The Paper Bag Princess

I'll admit it. I was looking for any excuse I could find to work this book into my reading rotation. It's called The Paper Bag Princess written by Robert Munsch.  It's the story of your not-so-typical princess who gets her castle destroyed by a dragon. She uses her smarts to trick the dragon and save her prince.  But there is a really fun twist at the end that I don't want to spoil for you.  Grab this book and enjoy coming up with voices for the dragon.

Activity:  The Paper Bag Dress

This connection is a bit obvious, but it allows for lots of creativity and you can really go anywhere with this project. (Think a suit of armor for a little guy or a dragon outfit!)

What You'll Need:

• A Paper Bag (thanks Trader Joe's!)
• Scissors (for adult to use)
• Something to mark with
• Tape
• Markers or paint
• Stickers, sequins, glue, glitter, ribbon, etc. etc.!

Procedure:

1. After finishing the book, ask the kiddo what Elizabeth (the princess) had to wear after her castle was burned down.  Ask if they would like to make their own outfit to wear.
2. Gather materials (get creative with the decorative stuff).
3. Begin by asking where the hole for the head should go.  Adult draws a space for the head and cuts it out.  

   

   I did 2 scoops on each side and connected them with a straight line.

4. Try on the bag to make sure the placement is correct. Then, estimate where the arm holes should go and mark it with a marker.

5.  Cut out the arm holes and get to decorating!  We used markers, ribbon, tape, stickers and an old          shoe clip I wore on my wedding day!

6. Make a crown from the left-over pieces (we secured the crown with 2 bobby pins) or you could           make one that actually fits with construction paper.

7. Model your new fashion statement.  

And with the crown. That lasted all of 2 mins.

This is my daughter's 'cheese' face. I get it in a lot of pictures.

If you have an older kiddo who loves math, another activity you could do is a math equation to go along with the part of the story where the dragon flies around the world in 10 seconds. 

The formula is Speed = Distance/Time.  So, you know Time (10 seconds) and you can look up the circumference of the Earth (24,901 miles {40,075 km}) and figure out how fast the dragon was travelling! 

There are calculators online where your student could plug in the values and get the answer, too (promoting independence and computer literacy).  Here's one of those calculators: Speed Calculator

Have fun! If  you try out this activity, or read the book for the first time, I'd love to know what you thought!