The Tale of Peter Rabbit

March 29th, 2012

Good morning Blogging Moms! With Easter right around the corner, we wanted to share with you one of our favorite children's stories. When we were teaching first grade, we were always shocked when we discovered how many of our students had NEVER heard the tale of Peter Rabbit. It is such a sweet story and gives children so many life lessons about listening, following directions, and being obedient. There are many resources on the internet to accompany the story such as puzzles, games, coloring sheets, etc. We read this to our own children when they were young, and now that they are grown, we treasure the memories this endearing story has given us.

Theme: The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Materials Needed: The Tale of Peter Rabbit book by Beatrix Potter, paper plate, google eyes, pipe cleaners, crayons, scissors, glue, construction paper or felt, cotton balls (optional)

Developmental Skills: fine motor, listening and following directions, vocabulary, sequencing, cause and effect

Activity: Read the Tale of Peter Rabbit to your child(ren). During the story, stop and discuss different vocabulary words such as sieve, mischief, thief, etc. Also, you can talk about the order in which Peter runs through Mr. McGregor's garden, who he sees and how he escapes through out the story.

After the story, your child can make the Peter Rabbit mask/character and act out the story. Discuss the importance of following directions and the consequences that happened to Peter when he did not obey his mother.

Extension Activities: Discuss with your child alternate endings to the story. How would the story be different if Peter had listened to his mother? What would have happened if he was caught by Mr. McGregor?

*Create vocabulary flash cards using 4x6 index cards. Print or cut out pictures from the computer, magazine, etc. and glue them onto the cards. Print the word on the other side. Your child can practice reading the words. If you make two sets of each card, they can play Concentration with the word cards.

*For a healthy snack, serve warm bread and blackberry jam.

*There are many fun games to help children learn to listen and follow directions. For example, Simon Says, Red Light-Green Light, etc.

Teacher's Tip: We really encourage you to work with your child on listening and following directions. As teachers, we found this to be one of the most important classroom skills a child needed to succeed in school.