This week we will begin the book The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything.  This story fits with the Halloween holiday, as it involves a Jack-o-Lantern, but it does not address Halloween specifically.  The story is about an old lady who sets out to gather herbs, spices, seeds and nuts from the forest.  It is dark when she walks home, and she soon realizes that she is being followed by a pair of shoes making a “clomp, clomp” sound.  She is not afraid, but hurries on anyway.  Next she is followed by a pair of pants, a shirt, two gloves, a hat and a pumpkin head, all of which make scary noises.  They chase her home and try to scare her, but the little old lady is not frightened.  Instead, she tells them to stay in the garden, dress a scarecrow and scare her crows away!

This story is about comforting your fears, and we will use it to facilitate discussions about what makes us scared and how we make ourselves feel better and braver.  We will be studying body parts and clothing, body movements, pumpkins and seeds.  We will be learning the sequence of the story and how to predict what will come next.  Pretty soon, your kids will be able to read parts of this story aloud to you!

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything can help us transition into some Halloween activities as well, and we will be making some fun and scary art projects!  Also stay tuned for email updates on the Halloween trick-or-treating and costume day!