Weekly Kid’s Co-Op…Jack and the Beanstalk

By arleegreenwood

“But Jack was restless. He was keen to find out what else was at the top of the beanstalk, so he climbed it once more.”  ~Jack And The Beanstalk, Classic Fairy Tale.

It’s that time again!! Weekly Kid’s Co-Op is here! And we want to see all your fabulous activities for kids. Link up at the bottom if you’d like, or just browse through the other blogs to get your creative juices flowing!

For this week’s Co-Op post, we decided to take Jack and the Beanstalk to a whole new level.

I don’t know about your kids, but mine are obsessed with the Puss In Boots movie. They play “beanstalk” as Kitty SoftPaws and Humpty all the time. I decided it was time to let them in on the real story of the beanstalk…

We found a copy at our local bookstore, and got to reading it…

And we opened a package of real bean plant seeds so the kids could feel and see what Jack had sold the cow for, and why his mother would have been so upset…

And then we got to playing. Because playing is how the smalls learn best. We built our own giant’s castle in the sky, complete with clouds and a golden goose. Here is how we did it, and you can do it too…

To make the foamy bubbles, pour a bunch of dish soap in a bucket or pot, run water in it and then drain most of the water. Scoop the suds into your “blue sky” water. I used a stem of greenery from my Mother’s Day flowers for the beanstalk, as our bean plant seedlings have not yet grown big enough.

Now you can add foam blocks that will become the castles in the sky…

This is the castle the preschool/kindergarten factor built…

But even the littlest ones were building…and what great practice for fine-motor skills and hand-eye coordination, prediction, and cause and effect!

And when the big kids left, the wee ones stayed behind just playing. And they played until their fingers were all pruney…

So when you are going through the story books that your kids love, try to think outside the book. Children love to play make-believe. And they will act out what they see or hear in their world every day.  Why not try to steer them toward a little literature play? I am a huge fan of reading. Books are stacked up in corners all over my house.  And if I have to make a bubbly mess of my kitchen once in a while to get my kids excited about learning to read, then I will. A hundred times over.

Thanks for stopping by, and please link up below if you’d like. It’s as easy as a click of a mouse.

~Arlee, Small Potatoes

The Weekly Kid's Co-op

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We have also linked up with jdaniel4’smom for her READ,EXPLORE,LEARN series.Click the badge to explore many other ideas for playing and learning with stories!jdaniel4smom

21 thoughts on “Weekly Kid’s Co-Op…Jack and the Beanstalk”

  2. This is awesome! I love this idea so much that I pinned it, stumble it and tweet about it. I hope you get hundreds of views of this post. It deserves them.

    Thank you for linking to Read.Explore.Learn.

    • Thank you so much, Malia! I’d love to do a post for your blog! I have a few old classic storybooks that I’ve been thinking of bringing to life again. I’ve never done a guest post before, so the process will be all new to me!

  7. What a wonderful way to re-enact the story! You’re so creative! I really love your water table, Arlee! Where did you find it?

    • Thanks, Jackie!I ordered it years ago through Scholastic Teacher’s Store. It used to be plain wood, but it has recently had a make-over, as it was falling apart! It has seen a lot of use over the last 10 years!!

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