#1946. The Little Red Hen Activities: Kindergarten

Literature, level: Pre-School
Posted Sat Nov 11 09:22:18 PST 2000 by Lisa Wilkinson (wilkyj@olg.com).
Loveville School, Loveville, MD USA
Materials Required: Various
Activity Time: varies
Concepts Taught: Various

Here's a collection of ideas for "The Little Red Hen" from various mailrings:

The Little Red Hen's Song
This is the way I plant the seed,
Plant the seed,
Plant the seed,
This is the way I plant the seed, Early in the morning.

Repeat using the following verses:
...cut the wheat
...go to the mill
...make the dough
...bake the bread
...eat the bread

HENS OF DIFFERENT COLORS

This little hen is BLACK ( hold up black hens)
She stands in the barnyard by a big hay stack.

This little hen is RED (hold up red hens)
She is very tired and won't get out of bed.

This little hen is BROWN (hold up brown hens)
She is feeling sad and wearing a frown.

This little hen is YELLOW (hold up yellow hens)
She's friends with the rooster; he's a handsome fellow.

This little hen is WHITE (hold up white hen)
She dance's and plays, oh what a sight.

This little hen is PURPLE (hold up the purple hens)
She spends her day running around in circles.

This little hen is GREEN (hold up green hen)
She is the silliest hen I've ever seen.

This little hen is BLUE (hold up blue hen)
She lays eggs for me and you.

This little hen is PINK (hold up the pink hen)
She goes down to the pond to get a drink.

All of these hens live at the farm
Out in the big RED barn.

The Little Red Hen Chant
Little Red Hen works so hard,
In her home and in her yard.
Working, working every day,
She has little time to play.

I enlarged a copy of the little red hen and put the poem in a
box in the
middle of the hen's tummy. It matches the picture that we use
on our pocket
chart of the poem.

I did a farm board last year. We were studying The Little Red
Hen. We made paper plate animals (red hen, pig, cow, cat). We
painted them the appropriate colors and cut construction
paper to
add the finishishing details. I cut long skinny rectangles
from
white construction paper and made a picket fence. The paper
plate
animals sat around and on the fence. First graders can write
a
response that one of the animals made, such as "'Not I', said
the
pig."

Games
Bakers - Pantomime bakers using play dough.
Patty Cake - Play the hand game.

Snacks
Bread - Bake some bread and/or some sweet treat. Bring in a
bread machine
and let kids measure out the ingredients to go in it.
Bread Dough - Get a loaf of frozen dough. Thaw it out and let
kids play with
it like playdough. Then bake it for them for snack.

Stories
Little Red Hen - Have children act out story when finished.

Once There Was A Little Red Hen
Tune: Mulberry Bush
Once there was a little red hen
Little red hen, little red hen.
Once there was a little red hen
Who found a grain of wheat.

Who will help me plant this wheat,
Plant this wheat, plant this wheat,
Who will help me plant this
Asked the little red hen.

We can't help you plant the wheat,
Plant the wheat, plant the wheat,
We can't help you plant the wheat,
Said the little hen's friends

Who will help me cut the wheat,
Cut the wheat, cut the wheat,
Who will help me cut the wheat
Asked the little red hen.

We can't help you cut the wheat,
Cut the wheat, cut the wheat,
We can't help you cut the wheat,
Said the little hen's friends.

Who will help me thrash the wheat,
Thrash the wheat, thrash the wheat,
Who will help me thrash the wheat
Asked the little red hen.

We can't help you thrash the wheat,
Thrash the wheat, thrash the wheat,
We can't help you thrash the wheat,
Said the little hen's friends.

Who will help me grind the wheat,
Grind the wheat, grind the wheat,
Who will help me grind the wheat,
Asked the little red hen.

We can't help you grind the wheat,
Grind the wheat, grind the wheat,
We can't help you grind the wheat,
Said the little hen's friends.

Who will help me make the bread,
Make the bread, make the bread,
Who will help me make the bread,
Asked the little red hen.

We can't help you make the bread ,
Make the bread, make the bread,
We can't help you make the bread ,
Said the little hen's friends.

Who will help me eat the bread,
Eat the bread, eat the bread,
Who will help me eat the bread,
Asked the little red hen.

We will help you eat the bread,
Eat the bread, eat the bread,
We will help you eat the bread,
Said the little hen's friends.

Sorry, but it's just for me
Just for me and my family.
Sorry, but it's just for me
Said the little red hen.

Bakery Shop
( Tune: Pat-A-Cake)

Down around the corner at the bakery shop
There were 10 little doughnuts with sugar on top
Along came (child's name) all alone
And she took a red one home.
(Make some doughnuts and laminate to use with poem.)

Bread in a Bag Recipe:
2 C. flour
1 package Fleischman's Rapid Rise yeast
3 T. sugar
3 T. nonfat dry milk
1 t. salt
1 C. hot water
3 T. oil
1 C. whole wheat flour
In a 1-gallon, heavy-duty freezer bag combine: 1 C. flour,
undissolved yeast,
dry milk, and salt. Force air from bag and shake to blend
ingredients. Add
hot water and oil and reseal bag. Mix by working with
fingers. Add
whole-wheat flour, reseal and mix. Gradually add enough
remaining flour to
make stiff dough that pulls away from the bag. On floured
surface knead
dough 2-4 times until smooth and elastic. Cover dough with
towel, rest 10
minutes. Roll dough to 12x7-inch rectangle. Roll up from
narrow end. Pinch
edges and ends to seal. Place in oiled loaf pan Place 9x13
pan on counter;
fill with boiling water. Place cookie sheet on top of 9x13
pan and place
loaf pan on the cookie sheet. Cover with towel. Let dough
rise 20 minutes or
until double in size. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until
done.