf masks just like my students did in class.

Acting out the story was a little above My Little Reader's head, so instead we just chased each other around, taking turns as the pig and the wolf. I recited some of the rhymes from the story as we chased and encouraged him to say some as well.

"Little pig, little pig, let me come in."

"Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin."

It was a hit with My Little Reader. Already thinking up which story we'll play with next week.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Fairy Tale unit is wrapped! I know I have a lot of favorites, but there is nothing I don't like about exploring fairy tales with my students.

"The Three Billy Goats Gruff" was the story we heard last week. I used storytelling with this one again and utilized magnetic story board pieces with my storytelling. The kids love the story board pieces! It's always fun because there's usually at least one or two students that express some disappointment at the start of the story because I'm not reading from a book with pictures. But once I pull out the troll story piece and use my funny troll voice, they are sold!

My favorite thing about this story is making the students jump in surprise when I use the troll voice for the first time. That switch from the sweet voice I use for the goats to the harsh voice I use for the troll always gives them a startle. And then they all laugh at the fact that they got so startled!

When I finished telling this story all my students immediately wanted to act it out like they did with "The Three Little Pigs." I thought that was great! So I of course let them do that. They all took dibs on parts (we had multiple children playing each role, but it worked), and we had a blast with it.

The kids also got their own story board pieces to color and take home and use to tell the story! It's always tough to make sure each student keeps track of all their pieces. Hopefully they all made it home with their complete set of pieces... but I'm not sure.

Jack and The Beanstalk

Our fairy tale adventure this week was "Jack and The Beanstalk!"

I do storytelling with this one, instead of reading from a book, and I bring in fun props to use with it (see photos).

What's so fun about this one is playing up the magical elements in the story. I tell the story, then we discuss, then we play with the story props... Then we plant our own "magic" beans (given to me by Jack himself)! My students are never quite sure if they should believe that my beans came from Jack... or that they're magic. Some of them get a little nervous about the idea of giant coming down their beanstalk, usually nervous enough that I assure them that there are no such thing as giants. So we brainstorm other things that we might find at the top of our beanstalks instead!

Some of my students were such believers in the beans' magic that they expected to see their beanstalk start growing before we had even finished with class. "Hey," I reminded them, "even Jack had to wait one night for his beanstalk to grow!"

I'm sure I'll be hearing about the progress of their beanstalks next week. I'm looking forward to it! In the meantime, I'll be cooking up my next magical story!

Once Upon A Time...

Our fairy tale unit has begun! We kicked it off with James Marshall's The Three Little Pigs. The end of this Marshall's version is a bit odd to me, but the kids seem to really be drawn in by it, so I've stuck with this version for a few years now.

After our reading and discussion, we put on a "play." And we of course, had to make "costumes." My, how easy it is to make preschoolers happy. I love that! They were thrilled to get to play the parts of the wolf and the pigs. They got to choose what character they wanted to be. Most of them wanted to be "the pig that made his house out of bricks." So I had to be creative in making our play work with a bunch of "actors" that all wanted to play the same part. But it worked out.

In this last photo, this student was acting out the part where the pig rolls down the hill in a butter churn... I told you then ending was a bit odd. I didn't suggest that the students act this part out. She came up with it on her own, and thought it was great fun!

Puppet Storytelling - Easier Than You Think

Using puppets to tell a story can be an intimidating idea for some mommas and teachers. But the truth is, puppets are a guaranteed win! Seriously! Kids love 'em! They're something different, something silly... something highly tangible. You don't have to be anything even close to an expert storyteller to make a big impression when using puppets. 

When telling a story (not reading one), I make sure I know the general gist of the story, and then I add my own touch to it. I DO NOT memorize the way I'm going to tell the story. This never works well. Instead, I have a basic idea of the story I'm going to tell, and then I just let it naturally flow. So the story is never told the exact same way twice. Telling a story this was is easy, and it's fun for both your audience and you!

I have to admit, one of the reasons I have such an easy time being silly and hamming up my puppet storytimes is because there are no other adults present during my Literacy Launchpad lessons; there is nobody to really be embarrassed in front of. So, if this is part of your hang-up, kick the other teacher out (nicely) if you can. Just for story time. OR (and this is probably the more realistic option) pretend they're not there. This is easier said than done, I know. Just remember this though, they will most likely be in awe of your successful storytime, and wishing they were brave enough to tell such an amazing story with the puppets!

Warning: your kiddos are going to want to grab the puppets. Mine also seem to always have the urge (at least one or two of them) to hit one or both of my puppets. Why, I don't know. But for this reason I make sure I explain to the students that they will have a chance to give the puppets each a hug after the story. 

So go ahead and grab that puppet (or two) I know you've got lying around your house. Use it to tell a favorite story, or make up a new story to tell with the puppet. Try it, and see how easy it is. You kiddo(s) will love it, and be begging you for another performance!

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that we heard "The Tortoise and The Hare" this week. Hence the photos. :)

A Goldilocks Lesson

Our fairy tale unit continues with Goldilocks and the Three Bears! This story was told using both storyboard pieces used with the traditional telling of the tale, and an alternative telling of the story by Brinton Turkle. 

Here's an idea for presenting fairy tales to your children/students: compare two versions of the same story. There are many interpretations out there (check your local library) of most fairy and folk tales. Pick similar interpretations, or vastly different versions of the same story. Let your students point out the similarities and differences. Make comparison charts. Have everyone vote on their favorite. 

I'm always surprised when I present two versions of the same story. I think I know which will be the favorite, but I'm often wrong. You just never know which interpretation will speak to each student, or group of students. It's different every time. 

Green Veggies and Princesses

Last week my students came into class asking (literally), "What kind of adventure are we going on today?" Is that not the coolest thing? The answer was: a fairy tale adventure! Our adventure unit has wrapped up, but our fairy/folk tale unit is just beginning. It's difficult for me to pick a favorite unit, but our fairy tale unit ranks pretty high. 

We read The Princess and the Pea (Lauren Child) last week. It's a long story, so I always paraphrase when presenting it. The children seem to enjoy the story all the same, and it keeps us on time with our lesson. The illustrations are what make this book (if you haven't seen this book yet, leave your computer now and head for the nearest library or bookstore), so I don't feel too bad about not reading the text word for word. 

All my students (that's not an over generalization) love this story, boys included. I think it has a lot to do with Lauren Child's own telling of this classic tale. Those photographs of her beautiful paper princesses, prince, king, and queen amongst each detailed dollhouse-esque scene... It leaves even me gazing at the illustrations utterly mesmerized. 

Some photos from our lesson are below. Can you guess what we were doing?

You can purchase your own copy of The Princess and the Pea at the Literacy Launchpad Store.

A couple other unrelated notes:

• I was told that there might be a problem with the link to subscribe to my blog via email. I'm looking into that. 

• Sandra at Preschool to Pre-K and More awarded me another I Love Your Blog award! Yay! Thanks, Sandra!