The Lion and the Mouse Shadow Story

Welcome to the first week of the MeMeTales Readathon!  This week’s theme is Animals.  I am sharing our shadow story activity based on the book we read, The Lion and the Mouse.

The Lion and the Mouse is a super cute version of an old fable.  The book is wonderfully illustrated with bright colors.  You have the option of having the book read to you, which I recommend.  The narration is very good and helps to bring the story to life.  We loved the fact that the mouse and the lion sing.  The story teaches a lesson about kindness and shows that even a little mouse can be a big help.

After reading the book, I talked with Aiden about the story.  I asked him who the characters of the story were.  What animals are in the story.  He listed the lion, the mouse, a giraffe, and a snake.  We decided to make a shadow story from The Lion and the Mouse.

Shadow Story

Here are the materials you’ll need:

• cardstock
• animal stencils or clip art
• scissors or a digital cutting machine
• craft sticks
• tape
• flashlight

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out animal shapes from cardstock.  {You can also just print the animal shapes and cut them by hand.}  I taped a craft stick to the bottom of each animal.  I glued together some craft sticks to represent the hunter’s net in the story.

We set up in a dark hallway with a flashlight propped up on a basket.

We acted out the story.  We let the ebook play in the background and serve as narration for our actions.

Lion Pencil Topper

For another fun craft, we made a lion pencil topper.

For this craft, you will need:

• 1 orange fuzzy stick (aka pipe cleaner)
• 1 yellow fuzzy stick (aka pipe cleaner)
• 1 large yellow pom
• 2 small yellow poms
• 1 small yellow pom
• 1 tiny black pom
• 2 small wiggly eyes
• scissors

Assembly:

1. Wrap the orange fuzzy stick around the large yellow pom twice.
2. Cut off the excess fuzzy stick.
3. Glue the remaining poms together as shown.
4. Add the wiggly eyes.
5. Bend the yellow fuzzy stick to have ears at the top and twist it at the bottom.  Glue it to the back of the lion’s head.

My son had fun playing with the poms while I created the lion.  He moved them from one bowl to another.  He enjoyed playing with the lion once it was finished.

For other animal themed ideas, login to the MeMeTales website.  Members have access to a special curriculum designed just for the week’s theme.  Here’s a sample of what is included.

See you next week for a new activity based on a new book.  In the mean time, don’t forget to check out all of the books available on MeMeTales.  When you sign up for an account, you receive access to 20 free ebooks.  During the Readathon, you’ll be able to borrow books based on the week’s theme.  Each week, you’ll have access to a different set of books.  As an added bonus, for every child joining the Readathon, MeMeTales is donating a meal to a send a hungry child to school via FoodForEducation.org!

Linking up here.

Disclosure:  In exchange for writing activities based on the weekly themes and promoting the Readathon, I will receive the featured books.