Have I mentioned how much I love fairy tales? Well, yes, I probably have. I am a subscriber to the idea that fairy tales promote imagination and creativity, and I love to expose my kids to them. Sleeping Beauty (or Briar Rose, as it was historically called) opens the floor for you to discuss not trusting strangers, the problems that can arise from keeping secrets, and how people get their feelings hurt when they are left out. The nice thing about fairy tales is that they are available in multiple versions, so you can pick the version that presents the story in an age appropriate way for your individual child.
Another benefit is that, unlike local and national news, fairy tales allow you to present scary and dangerous concepts in a context that isn’t as threatening to children as reality. Telling them that a bad person took a local child from her family is WAY scarier than a wicked fairy who puts a long-ago princess to sleep for 100 years. So using the story as a basis for your conversation allows you to introduce the concept without scaring your kid half to death. (See also these talking points for discussing Sleeping Beauty.)
In case you aren’t totally familiar with the story of Sleeping Beauty, let me bring you up to speed:
The Sleeping Beauty: A Super Short and Slightly Cynical Version
The beautiful and special Princess Aurora was born to a King and Queen who were so excited that they invited everyone in the kingdom to her baby party, EXCEPT for one vengeful and powerful fairy. The fairy was so angry at the slight that she cast a powerful curse- not on her parents, who were actually the authors of the social gaffe, but on the innocent baby. Someday, the beautiful little girl will prick her finger on a spindle and she will die. Other powerful fairies (with kinder intentions) were able to modify the curse to mean a 100 year sleep for the poor girl.
The King and Queen, no doubt thinking that the presence of spindles and knowledge of the risks will prompt a dare-devil finger pricking spree in their teenager, keep the curse a secret. Rather than tell her she’s cursed and to stay away from spinning wheels, they eradicate the technology from their kingdom.
When the lovely Aurora does encounter a spinning wheel at the age of 16, she has no idea that it’s a trap set for her by the evil fairy, and promptly pricks her finger and slips into a coma. The kindly fairy swoops in and puts the rest of the distraught royal family under a sleeping spell so they will awaken together with the princess, and they all sleep for 100 years before the inevitable happens- a handsome, brave, and dashing prince comes to the rescue and wakens the princess with a kiss.
The End
The littler the children at your play date, the simpler you will want to keep your activities. For the littlest ones, just introducing the story in a short, simplified form might be all the attention you can get from them. You can revisit at a later date and act the story out with dolls and toys. (Kids love repetition!) For older kids who are already familiar with the story, telling or reading a version can make a great intro to other activities. They might THINK they know all about this story, until you start explaining how castles were built. You can build on this almost infinitely and there are plenty of science and history applications as well as the literary ones.
Resources for your playdate:
- Sleeping Beauty Activities and Printables (including a castle maze)
- Fairy Lore (Wikipedia)
- Tiara Template for your little princess
- Make a drop spindle (for demonstration or for older kids)
- Talking points on Stranger Danger
- Make a Paper Castle
- Castle architecture (wikipedia)
