This week we had fun with Red Riding Hood by James Marshall. A colorful and somewhat silly version of Little Red Riding Hood.
In this picture Red Riding Hood’s mother is making custard for Red’s Granny. We always stop and count the cats in the picture. NINE!! In the kitchen? (Hahah! How much cat fur will be in that custard?):
The children love trying to find the “hidden wolf”:
One of my favorites questions to ask the children is – would you think this is your Granny? (Hahaha poor Red, she might not be as smart as our children!):
My favorite details in the book:
In this version , she says “Granny, what long arms you have”. “The better to hug you, dear”
After we read the story, we talk about the wolf. Do wolves stand on two feet? Do they speak like humans? Do they wear hats? (NO!) That is how we know this is a made up story, fiction or a fairy tale. The story reminds us not to talk to strangers.
I think the most important thing we can do with this story is just PLAY with it. Act it out, retell it with our imaginations or puppets. This is how our children develop language and pre-reading skills. The children always love this story, and love the idea of acting it out, so it should be fun and easy.
I have a cute puppet I like to use, it flips over so it can be three characters:
Here are some soft puppets the children love to play with:
My plan is to put a laminated guide(mostly pictures) of this story on the playground so the children can act it out there. I will keep you updated. #playgroundliteracy
Here are a few more activities to go with the story:
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