Little Red Hen Inspires Play-of-the-Day
The Little Red Hen will help us stir up some fun and learning with her story for today’s play-of-the-day. Do you and your child know this story?
The Little Red Hen is pretty talented. To make a loaf of bread, she plants the wheat, tends it, harvests it and takes it to the mill to be ground into flour. She does this all by herself, despite asking a dog, a cat, and a duck if they will help. Then, the hen takes the flour home and bakes it into bread, giving the animals one more chance. They still all say no. When the bread is done, she asks who will help her eat it? Of course, now the animals all answer yes, but it’s too late. She eats it herself.
Books of The Little Red Hen are fairly common. You can likely find one if you don’t have it, or you can tell the story. Your child may have a few farm animal figurines that can help tell the story too. The video below is updated with animals that check their phones and eventually help do dishes.
Making bread is pretty complicated, so maybe instead you and your child can make up some play dough. Use your preferred recipe and mix up a batch. Homemade play dough needs kneading just like bread. Set up some dishes, cutters, and tools and let your child play. As kids squeeze, roll, smoosh, pat, and pull, they are exercising the small muscles in their hands, fingers, and wrists. These muscles haven’t finished developing, so kids need lots of activities that use little actions and coordination.
The Little Red Hen is a good story to use to talk about cooperation and sharing. Should the hen share even when the others don’t help? Should the other animals get any when they haven’t helped the hen with the other parts? Even young children have a sense of fairness.
If you have a bread machine at home, you can also talk about it and how the machine is easier. Maybe kids will want to invent another machine that can do work. What would they invent?