Friday, January 6, 2012

Hey Folks,

Happy New Year!

A friend posted this on Facebook last Monday:

“I wish the holiday break was longer. I don’t think I could ever grow tired of spending time with my children!”

Underneath, another friend commented, “Are you high?”

Yeah, don’t think we didn’t see you parents in carpool on Wednesday doing the “Kids  Are Back in School” dance. We know you love your little ones, and the holidays sure are fun (so much togetherness!), but we all need to get back to a familiar routine after a couple of weeks. Coming back after such a long break can be tricky for our students, but these guys jumped back into the swing of things immediately. They were so excited to learn that we have a new student, Oliver Oppenheim, from Cissy’s class. By the end of the day the class had bonded with him over the Muppet Movie, monsters and Mousetrap, and Ms. Erin and I found it hard to believe he hadn’t been here all along. Welcome, Oliver--you are one mighty cool kid!



Who's that I see walkin' in these woods?
Why, it's Little Red Riding Hood.
Hey there Little Red Riding Hood,
You sure are looking good.
You're everything a big bad wolf could want.
    -Sam The Sham and The Pharoahs, “Little Red Riding Hood”

Sing along:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM8_v4AwltM&feature=fvwrel


 That sneaky beast, the Wolf, has returned from the holidays...and he’s hungrier than ever...
Have no fear, my three little piggies, Mr. Big and Bad no longer has a taste for bacon. Little girls and grannies are now part of his not-so-Kosher diet. Especially little girls who don’t heed their mother’s warning and chat with strangers in the woods.
Little Red Riding Hood has always been a favorite of mine. The dark and forbidden forest, a little girl all alone, the frightening imagery of the woodcutter chopping the wolf in half. It’s no wonder variations of this tale have been around for such a long time. Is it a cautionary tale for women to beware of “wolfish” predators? A warning to naughty children to listen to their mothers?  A case of child neglect?I’ve found some pretty interesting (and bizarre) interpretations out there. Don’t worry, your kids won’t come home spouting Freudian theory on Little Red, but it remains an excellent tale for exploring good and evil--and the grey areas in between.

As we read the story for the first time on Wednesday, the discussion was lively. Some of the questions we asked:
How would you describe Little Red Riding Hood?
Why do you think her mom let her go to the woods alone? Did she know there was a wolf there (it doesn’t specify in this version)? Would your mom let you go?
Could Little Red Riding Hood have saved her Grandmother?
How did you feel when the Wolf ate the Grandmother?
How did you feel when the Woodcutter killed the Wolf?
How do you think the Woodcutter felt?


The kids were begging to act out the story, so stay tuned for some live-action granny eating and wolf disemboweling coming soon to a classroom near you...



Before we go, Ms. E and I want to thank all of you for your generous holiday gifts. You guys rock!!!

Have a great weekend!

Amanda and Erin