Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Jan Brett’s wonderful retelling of the old Ukrainian Folktale “The Mitten” (For ages 3-9)
We’ll read this cozy tale, act out the story and then make our own well-stuffed mittens!
- Talk about folktale, show Tressalt version, then read Jan Brett’s
- Act out story with puppets (old lady, boy) and masks from www.janbrett.com – we had drawn an enormous mitten on a white plastic tablecloth with thick black marker, placed it on the floor and parents held down the corners while the Iibrarian narrated the story and the children (holding laminated masks from the Jan Brett website), stepped on and huddled together, at the “aachoo” we all jumped off and threw the tablecloth into the air! Another possibility (suggested here http://lalalalibrary.blogspot.com/2014/12/flannel-friday-mitten.html is to have two kids (or grown ups) hold hands and become each side of the mitten, then let the kids crowd in between.)
- And/or play “The Mitten Game” from A Storytime Year by Susan Dailey p. 18 (adapted for Jan Brett’s version)
Have parents & children get in a circle & hold hands. The circle represents the mitten. Sing (to: “Twinkle, twinkle, Little Star”)
Mitten on this day so cold
How many animals can you hold?
A little mole tunnels in
To get out of the snow and wind
Mitten on this day so cold
How many animals can you hold?
Repeat for the other animals (snowshoe rabbit, hedgehog, owl, badger, fox, bear, mouse) As each animal’s name is called, a couple of children enter the circle and the circle gets tighter around them (the mitten is getting “crowded”).
On the last verse, sing the following and all fall down!.
Mitten on this day so cold
How many animals can you hold?
A tiny mouse crawls right in and…. Ha-Choo!!!
Alternatively:
The Mitten in the Snow (original source unknown, tune: The Farmer in the Dell)
The mitten in the snow, the mitten in the snow,
Help us please so we don’t freeze, the mitten in the snow.
The mole (snowshoe rabbit, hedgehog, owl, badger, fox, bear, mouse) squeezes in (2x)
Help us please so we don’t freeze, the mitten in the snow.
The bear goes “kachoo” (2x),
All the animals fly up high – out of the mitten in the snow!
- Craft: animals & mitten www.janbrett.com/put_the_animals_in_the_mitten.htm
-- we used hole punch and yarn for lacing mitten halves together (note: it’s easier to get the animals in and out if you don’t lace up the cuff portion – can copy on heavier paper, B&T chipboard cardboards are too hard to hole punch). Optional: Make eight hole punches along the cuff and use yarn to attach each of the animals to the cuff – then you can get them out of the mitten more easily at the “aachoo” – and the pieces don’t get lost! – we found a 8-10” long piece of yarn tied in a 4” long loop prevents too much tangling.) Used coloring sheet: “design your own mitten” from Jan Brett’s website for younger kids.) - Alternatively, could do Story Rocks: http://fun-a-day.com/mitten-activities-using-story-rocks
1.2016 (added plastic bag snowball fight details here before craft)
Heather Forest's Musical version here: http://www.heatherforest.com/files/01_-_The_Mitten.mp3
from: http://libraryladystorytimes.blogspot.ca/2014/01/flannel-friday-sort-of-mitten-madness.html has a great idea of using chopped paper confetti for the penultimate verse!
The Mitten (version from: Heather Forest, storyteller)
One cold and frosty day, a boy went into the forest to collect firewood. Along the way,he dropped a warm mitten his grandmother had just knit for him.
Along came a mouse. When the mouse saw the mitten lying in the snow, the mouse was shivering so. He said, “I'm frosty cold out here in the storm. I'm going to climb into that mitten where it's nice & warm.” And into the mitten he went.
Along came a rabbit. When the rabbit saw the mitten lying in the snow, the rabbit was shivering so. He said, “Can I come in? I'm cold from the storm. Let me in, let me in, where it's nice & warm.”
The mouse inside the mitten said, “Come on in the door.” And he moved over and sang, “There's always room for one more. There's always room for one more. There's always room for one more. There's always room for one more.” And so the rabbit climbed into the mitten and it stretched & stretched.
Along came a fox. When the fox saw the mitten lying in the snow, the fox was shivering so. He said, “Can I come in? I'm cold from the storm. Let me in, let me in, where it's nice & warm.”
The animals inside the mitten said, “Come on in the door.” And they moved over and sang, “There's always room for one more. There's always room for one more. There's always room for one more. There's always room for one more.” And so the fox climbed into the mitten and it stretched and stretched.
Along came a bear. When the bear saw the mitten lying in the snow, the bear was shivering so. He said, “Can I come In? I'm cold from the storm. Let me in, let me in, where it's nice & warm.”
The animals inside the mitten said, “Come on in the door.” And they moved over and sang, “There's always room for one more. There's always room for one more. There's always room for one more. There's always room for one more.” And so the bear climbed into the mitten and it stretched and stretched and stretched.
Along came a cricket. When the cricket saw the mitten lying in the snow, the cricket was shivering so, the cricket didn't even ask. It just stuck its leg right in and -- BAM!! The mitten exploded into 10 000 tiny pieces.
All the animals tumbled out onto the snow and scambered off into the forest in every direction. One piece of the mitten floated down and landed right on the mouse's head.
Just then the boy came back looking for the mitten he had dropped. But it was no where to be found. He did notice a little mouse running round and round however. And the mouse was wearing a hat, exactly the color of the mitten he had lost. “How strange!” he thought as he turned for home. When he arrived at his house, he looked in the window & saw his grandmother. She was sitting in a big rocking chair by the fire and she was knitting him a brand new pair of mittens just in case he ever lost one.
When she heard him outside she called, “It's frosty cold out there in the storm. Come in, come in where it's nice & warm.” And just as he came in the door she said, “Come and sit with me in this chair by the fire.” And she moved over and sang, “There's always room for one more. There's always room for one more. There's always room for one more. There's always room for one more.
No comments:
Post a Comment