There’s
nothing better than a good story that children beg, “Do it again! Do it again!” Melissa Yoder shared this story with us when I was in Austin
last week. All you
need is a piece of paper and a marker. (You could also tell this with a document camera or whiteboard.)
Once there
was a man who went walking with his hands behind his back.
Some fast
bees swarmed around him.
He saw
lake and jumped in, but the bees still chased him.
He ran up
a tall hill.
There were
two dark caves.
He went up
and down a mountain.
A cat
jumped out and chased away those bees!
*To make
it a Halloween tale you could change the bees to bats and let a black cat scare
away the bats.
Pumpkin
House Story
I tell
this every year and it’s a timeless tale children have always enjoyed. I
like to tear it with my fingers, but you can cut with a pair of scissors if you
prefer. All you need is an orange
sheet of paper.
Once there
was a little old lady that lived near (your school).
She lived
in a funny orange house that was half a circle with a chimney at the bottom.
This lady
had a cat named (child’s name) with a long squiggly tail. The lady had a special door built just
for the cat so she could go in and out.
This lady
always wore a pointed that. She
had a special door built just for her hat so it wouldn’t fall off.
She also
had two pet birds named (two children’s names). Here’s a special window for the birds so they could fly in
and out.
On Halloween
eve all the boys and girls from (your school) went to her house and knocked on
her door. (Knock! Knock!) She came to the door and said, “Close your eyes.” (Have all the children close their
eyes. Open and hold it up to your
face.)
SURPRISE! It’s a jack-o-lantern!
*My
children loved this story so much I told it every day until they could tell it
with me. Gee, I was doing the
Common Core Standards 30 years ago and I didn’t even know it!!! I also sent a copy of the story home
for the parents to do with their children..