Fairy Tales & Folk Tales
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This January, the Red Room did a unit on fairy tales and folk tales. This came from the children’s interests; they had been enjoying hearing stories from the teachers as well as telling each other stories, especially during snack and lunch. They were especially fond of stories that, in their words were “spooky” or had “mischief.” This carried over to Center Time and Free Play, where the children sought out books in the library and then retold the stories to themselves and others in Dramatic Play.
While exploring the unit, they worked to turn Dramatic Play into a fairytale dress-up area, which included a cardboard castle! It also became a Goldilocks and the Three Bears themed area with a focus on differentiating between big, medium and small. After reading different versions of Stone Soup they compared and contrasted each version and made their own soup from scratch.
See below for more information from the Red Room!
We read Abiyoyo by Pete Seeger. Abiyoyo is a story about a father and son who are ostracized from their community for misusing their skills and are welcomed back into the community after they work together using those skills to stop a hungry giant named Abiyoyo. The children have enjoyed using toy wands and going “Zoop!” like the father does to make objects disappear. They also love to sing the Abiyoyo song near the end of the book.
We read the sequel Abiyoyo Returns by Paul DuBois and Pete Seeger, in which many years have passed, and the boy has grown up; his daughter devises a plan to save the town from winter floods and summer droughts. This plan involves bringing back Abiyoyo, who joins the community. This book is especially appealing because the giant from the first book is shown not to be evil but to need someone to teach him how to act.
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems is an absurd retelling of the classic story involving dinosaurs, giant bowls of chocolate pudding, and even Norwegians. It’s appeal is in its humor!
Little Witch Hazel: A Year in the Forest by Phoebe Wahl follows a fairy woman through the four seasons. It starts with her rescuing an owl egg and taking care of it until the owl grows up. The last section ends with the owl helping Witch Hazel get home. The children enjoyed this story a lot and the interconnectedness of the chapters made the rereading of this book more enriching because the children could recall how the owl would play a role later in the story.
The Three Billy Goats Gruff By Mac Barnett takes the classic fairy tale and makes it very silly. The children had a lot of fun laughing at the troll in this retelling. Some of the children would gather together to reread the story to each other knowing the plot by heart, if not all the words.
The Wolf Suit, By Sid Sharp was another big hit. Instead of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, the story follows a sheep dressed as a wolf so he can explore the forest and pick berries. By the end of the story the main character makes friends and feel confident that together they do not need to be afraid. For the four weeks we had this book, most children requested it daily, often telling you the twist of the story before you reached it.
