We love the library. Just about every Thursday morning you can find me and my girls enjoying storytime at the library. While there, we check out a new stack of books each week. Hailey can hardly wait the 5 minute drive home before digging into the new books. She usually asks to look at one or two on the way home.
One book we have checked out a few times is The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. The Paper Bag Princess is about a princess whose castle is destroyed by a dragon. The dragon carries away her prince, who she plans to marry. Everything the princess has is burnt by the fire of the dragon, including her clothes. The only thing to survive the dragon was a paper bag. The princess makes herself a dress from the paper bag and sets off to rescue her prince from the dragon. At the end of the book, after outwitting the dragon and rescuing the prince, the prince is no longer interested in the princess, because she is a dirty mess. The princess doesn't care, and leaves the prince, no longer intent on marrying him.
What I like most about the story is the idea in the end that the princess knows the prince is wrong. She has a good sense of her own self worth and knows that how she looks is not an important part of who she is.
One afternoon Hailey asked me for an activity to do. We ended up making impromptu paper bag dresses, just like the Paper Bag Princess. You can too!
We started by ripping open the bottom of the bag.
After Hailey tore the bottom open, I used some scissors to cleanly cut away the paper. You should have a tube to look through after the bottom is cut open. (Yes, Keira has marker on her face. That girl loves markes, but she always makes a mess!)
Then we decorated. We used crayons, markers and stickers. I think paints or stamps would be fun too.
Hailey decided to practice writing and traced the letters on the bag.
After we decorated, the dresses were nearly ready to wear. Hailey complained that the top of the bag was digging into her arm pit, so we cut holes in the bag so it would sit more comfortably.
That's it. Easy peasy, but fun. So go grab some large paper bags, art supplies, and a copy of The Paper Bag Princess and craft away!
