Mr. Willoughby's Christmas Tree

Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert Barry is a great holiday story told in rhyme about a Christmas tree that is shared by many different characters.  The other programmers and I have loved the book for years, but could never quite figure out how to tell it with props.

Finally, I had a brainstorm, and here is what I did:  I took a piece of green poster board and cut it into a cone shape.  I then curled the sides together into a "cone" and stapled the edges together.

I then made six more trees each in a decreasing size.




To make the star, I took a small star cookie cutter and pressed it into a piece of Styrofoam.  I used yellow tempera paint to make it look like cheese, and made small hole in the bottom to place it on the smallest tree.

To tell the story, we placed the stack of trees on a table.  As the "top" of the tree is cut off, the programmer pulls off from the bottom.  i.e.  There is a stack of seven trees, when the butler cuts off the top, the programmer lifts off the stack of six and places it on the table.  When Miss Adelaide, the maid, snips off the top of her tree, the programmer lifts off the stack of five.  We continued in this manner, until the smallest tree is sitting on the table.   At the end of the story, the story teller places the star on the tiny tree.

When we used this story, one programmer sat on a stool in front of the table and read from the book to  get the rhymes just right.  The other programmer stood behind the table and placed the trees on the table at the appropriate time.  

The supplies for this story are easy to find and inexpensive, and the props are simple to make.  Yet, the children really enjoy this fun story in which everyone gets a Christmas tree.

More reviews for Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree at:

http://books.google.com/books/about/Mr_Willowby_s_Christmas_Tree.html?id=f-R7yI5yb3UC