I'm Not Taking a Bath

by Laura Gehl

In Peep and Egg’s third adventure, Peep And Egg: I’m Not Taking A Bath, Egg gets muddy playing with the pigs. Peep tries to convince Egg to take a bath…but Egg is not taking a bath. No way, no how!

After you read Peep And Egg: I’m Not Taking A Bath out loud to your class, try these activities to get your students writing.

1. Persuasive Writing

Peep tries to convince Egg to take a bath by suggesting different alternatives, such as going to the river, or the duck pond, or the dog bowl.

Write a letter to Egg. In your letter, try to convince Egg to try something new. It could be anything! Maybe you think Egg should go on a roller coaster. Maybe you think Egg should try your favorite video game. In your letter, give at least three reasons to convince Egg.

2. Excuses, excuses!

Peep gives a lot of reasons why taking a bath is not happening—too wet, too bubbly, too slobbery!

Imagine a family member is telling you to clean your room. Make up a list of excuses to show why you can’t possibly clean your room.

3. Make it fun!

Peep finally convinces Egg to take a bath by making bath time seem like a lot of fun.

Imagine it is your job to take out the trash or sweep the floor, but you don’t want to do it. How could you convince a brother, sister, cousin, or friend to do the job instead, by making the job seem super fun? Think of a game to make taking out the trash or sweeping the floor seem as fun as going to Disneyworld!

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Peep and Egg: I'm Not Trick or Treating

by Laura Gehl

My newest picture book with illustrator Joyce Wan, Peep and Egg: I’m Not Trick or Treating, is the second book in the Peep and Egg series. Unlike Peep and the other farm animals, poor Egg isn’t excited about Halloween. Egg is terrified of witches, mummies, and vampires; there is absolutely NO WAY that Egg is going trick or treating!

Peep and Egg: I’m Not Trick or Treating can be a fun writing prompt in your classroom.  After you read the book aloud, here are a few ideas to try with your students:

1)    Peep and Egg wear coordinated Halloween costumes. Peep is a butterfly, while Egg is a caterpillar. Challenge your students to make a list of other coordinated Halloween costumes that would be fun for siblings or friends to wear. Some possibilities include salt and pepper, ketchup and mustard, or milk and cookie.  For an extra challenge, see if students can come up with ideas that work especially well for an older sibling and a younger sibling, the way a butterfly and a caterpillar work for Peep and Egg.  A seed and a flower, a tadpole and a frog…how many examples can your students think of?

2)    Peep tells Egg Halloween jokes to help Egg feel less scared. What other strategies can your students think of for helping a friend or younger sibling who finds Halloween frightening?

3)    As a class, brainstorm a list of “scary” Halloween characters—monsters, zombies, etc. Then work with your students to make each character less scary by adding nontraditional traits. How about a monster who loves to sing songs from Disney movies, or a zombie who wears a rainbow bikini? 

4)    For many kids, the best part of trick or treating is the CANDY.  Ask your students to invent their own Best Halloween Candy Ever.  Would it be a dark chocolate bar studded with white chocolate chips in the shape of a skull? Or a lollipop that looks like an eyeball, with an oozing red center that tastes like cherry cola?  Anything goes!

5)    Even though many kids find trick or treating fun, there are plenty of kids who are scared by Halloween in general and trick or treating in particular. Can your students make a list of other activities that are fun for some kids but scary for others? Rock climbing? Horseback riding? Ziplining?

Peep and Egg: I’m Not Trick or Treating reinforces the message introduced in Peep and Egg: I’m Not Hatching…that sometimes all we need to overcome our fears is someone we love by our side.  Happy early Halloween!

www.lauragehl.com