French Fairy Tales: Castles and Kings and Knights – Oh My!
Course Description:
17th century French author Charles Perrault penned some of the most famous fables in the repertoire.
Through them, we will explore the common themes of castles, kings, and knights . . . with a few princesses and swords thrown in for good measure!
Which fairy tales?
The fables of Charles Perrault [from Mother Goose]:
- Barbe bleüe Bluebeard
- La belle au bois dormant Sleeping Beauty
- Boucles d’or Goldilocks
- Cendrillon Cinderella
- Les fées The Fairies
- Le Maître Chat, The Master Cat, or Puss-n-Boots
- ou le Chat Botté
- Le petit Chaperon Rouge Little Red Riding Hood
- Le petit Pouçet Little Thumb
See the castles! Learn some French!
See the castles that inspired the stories. We will also learn French vocabulary, colors, and shapes associated with the stories, and then reinforce them through games and activities.
What did they eat? What did they wear? Can we make something?
We may learn about period food and attire, the parts of a castle, and materials used to make a castle.
We may see pictures of the king and queen’s bed chambers, make a sword or a crown, and design our own unique King or Queen’s Seal.
Time permitting, children may wish to create a story to take home with them. Here is a story in Perrault’s own hand!
And most of us are familiar with The Tales Mother Goose (or Contes de la mère d’oye).
Gouache illustration in a manuscript of Charles Perrault’s Contes de ma Mere l’Oye, dated 1695.
Created by Cynthia S. Wildridge, this course was first offered to Pre-K and Kindergarten children at The Lamplighter School of Dallas during their Camp Lamplighter, Summer 2017.
Duration: This course was offered as a week-long camp, with the class meeting 2 hours per day.
It can be scaled for presentation as a library program, a school program + workshop, a week-long summer camp, or a more academic program with aesthetic and touristic appeal.
© 2017 Cynthia S. Wildridge All rights reserved
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