Using Prop Baskets to Introduce Fairy Tales

Welcome to a week of Fairy Tale magic. There is a royal wedding this week and when I think of princes and princesses, I tend to think of the "Happily Ever After" of some of our best loved fairy tales.

When  beginning a Fairy Tale unit, it is a good idea to determine the knowledge children have about Fairy Tales. One way to determine this is to create prop baskets.

Tell your child  that someoneleft some belongings at your house (or in the classroom) and have them try to guess who the mystery person might be. I usually start with...

Cleaning rags, gloves, wand, satin, tiara. (A small plastic doll shoe would look great in here too!)

You guessed it, Cinderella.

You might try another pretty easy one...

Straw, sticks, and bricks.

Yep, the three little pigs.
If you're having fun with it, go on.



Cow, magic beans, golden egg, bean stalk


Did you guess Jack and the Bean Stalk?

Did you know?
Fairy Tales were given their name when the tales were put into books. The publishers put fairies on the front of books to make them more appealing to children. They were actually just folklore of countries.
I don't know if any of these books have fairies on the front cover, but I think your child might find some of them appealing.


Cinderella by Barbara McClintock

The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall


 You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together (suggested by Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns)


 Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jan Brett



If you'd like a twist on the more traditional fairy tales, check out (These are for older readers, not toddlers like my boys. You really need to have a background on the fairy tales before you'll "get" these books. Plus, some of them might be too scary for the boys :)
Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne



The Wolf's Story: What Really Happened to Little Red Riding Hood by Toby Forward

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

The Frog Prince Continued by Jon Scieszka

A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

 Previously by Allan Ahlberg

For using fairy tales with the toddler/ preschooler crowd, you might have to think outside the book. Check out these examples from The Book Chook. You could try watching a Disney movie of your favorite tale. I love the Disney version of Cinderella! You will also find a ton of links to fairy tale resources on Youtube.
We also have learned the basic fairy tales by watching Blues Clues and Barney. They often reinact them and make them funny instead of scary!

I'm linking this up:

Does your child have a favorite Fairy Tale?