What's happening at KidsPlay October 9 to October 13
Exhibit Explorations - Explore the Maker Space!
Maker Challenge: Can you make a LEGO house the Big Bad Wolf can't blow down?
Maker Activity: Use pipe cleaners and straws to make a new house for the Big Bad Wolf.
Maker Lab: Big Bad Wolf Jaws! Use cardboard strips to create lever jaws.
Messy Art: Mermaid Collage! Use a variety of materials on a mermaid tail template.
Kids in Motion: Use movement to tell the story 'Journey' by Aaron Becker
Meet a Fireman!
Friday, October 11 - 11 am
It’s Fire Prevention Week! Learn about fire safety from real firefighters.
Did you know that there are versions of classic fairy tales in many cultures around the world? I remember being surprised and intrigued when I learned that there were many other Cinderella stories, and that none of them involved a sparkly blue ball gown and glass slippers!
Here are some descriptions of characters and stories from other cultures. Who do these characters remind you of? If you share these with your children, will they recognize the similarities to familiar fairy tales?
- Rhodopis of Egypt was bathing in the Nile when an eagle sent by the god Zeus swooped down, snatched her sandal and dropped it into the lap of the Pharaoh, who searched out its owner and made her his queen.
- Three children from China are left at home when their mother goes to visit their grandmother on her birthday. A hungry wolf comes to the house pretending to be the girls' grandmother, until clever Shang, the eldest daughter, suspects the greedy wolf's real identity and saves herself and her sisters.
- Rimonah is a North African girl of great beauty. She has an evil stepmother who wants to be the fairest in the land and who is jealous of Rimonah’s beauty. After her stepmother’s servant pretends to have killed her, Rimonah flees and lives in the desert with a group of forty thieves.
- Adelita was a kindhearted young woman of Mexico with a jealous stepmother and two hateful stepsisters. A young man, Javier, falls madly in love with beautiful Adelita, but she disappears from his fiesta at midnight, leaving him with only one clue: a beautiful shawl.
- Rosa is promised in marriage to a fearful bear after her father illegally cuts down a tree in the bear’s woods. Rosa discovers that the bear is in reality a handsome prince cursed by an evil spirit who has cast a spell on him.
I love that the messages we learn from fairy tales are universal. The characters may change and the troubles may differ in some ways from tale to tale, but the essentials of the story are the same. Reading multicultural versions of stories with your children a good way to practice recognizing similarities and differences among them. At the same time, it might help them understand that the people of the world share similar cultural values and, of course, enjoy a great love for engaging tales.
P.S. Did you recognize the characters and stories shared above? Here are links to these multicultural fairy tales!
- The Egyptian Cinderella
- Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China
- Rimonah of the Flashing Sword
- Adelita
- El Principe Oso/The Bear Prince
Read 11 Fun Facts about Fairy Tales to find some interesting additional details to share with your children about the history of fairy tales!
