Story Spoons

Need a fabulous resource for retelling Fairy Tales? I have two words for you - Story Spoons. Not sure you can make them yourself? Believe me, if I can do it, so can you! And it's fairly inexpensive, too. Win, win! Now, I am not calling this a tutorial; it is more like a cheer-on post. Seriously, if you are at all thinking of creating Story Spoons, Go For It – YOU CAN DO IT! 

Buy spoons, paint, paintbrush, and varnish/sealer.

I looked at Dollar General for wooden spoons, but they had NONE, Zip, Zero, Nada. Who would have thunk it? So, I traveled on to Walmart. Bingo! Found a perfect set of 3 spoons and this rectangular spoon thingy. (I'm sure it has a culinary name.) Perfect set of spoons for making my The Three Billy Goats Gruff – 3 goats, 1 troll. And the price? $0.88. Can't beat that! ~ $0.22 per spoon/rectangular thingy. Sweet!

I also bought paintbrushes, paint: 3 shades of brown for the three sizes of goats and a pukey green for the troll, and varnish/sealer. I went ahead a purchased the brand name. Unbelievable, I know, especially with how cheap frugal I am. 

I already had the other supplies needed: scissors, construction/colored paper, and Sharpies.
 
So, here we go: grab a spoon and paint. Cover the handle, let dry on a piece of parchment paper and grab another spoon. Once the handles are dry to the touch (around 1 hour), paint the spoon part of the spoons. Let dry on parchment paper. 

The initial fear of putting paint onto the spoons is over, you are free to have fun. Decorate the faces. I am in NO way an artist, so I kept things simple. I penciled in guidelines, too.  I told you, I do not have an artistic bone in my body!

 Have fun, be creative. If you mess up, grab the paint and start fresh again. No biggie. I used both paint and sharpies on my faces. 

Once all paint is totally dry, cover spoons with the Mod Podge. Do not freak out like I did when the sealer goes on as a white paste – it dries clear. Whew!


Okay, I am really hoping this doesn't happen to you, but when I came back to check on my drying sealer, I noticed the troll's teeth and the big Billy Goat's beard paint had run. Yikes!
 
Don't panic. Okay, well, panic a little then just let sealer dry totally and repaint the spoon around the facial features. Only you will be able to tell something went amiss. In fact, the troll looks better with uneven, blotchy skin.
 
For the horns and ears, just cut out those shapes from colored construction paper or color white paper and glue onto the spoons. 

Ta Dah! You now have lovely Story Spoons for The Three Billy Goats Gruff. It didn't take long, it was inexpensive, and YOU did it! Yay for you!


Hey, if you need printables to accompany your Fairy Tale unit, check out my Three Billy Goats Gruff Activities Packet HERE.
Or if you need other Fairy Tale Units, check those out HERE.


As always . . . HAPPY TEACHING! 


Okay, I want to add a P.S. on this post.

P.S. Yes, creating the Story Spoons is easy, BUT I am a very lazy busy person.  So, . . .

Need a fabulous retelling activity?
I added a Story Spoon Character Cutout page to each of my Fairy Tale Activity Units. Print out the page - cardstock laminated lasts longer - cut out the characters and affix them using glue, tape, velcro to spoons or craft sticks. 

These spoons make a GREAT center!

Below I am posting the individual pictures from our fairy tale spoons/sticks. We used:
***wooden spoons for the main characters and wavy craft sticks for the co-stars. 
***the rectangular spoon for the evil characters
***used front and back for the good/evil characters
(evil queen/peddler woman)

Let me know if you have any questions.
Enjoy!

Whew!