Tell a Fairy Tale Day is February 26th, but any day is perfect for a fairy tale!
Some people think fairy tales are too violent for young children. And I would agree that some of them are a little twisted and dark. However, most of them aren’t any more violent than Saturday morning cartoons. The bottom line is children have enjoyed these stories for hundreds of years. Proof that a good story is a good story! There is usually a protagonist (good character) that struggles with an evil character. The best part of fairy tales is that they always end happily and good prevails. Many psychologists support fairy tales because they believe children will face “dragons” throughout their lives, and fairy tales give them hope, determination, and strength to defeat their problems.
Discussion
What is a fairy tale?
What do children know about fairy tales?
Are they fiction or non-fiction? Why?
Brainstorm
How many fairy tales can they name?
Make a list on the board as they call them out.
Go to the library and search for fairy tale books.
Comprehension
Get a storybook (without pictures) and have the children close their eyes as you read to them. Challenge them to make pictures in their brain.
*Stop before the end of the book and ask them to draw pictures of what they think will happen. Compare their predictions with what actually happened by reading the end of the book.
*Read several different versions of the same fairy tale and compare and contrast.
*Compare different illustrations of the same fairy tale.
Creative Activities
Let children dress up like their favorite character from a fairy tale. Encourage them to retell the story and explain why they chose that character.
*Have children make puppets of favorite fairy tale characters from lunch bags, paper plates, or sticks.
*Divide children into small groups and let them act out their favorite scene from a fairy tale.
I was a lucky little girl because I grew up before videos and iPads. I do remember my mother reading to us from this storybook every night. Look at the forward I found when I opened the book!
This book is my house.
The door is open and I shall enter.
I shall be happy here because my house has so many windows and
my companions are men and women who love me.
Here I will find laughter, love, romance, beauty, and happiness.
