Where there’s rubbish, disorganization, and debris, you will find a happy herd of piggies, ready to roll! The perfect indoor game to combat the winter blahs…it’s trash time!
We read Pigsty by Mark Teague (Scholastic, 1994). Wendell Fultz’s bedroom is a total pigsty. Ordered by his mother to clean it, Wendell is shocked to find an actual pig on his bed. As the mess in his room grows, so does the number of pigs, until finally Wendell is overwhelmed. He asks the pigs to pitch in and clean up. They do – and then depart for dirtier climes. One of my favorite books, and so fun to read aloud!
You’ll need:
- 1 large oatmeal container
- 1 paper cup
- Pink construction paper
- 3 paper towel tubes
- A selection of colored tape
- Scissors and tape for construction
- Markers for decorating
First, the pig! Wrap a large oatmeal container in pink paper, then add a circle of pink paper to the lid as well. Next, cut a paper cup down to approximately 1.75″ and cover it with pink paper. This is your pig’s snout. Use extra paper for the ears, and a curl of paper (or corkscrewed craft stem) for a tail. Draw the eyes and nostrils on with markers. Finally, tape 3 paper towel rolls together to create the “steering stick” for your pig. You can color it with markers, or fancy it up with colored tape. You’re ready to race!
We also highly recommend decorating a jersey number from this numbers 1-16 template. The paper number gets taped to your back, and the matching number gets drawn on your pig. The pig race gets chaotic, and you want to be able to find your pig quickly if it gets bumped, kicked, or otherwise separated from you.
Time for the race! Scatter “rubbish” in a large area (we used plastic eggs, old film canisters, and toilet paper tubes because they rolled smoothly). Have all the contestants line up, standing behind their pigs with the steering stick. On the shout of “Go!” players push their pigs forward, zero in on a piece of rubbish, and push it across the finish line.
A less competitive version is to turn a table into the “goal,” and have kids roll the rubbish underneath it. When all the garbage is under the table, everyone wins!
It’s been a long journey, but Katie and Finley finally completed their quest!
The company also mails postcards when you reach certain milestones, and they physically plant a tree for every 20% that you walk. For Katie and Finley, that translated to 25 trees! The medal set also included the One Ring. It fits inside the Shire medal and the Mordor medal. But Katie very prudently cast it into the fires of Mordor, thus saving Middle Earth forever. Go Katie!
In case you are wondering where Katie is warming her little hobbit feet, it’s by the massive fireplace in the Yankee Doodle Tap Room. It’s located inside the Nassau Inn in Princeton, New Jersey. It was the perfect location for a restful fireside tankard.
With it’s stone, brick, wood floors, and ceiling beams, The Tap Room really does look like it could belong in the Shire. We just need a house band and a few dozen jolly hobbits.
The Tap Room has plenty of Princeton University touches as well, from a photo wall of famous alumni, to a carved tiger guarding an exit door.
But the most famous feature of the Tap Room is “Yankee Doodle,” an original Norman Rockwell painting that hangs over the bar. One of his largest canvases, it was commissioned in the mid 1930s by Edgar Palmer. Rockwell painted in right onto the wall of the Tap Room. Today, it’s carefully protected by glass.
Congratulations to Katie and Finley on their fantastic achievement! And, if you’re still in hobbit party mode, why not check out 
It’s beautiful, botanical, and inspiring…find your little light in the darkness with this lovely garden box illuminated with shimmering votive candles!
While this was a quiet and simple project, it was incredibly cozy and the kids absolutely loved it. Our story time can sometimes get a 