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Prior to this spring, I would have told you that the thought of never going outside was ludicrous. Then the Covid pandemic hit and now I realize that anything is possible. Even though we are on summer break, as a kindergarten teacher I am still trying to find fun ways to help my students process all the changes in our world while facilitating learning opportunities at home. I am so excited to partner with the makers of OFF! ® Repellents who created “The Never Starting Tales” to provide some fun and engaging learning activities for my students and you can too!
Timeless fairy tales get turned on their head with these adorable Never Starting Tales. Our favorite fairy tale characters never get to enter their well-known story because they never go outside. Our beloved Jack, from Jack and the Beanstalk, wants to stay inside to play his video game. The precious Wendy, from Peter and Wendy, is ready to grow up so she stays home instead of going to play.
Does Staying in Mean Life is Boring?
These Never Starting Tales bring adventure to life. While our favorite characters missed out on their adventure, someone else didn’t. We can encourage our students to have a little adventure at home right alongside the Never Starting Tales characters. By encouraging students to venture into their own backyard, these fun tales can add some adventure into the lives of our students too.
The Never Starting Tales are the starting point for some amazing STEAM and Language Arts activities too! Thanks to the makers of OFF!® Repellents, the planning is already done! Each Never Starting Tale includes a lesson plan and activity ideas that are perfect for teachers or parents to use with their kids.
Giving It a Try . . .
In preparation for introducing my students to the Never Starting Tales, I decided to give them a try with my boys. We jumped right into one of their favorites – Jack and the Beanstalk!
The boys loved watching the short video and also listening to the audiobook of the tale. I can’t wait to share these with my students. They will love listening to the book too!
My boys thought Jack was silly for not wanting to go outside – something they both miss dearly right now. So we opted for some outside time in our backyard. We took a short walk around our yard looking for plants that might be able to grow up to the sky like a beanstalk.
Although I will encourage my students to do the same type of thing, I will also remind them that during this season of social distancing, they need to ask their parents before venturing out.
Stories and STEAM!
We decided to grow our own beanstalk! Since school transitioned to remote learning before our class plant unit, this is the perfect time to do one of my favorite activities – Garden in a Glove! I grabbed the supplies for my boys and got them started. I will also send the instructions home to my students when we begin this tale together!
Adding some hands-on science to our day was a hit! My boys loved sprouting the bean seed and are excited each morning to see the changes and growth. In a few days we will transfer our sprouted bean seeds to soil. Then we will watch and make some scientific observations. The Jack and the Beanstalk Never Starting Tale comes with a great printable sheet for tracking our observations.
We recently planted some other seeds, so we will do some comparing as the plants grow! These peppers have a little head start, but those beans grow so fast it will be interesting to see how long it takes before they outgrow the peppers.
I am super excited to share these activities with my students too!
Summer Learning and Never Starting Tales!
Our school year might be over, but the learning doesn’t have to. I will be using Never Starting Tales with my boys this summer and I will also be sharing the books and resources with my students’ parents.
You can use Never Starting Tales with your students too! They are easy to use and free – which makes a great combination for sending them home with our kids. Trust me your students will love them. And . . . I think parents will love them too! I know this mom (aka me) sure has! We can’t wait to dive into all the Never Starting Tales!