12 Days of Christmas Day 1: Chronicles of Narnia

In reading class, we have been working our way through the Chronicles of Narnia's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I absolutely LOVE this book and my class did too. They did not want it to end and are demanding to read other books in the series. Since we finished up last week, I decided to create a classroom transformation to review a bunch of skills and end it all with a big bang. 

For the decorating, I purchased a snowy background to hang across the front of my classroom as well as a dozen foldable 3D snowflakes to hang from the ceiling. I had my dad and husband help me with creating the wardrobe. My dad built a clothes rack that could go just inside my classroom door and my husband rigged it all around with cardboard so that when the students entered my classroom it looked like they were entering a wardrobe. I hung some coats and blankets on the clothes rack and put cotton batting on the floor for snow. I also put a tree just past the clothes and to one side with "snow" covering the branches. In the books, the trees were one of the first things the four children, in the book, noticed as they went through the wardrobe. I created a drawing of a wardrobe to hang on the outside of the door to make it look like the door of the wardrobe. 

Inside, there were a few other details too. We had the lamp and lamppost as you came through the wardrobe. A candle was burning inside (it was battery operated, of course). On a tall table at the front, I had a white lacy tablecloth along with a crown, signifying the queen as well as a fancy platter of Turkish Delight. I also displayed the book there as well. In the back, I created a very simple altar with a table. I used bulletin board paper and created a rock pattern all over it. Then I taped it to a table, hanging down to the floor. I placed an old giant stuffed lion, that was my husband's when he was a kid, on the tabletop to represent Aslan on the stone altar. 

The "Queen's" crown and Turkish Delight

Aslan on the altar

The snow-covered tree at the back of the wardrobe

The burning lamp

The backside of the wardrobe from inside looking back to the door. 

The wardrobe door

To one side, I gathered up some wood to represent the beavers. I placed some marmalade rolls nearby. In the story, the beavers served marmalade rolls to Peter, Susan, and Lucy.

As for the activities, we started with an escape room that reviewed the vocabulary, characters, and plot of the story. As students made their way through the challenges, they had certain points where they could stop to try the Turkish Delight and the marmalade rolls. They were mostly a hit. You can find the recipe for Turkish Delight here.  My principal said it was the best Turkish Delight she has ever had....she is a HUGE Narnia fan. It was the only Turkish Delight I ever had. Also, let me give you a couple of tips to making this. When you see the ingredient corn flour, it is actually corn starch (in England they apparently call it corn flour). Also, if you cannot find rose water, you can use another flavoring. I used orange instead because I went to two different stores and they did not have it. I also did not plan ahead enough to purchase on Amazon, but it is available there. The marmalade rolls recipe I used can be found here. It was super delicious, but also incredibly sweet. A little bit is more than enough for me. 

After we escaped Narnia, we started a comparison of the book and the movie. We watched the movie in 5 different segments, pausing to look for connections while comparing and contrasting. 

All in all, it was a great time! I really enjoyed bringing the book to life in my classroom. I am already thinking about the next book....Charlie and the Chocolate Factory....here we come!