What to watch: Room on the Broom
Where to find it: Amazon Prime & Netflix
Run time: 27 minutes
Best for ages: 2 and up
Why We Recommend Room on the Broom
Room on the Broom has a fun repetitive storyline. It originally was our family-favorite Halloween book and we were very excited when we discovered that they made a short movie out of the story. The main characters are a witch and her cat. The duo goes on a journey on her broom and picks up some animal friends along the way. At just under a half-an-hour long it's a great short film for those little ones who cannot yet sit through a whole movie. Your child will love this movie because of the fun-loving characters and the adventure they go on together. You will love this movie because it shows how the witch is accepting of new friends and shares her broom with each of them. In an unexpected turn of events, the new friends help the witch and show her kindness when she needs it most. After watching this short movie, my son likes to act like he is a witch flying on his broomstick and picks up his stuff animals along the way. It's always great to encourage play after your child watches a show and let their imagination roam free.
Room on the Broom Finger Puppet Show, Drawing Activity, & Make Believe Play
For Room on the Broom, Logan and I did a few different activities, because he enjoyed the film so much and his creative side was really working that day! First, we played with the finger puppets, then we did a drawing activity, followed by playing make-believe.
Estimated time: 10 minutes to an hour (depending on how many of the activities you enjoy!)
Materials needed:
Printed PDFs
Tape
Crayons (or colored pencils)
Scissors
Pencil
Scarfs or small blankets
Stuff Animals
Broom
Finger Puppets
Cut out the finger puppets and tape them closed (it helps to measure them on your child's fingers before taping). Encourage your child to retell the story to you as they play with the puppets. Help them by asking questions and making creative suggestions. Logan and I used scarves and colored blankets to make "scene changes" for the finger puppet show.
What did the witch lose first?
Which animal friend did the witch meet next?
What could you use as a broom?
What do we have that could look like they fall in mud?
Since the witch was so nice to the animals, what did they do for her in return?
When people are nice and help us, how does that make you feel?
Does it make you want to be nice in return?
Do you think we should be nice to everyone no matter what to help brighten their day?
Do you think the witch was nice to the animals, because she knew she would need their help, or because she is a kind witch and knows she should be nice no matter what?
Draw & Tell
This is a great activity to help expand your child's imagination and try to remember the repetition of the story. Ask your child what other animals they wish the witch had met along her journey. Then let them choose one of the animals and draw the scene. Once they are done drawing and coloring, have them narrate the story of the witch meeting the new animal friend, while you write down what they say.
Suggestion: Before Logan draws, we talk about the different colors he can use for different parts of the picture to help him expand on the amount of color he uses in his pictures. This also helps him create the picture in his mind before he puts it down on paper.
Make Believe Play
After we completed the two activities I had planned for us after watching Room on the Broom, Logan asked if we could make our own movie of Room on the Broom, which is really his way of wanting to play make believe. So we found a broom and some stuffed animals. Logan played the witch while I played the animals. This was another great opportunity for him to remember the repetition of the story. Logan also had fun making up new items that the witch lost while flying through our living room. We then traded roles, making me the witch while he was the animals. I have to say I am not the best choice for make believe play time—that is more up my husband's alley. I am more into the craft activities, but since this was steady repetition and I could see my son having fun creating his own version of the story, it was really a joy to have this experience with him.
For those of you who have more than one kid, this is a great opportunity for them to play make believe together while you watch or stand by and get some emails done (more time for you!).
Don't forget to share the fun you are having with us on Social Media! Tag us when you try out any of our activities so we can share as well! @curiouscouchpotatoes
Jeanette's Educational Insights
I love this story for many layers: the social overtones, the rhymes, and the repetition.
Patrice incorporated the social aspects during the discussion section. Learning to be not just tolerant of others, but to embrace them is such an important lesson.
This story is rich with rhymes. Rhyming is a fun and productive way for children to play with phonetic sounds. Hearing sound distinctions is key to learning the phonemes (distinctive sounds of language) which is necessary to transition into phonics and reading. Rhyming is meant to be fun and playful and this movie does it well!
Kids love predictability and Room on the Broom does this with little surprises along the way. The witch predictably loses objects along the way and acquires new friends as she searches for her items. It is a great way of introducing story sequence. (First, she loses her hat and finds a dog, then, she loses her bow and finds a bird.)