The Theft of Fire: Follow-up tips for October 9 & 10, 2024

Here are three engaging follow-up activities for child care centres and parents to do with young children, inspired by “The Theft of Fire” story:

1. Animal Relay Race: Recreate the Journey

Activity Objective: To foster teamwork, imagination, and physical activity.

• Materials Needed: Small objects to represent “fire” (red or orange scarves, small balls, etc.)
• Instructions:
  1. Set up a simple relay race where children pass the “fire” from one to another.
  2. As each child takes their turn, (they can pretend to be one of the animals from the story, if they’d like, such as the coyote, the bear, the squirrel, the frog or the tree). 
  3. At the end, have the group discuss how teamwork helped bring the fire to the people, just like in the story.

Learning Benefits: This activity enhances gross motor skills, collaboration, and imaginative play while reinforcing the story’s key message of teamwork and sharing.

2. Fire and Warmth: Sensory Art

Activity Objective: To engage children in creative expression using different senses.

• Materials Needed: Red, yellow, and orange tissue paper, glue, construction paper, cotton balls, and markers.
• Instructions:
  1. Have children create a “fire” collage using tissue paper to represent flames. They can also draw or add cotton balls to create smoke.
  2. As they create, ask them how fire makes them feel. Discuss how fire provides warmth and light, just as the animals brought fire to the people.
  3. You can also explore different textures and sensory elements—ask how the materials feel and connect them to the fire’s warmth or smoke’s softness.

Learning Benefits: This art activity promotes fine motor skills, creativity, and sensory exploration, while reinforcing the idea of fire as a vital resource in the story.

3. Dramatizing the Story: Animal Adventure

Activity Objective: To encourage imaginative play, storytelling, and cooperation through dramatization.

Instructions:

1. Animal Roles: Ask the children which animal they would like to portray: Coyote, Bear, Deer, Squirrel, Chipmunk, Frog, or Tree. (Multiple children can play the same part at once.)
2. Storytime Reenactment: Retell the story together, encouraging the children to stand and act out the actions of their chosen animals.
3. Engagement: Involve the children by asking questions like, “What happens next?” or “How do you think the animal is feeling?”
4. Imaginative Movements: Encourage the children to move like their chosen animals—crawling like a bear, hopping like a frog, or swaying like a tree in the wind.

Learning Benefits: This activity allows young children to practice taking turns, following instructions, and developing teamwork and communication skills. It fosters imagination, promotes physical activity, and strengthens social-emotional learning through cooperation and storytelling.