Caps for Sale

"Caps for sale, fifty cents a cap!"  I remember that story by Esphyr Slobodkina from my childhood.  Captain Kangaroo read it to us on the television.  It was so long ago, the show was in black and white.  It's hard for me to believe that so much time has gone by.  When a friend suggested that I use this book with my three-year-olds, I said: "no way, it has too many words."  I didn't think the children would be able to sit for that long.  Oh me of little faith!  Caps for Sale is one of my favorite books that I read with children.  I read it to the same class for 3 days.

The first day I put on my own checked cap.  The second time I put on my own checked cap and a gray, brown, blue, and red cap.  On Friday, when I read the story for the last time, I have on as many caps as I need for the students to each have one.   They are not just gray, brown, blue, and red.  I have a rainbow of sparkly colored caps.  During the story, when the peddler falls asleep, the teacher helps remove the caps from the sleeping peddler and gives them to the students.  The class then becomes the monkeys in the tree.  It is so much fun when they figure out that they are doing what I'm doing.  They even are good about giving the caps back when they throw them down.

Making stories come alive for the children helps them to love the stories.  I hope that as they grow, they develop a love of stories and books.  It is always such a treat to share these stories each year.