In my opinion, “The Mitten” book is a must read every winter. There are different versions so you will want to pick the version you think your kids will enjoy the most.
One of the reasons the Mitten Book is a must read is not only because it is a classic folk tale but also because it is a great story the second time around.Â
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The Second Time Around
The second time around can mean lots of things. It can mean simply reading the book a second time (which The Mitten is a great book to read more than once).Â
OR
The second time around can happen by inviting the children to get involved and retell the story. They can retell the story with puppets, a felt board, or in this case, a fun story-telling game.
How to play this story-telling game…
Make a large mitten shape on the floor with painter’s tape. After reading The Mitten book, read the book again only this time, assign each child to be an animal that was in the book. If you need extra animals so every child can join in, then just make up a few extra animals. As you come the part where an animal goes inside the mitten, invite one of your students to go inside your large floor mitten.Â
Keep adding more and more “animals” until every child gets to be inside the mitten. Along the way, use as much language from the actual story book that you can use to draw the connection between the storybook and the story game.Â
Once all your children are all cozy and warm inside the mitten, be sure no one “sneezes” or the animals will go flying out everywhere!
Now I realize that I am writing this post right in the middle (or hopefully towards the end) of Covid 19 restrictions which may be an issue for you. If so, then go back to one of the other ways I mentioned above to retell the mitten story.
Or gather up play animals and invite each child to add their own animal to the mitten.
OR make a mitten shape on the floor for each of your students and keep them all six feet apart.
My main point is: don’t get stuck on what you can’t do. Look for the possibilities and do what you can do. There is always a way to make an idea work and to keep the learning fun for your children.Â
Get the Mitten Book on Amazon!
