Nibble, Nibble Like A Mouse: The Legacy of Hansel and Gretel
Once upon a time…
I spent the week doing a deep dive into Hansel and Gretel.
And puppets.
And decided that instead of writing about why I think Hansel and Gretel is a quintessential tale of children’s resilience, I’d try something new and chat about it on video.
It’s about five minutes long, and covers the four protective factors for resilience. And Hansel and Gretel, of course!
I appreciate your patience with my risk-taking. And would love to hear your thoughts!
Hansel and Gretel
Retold by Rika Lesser and Illustrated by Paul Zelinsky
Why this variant?
Simply and authentically told
Lots of room for children’s interpretation
Caldecott Honor illustrations give “fairy tale feel”
Well-laid out for group sharing
Lots of details in imagery for children to pore over
Pretend play is the mother lode of childhood initiative!
Kids have control over the stories, the characters, the co-players, the props, the dialogue...everything!
And it can take so many forms! (All of which not only nurture resilience, but language and literacy as well!)
Have you tried “small world play?” Instead of BEING the characters in the story, children use loose parts and props like small “people” to create and act out their imaginings.
This master guide gives in-depth information, but here’s the nickel version for ways you can inspire small world play as you explore Hansel and Gretel!
What You’ll Need:
* A base where the world(s) can be created:
Sensory table or bins
Tray
Pie pan
Cardboard boxes
Materials like sand, dirt, foam, felt, cloth etc. to line bases, if desired
* Loose parts for children to create the world:
Twigs
Sticks
Rocks and pebbles
Tree cookies
Moss
Leaves
Pinecones
Cardboard pieces
Construction paper
Fabric scraps
Yarn scraps
Etc.
*Small people or animals that will play out stories:
Lego people
Small dolls
Plastic animals, birds, insects etc.
Finger puppets
Cartoon figures
Puffy stickers of character
Etc.
What Small World magic will the children imagine and create?
Let us know in the comments!
One of Hansel’s first acts of initiative was to sneak out at night and gather white pebbles. He carefully dropped these as the children were led into the woods. And the pebbles guided the children back home.
A box of white (or any color!) pebbles are a great loose part to help kids connect with THEIR initiative!
What will they do with them? Probably explore whatever schema(s) they find engaging! (So…whatever they initiate!)
See below for some examples to look out for.
Don’t have access to pebbles? How about a “ripping or snipping” fest in your sensory table with white paper? Then: kids can smush the paper bits into “pebbles!”
Great for fine motor skills (especially the ripping!), and it won’t take long to create bags full of paper “pebbles” that can be used in place of real pebbles for whatever they can imagine!
“Scheming” Initiative: Pebbles
Transporting them in cups, pockets
Ordering and positioning them in a line, by size, by shape, etc.
Stacking them (vertical dynamic)
Aggregating them into mosaics
Tossing them (Trajectory)
ETC!
