🐸 🕷️ Toads and Diamonds 💎 💎 in Spooky Season
Once upon a time…
There was a one-day holiday for kids. Costumes, candy and the adventure of going trick or treating with friends and family.
But now: it’s SPOOKY SEASON! A month-long celebration of things that give us shivers and chills. And adults have co-opted it.
Ironic, since, as a culture, we seem to want to protect children from EVER being scared… of anything!
And yet: what’s resilience for? It’s our ability to spring back after adversity… including things that go bump in the night.
Giving children the chance to feel the shiver and suspense within the warm context of our relationships builds resilience.
Fairy tales offer this. And they almost all are stories of overcoming the bad stuff with the help of a magical helper.
The message for kids going through adversity: Finding those relationships will help it be ok. THAT’S the magic!
This week: another Toads and Diamonds variant. What will the kind sister and the unkind sister do this time???
Toads and Diamonds
Retold & Illustrated by
Robert Bender
Why this variant?
Plot twist: Sisters trip over a log that turns out to be a three-headed troll, who asks each girl to comb their hair and wipe the moss from their noses.
Darker illustrations give it a spookier feel for October!
Kind sister shares her wealth with the people in a nearby town so they all live happily ever after!
Great for older kids to compare/contrast with other versions
Magical Helpers: Relationships go “Wild!”
Like many fairy tale heroes, the kind sister in Toads and Diamonds discovers her way out of adversity in the deep, dark woods.
When she helps a stranger, she not only starts to spew jewels, but is also able to escape her mean family.
In this week’s variant, the “stranger” is a old log. In others, it’s a rabbit, or a bird, or an old woman, or even an apple tree.
Tap into children’s natural curiosity and kindness on your playground, in a park, or on a walk in the woods.
Who can they help?
Maybe there’s a path that is covered with leaves they can brush away.
What about that squirrel? Would she like acorns piled up for easy munching?
Perhaps you have a bird feeder that could be filled.
Does a friend need a cheering squad as he climbs the big slide?
So many ways to be magical helpers in the big outside!
How this builds relationships:
Giving children a new way to imagine themselves outside (as magical helpers!) encourages different interactions.
They want to share their ideas and collaborate with their friends to help and to solve problems.
Grown-ups offer security as kids explore, but also appreciate and nurture the many ways they find to help.
Is Resilience a “Dirty” Word?
Cooking with kids in group settings is the recipe for STEM, fine motor and language learning!
But if you need MORE reasons to deal with the (potential!) mess: Relationships and resilience!
Whether it’s baking cookies with gramma, or making googly eyes with a new love over dinner: the way to our hearts (and resilience!) may actually be through our stomachs, as the old saying goes!
When children and grown-ups create food, there is a natural bonding that takes place.
Our eager helpers rely on us to navigate directions and demonstrate techniques like stirring and pouring.
We share in the wonder of flour and eggs turning into cookies.
And: we laugh.
Try making no-cook “dirt” together: a perfect place for gummy toads and snakes and sweet gems to hide!
Dirt” Recipe Links!
Many early childhood folks have been making (and eating!) delectable “dirt” for years. But if you haven’t OR you want some healthier options, here are some recipes I discovered!
You can use regular or lower sugar gummy worms, frogs, etc., available on Amazon or in local stores. Or: make your own! (Note: I have not tried these recipes, but they seem straightforward).
Healthy Gummy Recipe (you can get silicone molds in so many shapes, including toads and diamonds at craft stores!)
DIY Gummy worms (and slugs!): No molds needed!
Gummy candy crystals (Japanese Kohakutou)
What do YOU think?
Do you cook with children? What are your favorite strategies and recipes? Please share your yummy ideas and questions below!
