BOOK OF THE DAY: If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

When I taught kindergarten there were a few books that I knew by heart, and this was one of them. That's why it made it to my Books I Love to Read Aloud post!  Here are some supporting activities for this classic story:

MATH

• Sequencing Activity: Cut out and laminate at least 2 different types of cookies (for example, a chocolate chip cookie - click HERE for pattern from ABC Teach-  and a heart shaped cookie) and have children make A-B-A-B patterns. For children who are ready, cut out 3 or 4 different "cookies" and make more complex patterns (A-B-B-A or A-B-C-A-B-C). Younger children can sort cookies by size, shape, or color.
• Visit the Virtual Vine site to find how to make a cookie graph along with other cookie math activities such as cookie addition and much more.
• Visit Quirky Momma to see how children can use cookies to learn about fractions.

CROSS CURRICULAR LEARNING: Baking cookies

• To enhance literacy when baking, always use a recipe chart so that children can see the steps and follow along. After the cookie activity is over, hang the recipe in your dramatic play area so that children can continue to recall and imitate the experience.
• To enhance scientific learning, talk about what happens when you add liquid to the dry ingredients or why we have to add egg to the recipe. Remember, cooking and chemistry go hand-in-hand!
• For added fun, use a mouse cookie cutter. I used to use the companion book, MOUSE COOKIES 10 Easy-to-Make Cookie Recipes and  cookie cutter by Laura Numeroff but it's hard to find these days.
• To enhance social-emotional development, make a batch of cookies to give to someone. Let the children decorate paper bags for the cookies. You can make the cookies for another class, a sick friend, the janitorial crew, or anyone who might enjoy them.
• To enhance mathematical thinking while cooking, talk about the measurements. For example, Is two cups of flour more or less than 1 cup of sugar? Two half cups equal one whole cup, etc...

LITERACY:

• Sorting C sounds and M sounds: Cut out pictures that begin with C (cookie) and M (mouse). Give children two unbreakable cookie jars (I love my local Dollar Store for these kinds of goodies) and have them sort the pictures by placing "C" words in one jar and "M" words in another.
• Sequence the events in the story by photocopying the main parts of the story, laminating them, and putting a piece of Velcro on the back. Using a flannel board, have children put the events on the flannel board in order.
• Allow children to make up their own stories (individually, in groups, or as a class) such as, If You Give a Raccoon a Raisin or If You Give A Kangaroo a Coconut.
• Don't forget to visit the websites for Laura Numeroff and the Mouse Cookie Books for additional activities.  
• Also check out If You Take A Mouse to School and other books by Laura Numeroff like:

I was inspired to choose this as the Book of the Day because my niece had an awesome third birthday party at Little Hands Cookie Company (there is also an outreach program, where they will come to your school). If you live in the Baltimore Area, please check out this awesome place! The staff was awesome and you can tell that for Ms. Lisa, owner and head cookie baker :), this is a work of love. Here are a few snapshots of the event: