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Elementary Programs Chapter

by Jeanette Larson

There’s Gold in Them ‘Thar Books!

Books To Share

Books to Show or Booktalk

Costumes and Props

Dress up like a gold miner to greet the children who arrive for the program wearing blue jeans, suspenders, a flannel shirt, kerchief, and a floppy hat.

Bulletin Board

There’s Gold in Them ‘Thar Books!

Show that this is the “golden anniversary” of the Texas Reading Club by edging the bulletin board with gold foil. Cut out letters for the caption and arrange them on the bulletin board. Add book jackets for award winning books about gold and other precious metals, or favorite titles. For added effect, sprinkle gold glitter for gold dust or use a glitter pen to add streaks of gold across the bulletin board.

Decorations

Scatter gold nuggets, a gold mining pan and pick, and pack mules in the programming room that are cut from Ellison or other dies. If desired, add the names of books about gold, gold mining, and precious metals to the die cuts.

Refreshments

Serve chocolate candy coins covered in gold foil.

Contests

Gold Nuggets

Fill a glass jar with gold nugget chewing gum, counting the number of nuggets in advance. Let each child guess how many nuggets are in the jar. Give the jar of chewing gum to the child whose guess is the closest.

Incentives

Oriental Trading Company, www.orientaltrading.com, sells cloth bags of gold nugget chewing gum and gold nugget magnets that could be offered as gifts or incentives for participating in the program.

Songs

Make New Friends

(Traditional. Sing as a round. Listen to the tune at Campfire Song Book, http://songs-with-music.freeservers.com/makenewfriends.html. Form a circle with the children. Instruct them to hold hands and rock from side to side as you sing.)

Make new friends

But keep the old:

One is silver

And the other's gold.

A circle's round,

It has no end:

That's how long

I'll be your friend.

Rhymes and Poetry

Reader’s Theater

Rumpelstiltskin

(Traditional. Adapted by Jeanette Larson.)

Characters

Narrator: Once there was a poor miller who had a beautiful daughter.

Miller: Oh, daughter, you are so beautiful and so gentle. You are worth your weight in gold to me.

Daughter: Father, you say that because you are so kind and you are my father. Every father cherishes his daughter.

Narrator: One day the miller went to deliver grain to the king’s castle. He was a poor man and wanted make himself appear more important to the king.

Miller: (Bowing before the king) Ah, your highness, it is a pleasure to be your subject. Although I am a poor man, I have one great treasure: my beautiful daughter with hair of gold.

Narrator: Now the king’s court was filled with beautiful princesses and ladies in waiting, and the king merely yawned.

King: Yawn.

Narrator: So the miller said the only thing he could think of to get the king’s attention.

Miller: Your highness, my daughter is not only beautiful, she can spin straw into gold!

Narrator: At that the king perked up and a gleam came to his eye.

King: (Greedily) My, my. Now that is a very useful talent. Hmmm…I am always happy to have more gold in my treasury. Bring your daughter to me and I will test her skill.

Narrator: The miller went home and told his daughter about his visit to the castle.

Daughter: But father, you know that this is impossible! What am I to do?

Miller: (Excitedly) Daughter, when the king sees your beauty, he will not care if you can spin straw into gold!

Narrator. So the miller brought his daughter to the king and the king led the girl into a room full of straw with spinning wheel in the corner.

King: Your father claims you can spin gold from straw.

Daughter: (Protests) I can do many things but….

King: (Imperiously) Silence! Spin this straw into gold before morning or you will never see your father again.

Narrator: And with that, the king locked the poor girl in the room.

Daughter: (Crying) Oh, dear, what am I to do? What has my father done to me? How will I ever spin straw into gold? Woe is me, I am doomed!

Narrator: The girl continued to cry and fret, until suddenly the door opened and in walked a strange little man.

Daughter: (Startled) Who are you? What are you doing here?

Rumpelstiltskin: Never mind who I am. I am here to help you. What will you give me if I spin this straw into gold for you?

Daughter: I am but the daughter of a poor miller. I have nothing to give you but the necklace that I am wearing.

Rumpelstiltskin: I’ll take it! Step aside.

Narrator: And quick as a wink, the strange little man turned the straw into gold while the miller’s daughter slept. As the sun rose, the strange man disappeared and the king returned.

King: (Delighted) My, my! You are indeed talented. This is the finest gold I have ever seen. Great work. Now, I will have more straw delivered and you will make me more gold.

Narrator: And with that, the king had more straw delivered to the room.

King: (Greedily) Now spin all of this straw into gold before morning or you will never see your father again.

Daughter: (Crying) Oh, dear, what am I to do? What has my father done to me? How will I ever spin this straw into gold? Woe is me, I am doomed!

Narrator: The girl continued to cry and fret until suddenly the door opened and once again in walked the strange little man.

Daughter: (Joyfully) It’s you again! Please help me!

Rumpelstiltskin: What will you give me if I spin this straw into gold for you?

Daughter: I am but the daughter of a poor miller. I have nothing to give you but this ring that was a gift from my mother

Rumpelstiltskin: I’ll take it! Now step aside and let me get to work.

Narrator: And quick as a wink, the strange little man turned the straw into gold while the miller’s daughter slept. As the sun rose, the strange man disappeared and the king returned.

King: (Delighted) Oh, my dear girl. I cannot believe my good fortune. Your talent is beyond belief. If you will but spin one more pile of straw into gold, you shall become my wife. But if you fail, you will never see your father again!

Narrator: And with that, the king had an even bigger pile of straw delivered to the room.

Daughter: (Crying) Oh, dear, what am I to do? What has my father done to me? How will I ever spin this straw into gold? Woe is me, I am doomed!

Narrator: The girl continued to cry and fret, when suddenly the door opened and once again in walked the strange little man.

Rumpelstiltskin: What will you give me if I spin this straw into gold for you?

Daughter: (Pleading) I have nothing left to give you! But please help me. I want more than anything in the world to see my father again.

Rumpelstiltskin: If I help you, the king has pledged to make you queen. Promise me that when you become queen, you will give me your first-born child.

Narrator: The miller’s daughter was desperate and so she promised that she would do as he asked. And quick as a wink, the strange little man turned the straw into gold while the miller’s daughter slept. As the sun rose, the strange man disappeared and the king returned.

King: (Happily) Oh, my dear. I am so pleased with what you have done. We shall be married immediately.

Narrator: And so they married and a year later the miller’s daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. The new queen was so happy that she had forgotten all about her promise to the strange little man, when suddenly he appeared.

Rumpelstiltskin: I have come to collect on your promise.

Daughter: (Pleading) I beg you! Please don’t take my baby from me. I love him more than anything in the world! I will give you anything else, but please leave my child.

Rumpelstiltskin: (Grinning) Well, just for sport, I will make you a bargain. If in three day’s time you can guess my name, you may keep the child and live in peace. But if after the third day you cannot guess my name, the child is mine.

Narrator: And the strange little man disappeared. All night long the queen thought and thought. She pondered many names. When the strange little man returned in the morning, the queen began guessing names.

Daughter: Is your name James? Is it Anthony? William? Sam? Roy?

Narrator: But with each guess, the strange little man shook his head no and laughed gleefully.

Rumpelstiltskin: (Laughing) In two more days, the baby I will claim. For you will never guess my name!

Narrator: On the second day, the queen tried even more names. This time she tried unusual and uncommon names.

Daughter: Is your name Abner? Is it Packard? Mortimer? Vadim?

Narrator: But with each guess, the strange little man shook his head no and laughed gleefully.

Rumpelstiltskin: (Laughing) In one more day, the baby I will claim. For you will never guess my name!

Narrator: Desperate, the queen sent her messenger out to scour the land for names. That night, the messenger returned with a strange story to tell.

Messenger: Your highness, I did not discover any new names but I saw the strangest sight. In a small clearing in the woods at the farthest edge of the kingdom I saw a strange little man dancing and singing.

Daughter: Tell me, and be quick about it. I shall reward you richly!

Messenger: The strange little man was dancing and chanting these words: “Today I bake, tomorrow I brew. And after that the child comes from you. No matter how many times I came, the queen will never guess my name. Rumpelstiltskin is my name, and tomorrow the queen’s child I’ll claim!”

Narrator: The queen was overjoyed. She dried her tears and combed her hair. Then she waited until the strange little man arrived with the morning sun.

