25 Ways to Play with The Pea Patch Jig

The Pea Patch Jig by Thacher Hurd was one of my favorite books in childhood, and I have loved sharing it with Little Miss Muffet. The book includes three linked stories about a baby mouse, whose mischievous behavior almost spoils her family's Midsummer Party, until it unexpectedly saves the day at the last minute. Here are 25 activities to do with your kids to delve deeper into the story and its themes.

1. Listen to the song. The Pea Patch Jig is the name of a folk song. On the final page of the book, along with the music to play the tune, the author recommends listening to the version by Vassar Clements, John Hartford, Dave Holland. Hear it on YouTube. 
2. Make up some dance moves. Encourage your kids to come up with their own version of the pea patch jig to match the music.
3. Make a salad. Farmer Clem nearly chops up Baby Mouse when she hides in a head of lettuce that he picks for his salad. Include lettuce and some other veggie favorites in your own salad. 
4. Explore peas in a sensory bin. Fill a tub with peas and provide your child with cups and spoons to scoop and pour them. For added fun, hide letters or toys and have your child hunt for them. For inspiration, check out these posts from Lessons4Learners.com and Gift of Curiosity.
5. Make a pea shooter. Your (older) kids can pretend to save the day just like Baby Mouse with a simple pea shooter of their own! Instructions are available from Acorn Pies and Le Maison de LouLou. 
6. Plan a midsummer party. Invite some friends over to join you for late afternoon celebration of summer. Be sure to serve fresh veggies and consider reading the book aloud to your guests.
7. Cook and serve a dish made with peas. Kid-friendly recipes can be found on the Food Network's website.
8. Make vegetable costumes. Baby Mouse and her family dress up as vegetables and dance at their Midsummer Party. Make your own costumes using patterns like the ones from burdastyle.com. Want to keep it simple? Try these fruit and vegetable masks from PrimaryTreasureChest.com.
9. Plant your own vegetable garden. If you're like me and can't garden outdoors due to lack of space, try a container garden. 
10. Make garden markers. If you already have a garden, or have a close friend or relative who has one, make some garden markers to clearly label what has been planted. I especially like these painted stones from Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons.
11. Learn the names and uses for gardening tools. Whether you have a garden or not, you can still teach your child all about the tools gardeners use. This garden clip art set from kizclub.com is a great teaching tool. 
12. Try some new vegetables. Each time we go to our local market for produce, we try to expose Little Miss Muffet to some new vegetables. If your kids are adventurous eaters, consider bringing home something new and different to taste.
13. Visit a farmer’s market. If you're not sure where to find one locally, fear not! There's an app for that, as well as a national directory of farmer's markets.
14. Compare Baby Mouse to Peter Rabbit. Both characters make mischief in gardens that do not belong to them. Compare and contrast these two stories to find out how else their main characters might be the same or different. 
15. Read Keith Baker’s peas books. Keep the pea theme going by enjoying some of these wonderful books by Keith Baker: LMNO Peas, 1-2-3 Peas, Little Green Peas.  
16. Play fruit and vegetable bingo. Print out these cards from Mama's Learning Corner and play a game of bingo.  
17. Play fruit and vegetable I Spy. The Pleasantest Thing has a perfect printable to print out for this game.
18. Make a farmer’s hat. Use these templates from First Palette to construct a paper hat, so you can pretend to be Farmer Clem. 
19. Take a moonlit walk. Experience the atmosphere of the Midsummer Party by taking a walk outside under a full moon. 
20. Retell the story. Use clip art to make cards or flannel board pieces of a baby mouse and some vegetables, and use them to retell the story or write a new one of your own. Kizclub.com has a mouse that would work well, as well as a set of vegetables.
21. Do a pea-themed fingerplay. Five Fat Peas is a fun rhyme for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.
22. Sing Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow. The lyrics and tune can both be found here, as well as on Raffi's Baby Beluga album.
23. Sing I Want to be a Farmer. This catchy folk song performed by Pete Seeger is fun to sing while acting out what a farmer might do. 
24. Act out the African Planting Chant. This full-body action rhyme has a fun rhythm and a focus on planting seeds.
25. Find out about foxes. Use a library book, database, or education video to learn more about the habits of foxes. 

For more ways to play with favorite children's books, check out my posts about Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and Whistle for Willie.  

Read Around Town: The Farm

In my latest blog series, Read Around Town, I'm highlighting picture books that celebrate the people and places in a young child's immediate community. These would work well for preschool classes or homeschool groups taking tours of local businesses, or for any child interested in learning about his or her neighborhood. Today's books are all set on farms.

Stanley the Farmer by William Bee

Stanley the hamster uses many tools - and the help of his mole friends - to accomplish a good day's work on his farm.

My Farm Friends by Wendell Minor
A group of adorable baby animals invite the reader to visit them on the farm, where they provide interesting facts about their habits.

Hello, Day! by Anita Lobel

All the animals on the farm greet the day in their own voices. 

Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin

Farmer Brown is enraged when the cows on his farm begin using typewriters to demand better working conditions in exchange for their milk.

Cows in the Kitchen by June Crebbin

While Tom Farmer sleeps, the animals take over the whole household.

Hurry, Hurry by Eve Bunting, illustrated Jeff Mack
When a new baby is born on the farm, all the animals go rushing off to meet the new arrival!

