Flannel Friday: Stone Soup

Hi all! An old folktale today, one that many of us know/have used: Stone Soup. The version I use is from Judy Freeman’s Once Upon a Time: Using Storytelling, Creative Drama, and Reader’s Theater With Children in Grades PreK – 6, however, there are lots of other retellings and versions.

A beggar shows up in a village asking for food. One by one, the villagers tell him they don’t have enough to share. But the beggar tells them if they let him borrow a pot, he will show them how to make soup from a stone. He puts the stone in the pot, stirs it, and pretends to taste. He tells them it’s good, but would taste even better with a potato. A villager brings a potato, and that goes into the pot. This continues, and he one by one adds an onion, carrot, tomato, and broth. In the end, of course, he has a delicious soup for all to share. And the villagers will, from then on, always share what they have.  Nice message, eh?

I made a giant black pot and a stone, to start:

And then, all the veggies (and a bowl of broth) to go in:

To make it interactive, I attached a second piece of felt to the backside of the pot, leaving the top open. Kids can bring the vegetables up, one by one, to put in the pot, if the group allows. Or I can make them “disappear” into the pot:

Mmm, soup!

How have you used folktales like this in storytime? Have you ever used a variation on Stone Soup?

Check with Andrea later today for the full Flannel Friday roundup! And click on the FF icon to the right to go to our Pinterest page and see all the flannels helpfully categorized in an easy-to-browse picture format!