Daughter: (Coyly) Is your name perhaps Ralph?

Narrator: The strange little man laughed and shook his head no.

Daughter: (Coyly) Is your name by chance Henry?

Narrator: The strange little man again laughed and shook his head no

Daughter: Then it must be Rumpelstiltskin!

Rumpelstiltskin: (Shouting) Curses! How could you know?

Narrator: And with that, Rumpelstiltskin stomped his foot and disappeared from the castle never to be seen again. And of course, the queen and her child lived happily ever after.

The End.

Stories

Read “The Gold Bug” by Edgar Allan Poe, available in Tales of Edgar Allan Poe and in many other collections, and on the Internet at various sites, including the Electronic Text Center, http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/PoeGold.html.

Riddles and Jokes

(By Jeanette Larson.)

Q. Why are you waving that folded piece of paper at the river?
A. I’m fanning for gold!

Crafts

Pot of Gold

Materials
Directions

In advance collect or purchase enough plastic cups for each child to have one. Give each child a plastic cup. Cover the cup with black craft foil to create a pot. You may use aluminum foil if craft foil is not available. Trace circles on to the corrugated cardboard and cut them out. Cover the circles with gold foil, bronze foil, and aluminum foil to create “coins.” Fill the pot with gold, silver, and copper coins. Craft foils are available in sheets from paper and school suppliers such as Discount School Supply at www.discountschoolsupply.com. Depending on the weight, the paper may need to be taped to hold it in place. See the photo example of a pot of gold at the end of this program.

Money Mobile

The U. S. Mint, www.usmint.gov/kids/campCoin/funWithCoins.cfm, provides patterns and instructions for creating a “money mobile” using paper or plaster of Paris coins. Children can create original coins or print out patterns from the 50 State Quarters series.

Friendship Bracelets

Materials
Directions

In advance, cut the embroidery floss into lengths of 25-30 inches. Allow each child to pick three lengths in different colors. The children tie a knot about 1.5 inches from the end, leaving a tail. They tape the tail to a table to hold it in place and then raid the embroidery floss until there is about 1.5 inches left. To finish, the children gather both ends and tie them together to create a bracelet.

Alternative: For older or more experience children, there are many designs that involve more complicated knotting and braiding, adding beads, etc., available on the Internet or in Friendship Bracelets by Laura Turres.

Web-Based Activities

By the Great Horn Spoon
www.hornspoon.info
This site supports the book, By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman and provides fun facts, music, and scenes from the book’s adventures.
U. S. Mint
www.usmint.gov/kids
Kids can use the Time Machine to travel back in history and learn about money and coins at historic moments in the past while playing on-line games.

Guest Speakers

Invite a geologists, rock collector, or hobbyist metal detector to talk about searching for precious metals, old coins, and other valuable items.

Videos/DVDs/Films

If you have public performance rights, show these videos and DVDs, or segments of them, to the children. Otherwise, display them for home use. The length listed is for the entire film.

Computer Software

The Magic School Bus Explores Inside the Earth.

Web Sites

Oakland Museum of California
http://www.museumca.org/goldrush/
Experience the thrill of the gold rush, view panoramic pictures of the gold mining experience, and learn about the miners through this virtual exhibit.
Traveling to the Gold Fields
http://library.state.ak.us/goldrush/TRAVEL/index.htm
Find answers to questions about what it was like going to Alaska for gold, including primary documents that describe the supplies required to enter the Yukon, stories about the gold rush, and images.

Professional Resources

Electronic Text Center
www.lib.virginia.edu
Electronic versions of many books that are in the public domain are provided at this site.
Campfire Song Book
http://songs-with-music.freeservers.com/makenewfriends.html
This web site provides lyrics and sound files for many traditional scout and campfire songs.
Oriental Trading Company
www.orientaltrading.com
This carnival supply company sells inexpensive items for incentives and decorations.
Discount School Supply
www.discountschoolsupply.com
This on-line retailer sells specialty papers.
U. S. Mint
www.usmint.gov/kids/campCoin/funWithCoins.cfm
This government web site provides games and activities to have fun with money, including a timeline that allows visitors to travel back to learn about money at historic moments.

Craft Materials

Pot of Gold Craft

Pot of gold

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