Did you know the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff began as a Norwegian Fairytale in 1841?! That is old! While many things from the past should stay in the past, I had fun this week bringing this very old story to 2022.
I had 4 different versions of the fairytale and my favorite difference between the renditions were the trolls! One was hairy with yellow sharp teeth, one looked a little like a leprechaun, and one was actually cute! All around the stories themselves were very similar and the children enjoyed hearing the different stories and trying to uncover any discrepancies. They become little detectives when we pull out different books.
Many fairytales have a lesson to learn or a "moral of the story." I like letting the children tell me what the lessons are before I tell them as the big knowledgeable grown-up what they are "supposed" to learn. I was wondering what they were going to come up with for this one. I hoped someone wouldn't say, "You're supposed to let the bad guy eat your big brother!"
No one did. Almost as if they had been prepared ahead of time and if I was handing them cue cards, one child said, "It's not OK to bully!" Another child chimed in, "That troll is mean and grouchy and he's not being nice! That's not his bridge! That bridge is for everyone!" But my very favorite was, "The troll is hungry and he got grumpy. I get grumpy when I'm hungry too!" Me too girl.... me too!
In the pictures below you can see them working as a team to build a bridge that will work for the three goats to get across safely. Another very simple thing I try to always include during story time is to involve them in any way possible. I have a puzzle with this story on it. Before reading the story I passed out the puzzle pieces and allow the children to put their piece in, when they hear their part being read.
And just for fun, here's the story read for you in Spanish. Enjoy!
Keep playing and keep learning! And keep your littles fed so they don't get grumpy! :D
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