These past few weeks, the children in the afternoon group have been working on a book of their very own based on the story, “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Numeroff. This popular book was read to the children on the first day of the project, and then the children were encouraged to come up with their own story using their imagination and creative skills. On different days, the children came up pages to add to their own story that they wrote down on paper, and then illustrated it with pictures, colours, and details. The end result was a story that was personal, and their very own, but so much more learning went into this project. Children had to think for themselves to come up with their own ideas; they practiced their printing and spelling. There was communication constantly around the table, as children bounced ideas off each other and the staff. At the end when their story was completed, they could look at their book and “read” it to others, one page at a time, from left to right.

Laura Numeroff has several stories based on the same theme – “If you give a ____ a _____” Next time you read one of her works, ask your child what she or he would wish for, it encourages imagination, vocabulary, and lots of giggles!