The Mom I Want to Be

 

Read “Stone Soup” by Marcia Brown.  It’s a picture book classic that has remained one of Marcia Brown’s most popular and enduring books. This story, about three hungry soldiers who outwit the greedy inhabitants of a village into providing them with a feast, is based on an old French tale.

 

Comprehension/Thinking Skills

 

a. “Why didn’t the villagers want to feed the soldiers?”

b. “Where did the villagers hide their milk?”

c. “What enabled the soldiers to trick the villagers into adding

ingredients to the soup?”

d. “Had the king really dined with the soldiers?”

e. “In whose house did the soldiers sleep when the feast had ended?”

 

Art Activity: Draw pictures of all the vegetables that were in Stone Soup.

 

Language Activity: Play the memory game using vegetables for soup. Example: When I make stone soup I put in a stone. Next person: when I make stone soup I put in a stone and carrots. Continue repeating and adding on with each person.

 

Hands-on Activity: Make and serve vegetable soup for your family.

 

Early Math Activity  (sorting and discrimination): Edible, Non-edible: Collect an assortment of items both edible and non-edible and bring them to your large group in a sack. Provide a large pot and a basket in order to sort the items. As each item is pulled out of the sack the children tell you if it is something you eat or something you don’t eat. If it is something you eat, put it in the pot. If it is something you don’t eat, put it in the sack. When you’ve finished you can count to see which contains more items, the pot or the basket.

 

Nutrition and Health Activity: Have child  name the ingredients that were used to make the soup.  The ingredients list will include water, seasonings, potatoes, milk, carrots, onions, and meat.  Ask students to recall what other foods were served with Stone Soup in the story.  Display a a Food Guide Pyramid.  Explain the categories on the Food Guide Pyramid.  Explain that the Food Guide Pyramid gives us information to keep us healthy.  Explain that although there are no bad foods and all foods can be a part of a healthy diet, there are five major food groups that are needed in a healthy diet.  Identify the five major food groups.  Explain that eating the foods from the five food groups keeps the body healthy.  We need food from the five major food groups.  We do not need the food in the “Use Sparingly” group.  However, we may want foods from this group.  Discuss the difference between needs and wants.  Recall the list of ingredients and items served with the soup.  Discuss if the meal the soilders had in the end contained all five food groups.

 

More Ideas

 

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