Materials
I Spy books by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick
Miscellaneous materials from home or classroom
Blocks, shelves, and various fabrics, optional
Camera and film
Instructions
1. Without the children, "plant" the wheat stalks in a flowerpot and put it on the playground. Place the plush toy chicken in a protected area of the playground and put four eggs under it. In yet another part of the playground, place the plush toy or cardboard cow and put a container of whipping cream under it. In the classroom, hide a jar of jam in a low cupboard.2. Read Pancakes! Pancakes! to the children.3. Ask the children if they like pancakes. Tell the children that they will be making pancakes and ask them if they can remember the ingredients.4. Begin reading the story again. When you get to the part where Jack has to cut the wheat, take the children (and the book) out to the playground and ask them to search for wheat. When a child finds the flowerpot, use safety scissors to "harvest" the wheat. Give it to one child to carry.5. Continue reading the story. When you get to the part where Jack gives the wheat to the man at the mill, ask the child who is carrying the wheat to give it to an adult helper who is inside the classroom. This person can promise to "thresh the wheat" and have a bag of flour ready when they get back.6. Continue to read the story. Ask the children to search for the chicken and carefully gather the eggs she has "laid."7. Continue to read the story. Ask the children to search for the cow. Pretend to be amazed that the milk is already in a carton ready for you to take.8. Head back to the classroom as you continue to read the story. By now, the helper will be done "threshing the wheat" and will have a nice bag of flour ready when the children enter.9. At the part of the story where Jack goes to the cellar to get the jam, encourage the children to search in the low cupboards until someone discovers the jam.10. Pour the whipping cream into small containers with tight lids. Give them to two or three children and show them how to shake the container to make butter.11. Assemble the tools, naming each item as you set it on the table.12. Follow the recipe in the book as closely as you can. Mix together the ingredients in a bowl. Make sure each child has a chance to stir, mix, or add ingredients.13. Heat the electric griddle (adult only). Make sure the children stay away from it. If desired, put a line of masking tape on the floor to mark a "no walking" zone.Note: In the book, Jack's mother put butter on the hot skillet; however, you should NOT do this as it will splatter when the pancake mixture is added and could possibly burn a child. Instead, put the butter on the table so the children may put it on their pancakes when they eat.14. Help each child put a ladle full of pancake mixture onto the hot skillet. Ask the children to stand behind the masking tape line until the pancake is done. Flip the pancake using a spatula. Talk about the pancake as it cooks. Make observations about how the heat causes the pancake to change.15. When the pancake is done, help the child put it on a paper plate.16. Help the children put jam or butter on their pancakes. Eat and enjoy.Note: If you do not have the prep time or resources to do the make-believe scenes, just buy the various ingredients and do the activity. Keep them nearby and when you review the story, put the ingredients on a table as they are mentioned.More to doField Trips: Go on a field trip to a local farm. Some zoos have working farms as part of their permanent displays. Call your local zoo to find out.
