The blog posts for most of March have dealt with fairy tales and how they can be used to promote kindergarten readiness. Today, being the end of the month, this is the last one.
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp is fairly familiar because of the popularity of the Disney version. At first, there doesn’t seem to be much of a message but think of the lamp as being a symbol of the mind, the ‘light’ of knowing. Aladdin is the child struggling to figure out the ‘magic’ of the adult world: reading, writing, controlling money, creating, making decisions, language, and more. Aladdin gets in touch with his genie, (his genius), and makes 
wishes come true. Like the popular saying, knowledge is power.
Light is a symbol for many things. Think of all the places and how often we use lights, candles, fireworks, etc. Aladdin is a good story to read to talk about lights–and the dark. Ask your child if every room in your house or care space has a light. What are all the different kinds of lights? Which room has the most? Lead in to a discussion of the dark and being afraid of the dark. Is it okay to be scared of the dark? Why do we even need dark?
Pardon the pun, but has this series of blogs on using fairy tales to encourage readiness for kindergarten been enlightening for you?