Tag Archives: fairy tales

Fairy Tale Creative Writing Project

We have been enjoying the Fairy Tale unit for more than three weeks now. Students have kept a record of the similarities and differences between fairy tales.

They even compared and contrasted different versions of familiar fairy tales!

Today, students began the process of writing their own fairy tale using our interactive bulletin board.

Students chose a setting card, two character cards, and a problem card. They then organized this information in a story map.

Next, students began writing their fairy tales, making sure to begin with “once upon a time…” They will illustrate their fairy tales as well, ending up with their very own book. Stay tuned for updates on this project next week!

Castle Project

Last week during Friday Fun, students received a castle kit with some fairy tale characters. They began coloring it here at school, but with so many fun pieces, they quickly ran out of time! I was so excited to receive this picture this morning of a student who spent part of his weekend coloring, constructing, and playing with his castle.

Yay for imagination!

Friday Fun

The kindergarteners made more fairy tale magic today during Friday Fun! In the kitchen, they enjoyed making Rapunzel’s braid bread. This was a great activity for fine motor building, as the students had to roll three pieces of dough.

  

They also had to divide the dough into three equal parts and learn how to braid! (more fine motor!)

Students also worked on coloring and creating a 3D castle. This will be such a fun tool for them to use as a setting when they retell their fairy tales!

Finally, students engaged in a STEM kit where they constructed a solid chair that would hold one of the three bears.

One more Friday Fun to go before we live happily ever after….

Royal STEM Adventures

Have you ever wondered how the princess in the classic fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea, made it to the top of the giant stack of mattresses? The kindergarteners sure did, especially when a beautiful bed stacked high with mattresses showed up in our classroom!

I set out many different supplies that the students could use to construct a way for the princess to reach the top of the mattresses.

They quickly began building different contraptions and revising their ideas.

I loved watching the students design, test, redesign, and then present their creations.

Magical Fairy Tales

We have entered the land of fairy tales…quite literally! Students must cross over a drawbridge to enter the classroom!

They also transformed our regular windows into works of stained glass that look as though they belong in a castle!

So, of course, we had to create more magic during Friday Fun! Students made fairy dough, using three simple ingredients: 1 cup of strawberry conditioner, 2 1/2 cups of cornstarch, and pink or red food coloring. (Silver glitter is optional.) Not only does this fairy dough smell amazing, but it feels amazing!

There were HUGE smiles all around!

Students also made a magical reading wand. We will use these wands during reading centers next week.

Learning about fairy tales is the perfect way to end the year!

Fairy Tale Friday Fun

It was a magical Friday Fun today as students made Rapunzel’s braid and a sparkly dragon. Here is how we made Rapunzel’s braid…

Using Trader Joe’s pizza dough, students divided their dough ball into three pieces. They then rolled three snakes that they attached together at the top. Next, students braided the dough. One of the last steps was to brush a little butter and olive oil on the braid and sprinkle some magical parsley over the top.

I baked at 325 degrees for 25 minutes, and the braids were ready to enjoy!

For the sparkly dragon, students painted glue on a toilet paper roll and then sprinkled green glitter on it.

To make the fiery breath, students placed yellow, red, and orange tissue paper strips on a piece of masking tape.

Students made eyes using pompoms and googly eyes. All the pieces were glued together, making this fun and interactive dragon!

Service Day

We had a group of lovely Laguna Blanca Middle School girls visit the kindergarten classroom on Friday for two hours! Knowing that the girls wanted to spend time with the children, I created three activities that would keep them busy and fully engaged with the kindergartners.

As we are in the midst of our Fairy Tale Unit, the activities all related to fairy tales. Students have been working on writing their own fairy tales that include characters, a setting, and of course, a problem. The first activity consisted of the students making antique paper that we will later use to create a book.

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Students then drew pictures of their characters that will be made into puppets.

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The next activity was for students to construct their setting, which is a castle. Time to get creative with toilet paper rolls!

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These past few days, students have been writing their fairy tale on the antique paper. The final step will be for me to bind the books together. Here is a sneak peek at what a page looks like:

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The puppets are complete and ready to be used to tell each fairy tale.

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Students will add the finishing touches to their castles during Friday Fun this week.

A big thank you to Dr. Piller’s advisory group. You ladies did a great job helping the kindergartners. We appreciate all your work.