The Mitten by Jan Brett

Gathering Activity:  Color Masks and Finger Puppets

The children colored these great masks and these cute finger puppets that we used later in the day during circle time and game time.  Jan Brett offers them for free on her website.   


Circle Time:  The Mitten by Jan Brett

The Mitten is a story of a lost mitten on a snowy day.  Animals in the woods, one by one,  find the mitten and seek shelter inside.  They all squeeze inside (including a bear), until the smallest animal squeezes in and causes it to finally it to "explode."  It is a wonderful read aloud for preschoolers with so many great teaching opportunities.  As we read,  we predicted which animal would some next, compared sizes of animals, and learned the names of some unfamiliar animals. 

After the story we retold the story.  We used a white mitten and the small animals we colored during gathering activity. I found this cute  Mitten Song.  I handed each child one of the animals.  As we sang the song they brought their animals up, one by one, to stuff inside the mitten.  At the end we threw the mitten up in the air.  Of course there were lots of giggles! 


Mitten Song
Sung to: The Farmer in the Dell
The mitten in the snow
The mitten in the snow
Help us please so we won't freeze!
The mitten in the snow.
The mole squeezes in
The mole squeezes in
Help us please so we won't freeze
The mole squeezes in!
Continue verses with each animal in the order they entered The Mitten in the story.
The bear sneezed us out
The bear sneezed us out
Oh no, now we might freeze
The bear sneezed us out!

Snack Time: Glove or Mitten Toast

1-Cut out bread with a cookie cutter in the shape of a glove or mitten.

2-Mix drops of food coloring into a small container of milk.

3-Allow the children to paint the colored milk on their bread.

4-Add sprinkles.

5-Toast in the toaster oven.

6-Enjoy!

We also ate cheese cubes and bananas with our snack.

Art: Torn Paper Mittens

Materials Needed: Construction paper, glue, scissors

Directions:
1-Before class, cut out LARGE mitten shapes out of posterboard or card stock.  One per child.
2-During class: Moms and children tear colored construction paper into small pieces. 
3-Spread glue onto paper evenly.

 4-Cover with small pieces of construction paper to create your own design.

 Games: 

1-The Bear Squeezes In

Materials Needed: A large blanket and the masks we colored in the gathering activity.  

Directions: The children and moms hold the corners of the blanket as we sing the song "The Bear Squeezes In" (found above).  The child with the corresponding mask climbs under the blanket until each child is under the blanket.  Then we create a tent over them and sneeze and bring it up into the air.  I lost count how many times we played this one.

 

2-The Mitten Match

Materials Needed: Variety of Mittens and Gloves

Directions: Place all of the mittens and gloves in the center of the circle and allow the children to find matches.  Compare and contrast the mittens with the children as you look for matches. 

3-Mitten Discovery 

Materials Needed: A large mitten and several small objects to place inside (We used Cheerio cereal pieces, money, a small car, a pretzel, a ball)

Directions:  Place a small object inside the mitten.  Allow the children to take turns placing their hands inside and guessing what is in the mitten.