TODAY'S CHILD CARE ACTIVITY --2/22/08

A Pair of Mittens: A Warm Story
[20 Minutes]
It will warm your heart to curl up and share this story with your children.

What to do:
Tell children this delightful little story.

Once upon a time, there was a pair of mittens. They were just ordinary mittens--one for the right hand and one for the left hand.

These mittens had been sitting on a store shelf for so very long that they felt a little sad and didn't even bother to think too much about each other.

But, one cold February day, someone took them off the store shelf, bought them, and took them home to a little child. The child was very excited and delighted to see the mittens. Being just ordinary mittens, they couldn't understand why. However, they did feel a little curious when they were put on the child's hands. For you see, they didn't know what to expect! Well, they found out very quickly! All of a sudden they were out in the cold snow with the little child. "Brr-rr," they said. They were not too sure they were going to like this.

Then the child started to roll snowballs. The mittens were a bit surprised when they found out that they could work together and make snowballs. They were amazed to see how they could roll snowballs into a snowman. They were delighted to be used to hold the handles on a sled as they whizzed down a long hill.
For the pair of mittens, life had suddenly changed. They were happy! And most of all, they loved being together. They saw how they needed each other.

When they got home they were hung on a towel rack over the heater to dry. They cuddled up close and made a little heart with their thumb parts.

As the month of February went on, they grew to love being with the child out in the snow, and they also grew to love each other. So very often you'd see the two happy mittens hanging on the towel rack just like this.How to use:
After sharing the following story with your child, encourage her to retell the story using her own pair of mittens or the paper mittens you can make using the pattern in the picture.

Let's Talk: Ideas to Explore Together.
If your mittens could talk what would they say?
Do you like wearing mittens or gloves?
Useful information:

While you are having fun together, children are developing listening and language skills.