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"The Mitten" Family Book sheet

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February 29, 2020 - Michigan State University Extension

This book is about a little boy who loses his mitten in the snow. One by one, bigger and bigger forest animals try to squeeze inside.

BEFORE READING: 

  •  Show the children the front of the book. Ask them to guess what the book is about.

  •  Ask them to tell you about the different animals on the cover.

WHILE READING:

  • Stop at any time if there is something you or the children would like to talk about.

  • Ask them questions so that they can connect what is happening in the book to things they already know about. Try some of these ideas:

    • Tell me about a time that you lost something. How did you find it?

    •  What kind of animal will climb into the mitten next?

    •  What do you use mittens for?

AFTER READING:

  • Spend some time talking about the story. Ask the children things like: 

    •  Why was the mitten so hard to find?

    • What kinds of animals climbed into the mitten?

    • How did Nicki get his mitten back?

 

Read this book several times to the children. Hearing the same story again and again helps them learn new words and understand the ideas they hear better. Each day, pick a different activity to do with the children after reading “The Mitten.”

MATH AND SCIENCE

Get out several mittens or gloves. Have the children put their hand inside, one at a time. Ask them to describe how their hand feels. Compare the different gloves. Ask them to pick which one felt the warmest. Try to figure out reasons why the gloves or mittens felt different.

THINKING SKILLS

Get out a sleeping bag, or a big blanket or sheet that is folded up. Have the children gather some stuffed animals or toys and put them next to the blanket. Ask them to guess how many of the things will fit inside. Next, put the objects inside, counting each one as you go.

ART

Get some paper or felt. Put two pieces on top of each other and have the children trace around their hand to draw a mitten. Cut the mitten out and glue the inside edges together. After it is dry, have the children draw some pictures of animals and slip them inside of the mitten.

MUSIC AND MOVEMENT

Hide a mitten inside or outside. Give the children movement clues to find it. Try things like hop 10 paces to the left, take 3 giant steps forward, or walk 5 steps backwards until they find where you hid the mitten.

PRETEND PLAY

Pick at least one of the animals in the story. Pretend that you are that animal living in the forest on a cold winter day.

MOTOR SKILLS

Ask the children to curl up as small as they can. Give them directions to stretch out a different part of their body, one part at a time.

READING READINESS

On each page you read there is a picture of an animal in the lower right hand corner. Ask the children what animal it is and what they think the animal will do before you turn the page.

For more information visit the MSU Extension early childhood development site. 

 

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