Duck on a Bike by David Shannon

The other animals scoff when they see Duck riding a bike, until they have an opportunity to try it themselves. 

Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Jane Cabrera
Old MacDonald has a farm, and a wife, and some animals, and... a baby!

Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Felicia Bond
This simple story tells of the activities from dawn to dusk of a group of animals living near a big red barn.

I Love Animals by Flora McDonnell
The little girl in this story loves her dog, Jock, as well as many other animals she meets on the farm.

September Story Time Themes

September marks the beginning of Fall, the start of a new school year, and in many places, the last few weeks of nice weather before the winter chill begins to set in. To help inspire you as you plan for next month, here are the story time themes I like to use during September.

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Apples

Suggested Books: 

• Ducking for Apples by Lynne Berry
• The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
• Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins
• Applesauce Season by Eden Ross Lipson
• Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray
• Apples by Inez Snyder

Extension Activities: 

• A-P-P-L-E
• Bumpin' Up and Down in My Little Red Wagon
• Five Little Apples
• Here We Go Round the Apple Tree
• Way Up High in the Apple Tree

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Farm

Suggested Books: 

• Animal Sounds by Aurelius Battaglia
• Clare Beaton's Farmyard Rhymes by Clare Beaton
• Stanley the Farmer by William Bee
• Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Jane Cabrera
• Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin
• Moo, Moo, Brown Cow! Have You Any Milk? by Phillis Gershator
• My Farm Friends by Wendell Minor

Extension Activities: 

• Barnyard Song
• The Farmer in the Dell
• Going on a Hayride
• Hey Diddle Diddle
• I Went to Visit the Farm One Day
• Over in the Barnyard

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Alphabet

 

Suggested Books:

• LMNO Peas by Keith Baker
• Baby ABC by Deborah Donenfeld
• The Racecar Alphabet by Brian Floca
• Jane Foster's ABC by Jane Foster
• On Market Street by Anita Lobel
• Alligators All Around by Maurice Sendak

Extension Activities: 

• ABCD Medley
• African Alphabet
• Alphabet Soup
• Marching Around the Alphabet

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Buses

Suggested Books: 

• My Bus by Byron Barton
• The Bus for Us by Suzanne Bloom
• The Wheels on the Bus by Jane Cabrera
• Bus Stops by Taro Gomi
• The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort
• The Babies on the Bus by Karen Katz
• The Bus is for Us by Michael Rosen
• Bus Stop by Janet Morgan Stoeke

Extension Activities: 

• One Lonely Bus Driver
• The Seven Snazzy Aunties
• There's a Little Wheel a-Turnin' in my Heart
• The Wheels on the Bus

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Grandparents' Day

(First Sunday after Labor Day)

Suggested Books:

• Llama Llama Gram and Grandpa by Anna Dewdney
• The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins
• Hooray Parade by Barbara Joosse
• Grandma Calls Me Gigglepie by J.D. Lester 
• The Grandpa Book by Todd Parr
• The Grandma Book by Todd Parr

Extension Activities: 

• Here are Grandma's Glasses
• Grandpa's Ties and Grandma's Scarves
• Who Is Knocking At My Door?
• Knock, Knock
• The Quilt that Grandma Made
• Down on Grandpa's Farm

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Check back on the first Friday of each month for more monthly story time themes! 

Read Around Town: The Library

In my latest blog series, Read Around Town, I'm highlighting picture books that celebrate the people and places in a young child's immediate community. These would work well for preschool classes or homeschool groups taking tours of local businesses, or for any child interested in learning about his or her neighborhood. Today's books are all about the public library.

I Took My Frog to the Library by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Blanche Sims
When animals come to the library, their wild behavior makes it difficult for other library users to enjoy themselves.

Quiet! There’s a Canary in the Library by Don Freeman
At the library, a girl's imagination runs away with her as she considers what it would be like if she were the librarian and animals were her patrons.

The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians by Carla Morris, illustrated by Brad Sneed
Every day after school Melvin visits the library, where the librarians help him find books on every subject that interests him. Even when Melvin goes off to college, he never forgets the librarians who influenced him during childhood.

Otto the Book Bear by Katie Cleminson
Otto, a bear who lives inside a book, seeks refuge in a library after he loses his home.

D.W.’s Library Card by Marc Brown
When D.W. gets her own library card, she is frustrated by having to wait for the book she wants, and horrified by the thought of losing her card over a lost or damaged book.

Stella Louella’s Runaway Book by Lisa Campbell Ernst
Stella Louella's lost library book takes her on a wild goose chase all around town, where various helpers in the community give her clues as to where it went, while also revealing to the reader hints about which book Stella Louella borrowed.

Library Lily by Gillian Shields, illustrated by Francesca Chessa
Lily loves books, but her new friend, Millie, does not. In this story, the two girls learn from each other and have many adventures together.

Read It, Don’t Eat It by Ian Schoenherr
This book lists rules for the proper treatment of library books, accompanied by illustrations of animals acting out the wrong things to do.

Leo Loves Baby Time by Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Ruth Hearson
Every Wednesday, Leo goes to baby time at the library, where he sings and plays with all his friends.

Bats at the Library by Brian Lies
After the library is closed, the bats swoop in through an open window to have their own night of literary fun.