Daycare Lesson Plans on “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”
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Daycare Lesson Plans on “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”, a timeless children’s book that sparks imagination, silliness, and curiosity, are simple, easy, and perfect for home daycare activities.
The circular storyline, fun illustrations, and cause-and-effect pattern make it wonderful for daycare lesson plans. Preschoolers love following the mouse’s adventures, and the book provides endless opportunities for learning through play. These lesson ideas are simple, budget-friendly, easy to set up, and perfect for toddlers and preschoolers in a home daycare, classroom, or early learning program.
This book fits beautifully into a two week themed activity plan. You can explore baking, mice, friendship, responsibility, helping others, and what happens when one action leads to another. Literacy, math, fine motor skills, art, and dramatic play can all connect back to the story.
I love to start each lesson plan with a book, and using a children’s book like “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” is the perfect choice.
If you want a printable 2 week lesson plan on “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” with the Oklahoma ELG’s listed and a supply list and daily schedule, check out our listing on TPT and ETSY.
Read Aloud and Story Discussion
Start your week by reading “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” aloud. Preschoolers enjoy the repetition and rhythm of the words. After reading, ask a few simple questions:
- What happened first?
- What did the mouse want after the cookie?
- Why did he need a nap?
Even toddlers can help retell by pointing to pictures or using stuffed animals as props. Repetition helps build memory, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Cause and Effect Learning
This book is perfect for teaching cause and effect. Create simple sequence picture cards that show the steps in the story: cookie, milk, napkin, mirror, haircut, sweeping, and so on. Mix the cards and let kids help put them in order.
Dramatic Play
You can also act the story out with toy cookies, small brooms, or a play kitchen. When kids see that one action leads to another, they begin understanding sequences and logical thinking.
Counting and Math Skills
Turn cookies into a math lesson by counting chocolate chips or sorting pretend cookies by size or color. You can make paper cookies, felt cookies, or even playdough cookies.
Count cookies into a jar, roll dice and add cookies to a plate, or create simple addition by combining two piles. Toddlers can stack cookies and practice numbers, while preschoolers can compare more and less or weigh cookies on a toy scale.
Art and Craft Projects
Kids love mouse-themed crafts. Try a paper plate mouse with a long yarn tail, or make cookie art using brown paint, pom poms, or small paper circles for chocolate chips. You can also paint with cookie cutters dipped in paint for a quick stamp art project.
Another fun activity is to make a class big book. Give each child a page to illustrate something new the mouse might want: “If you give a mouse a banana,” or “If you give a mouse a paintbrush.” Put the pages together and read your class-made book.
Baking and Sensory Play
If possible, bake cookies with the kids. Measuring flour, stirring batter, and smelling cookies in the oven are wonderful sensory experiences. If baking isn’t an option, make pretend cookies with playdough and add chocolate chip-sized beads. Sensory bins with flour, cookie cutters, and scoops also give kids hours of creative fun.
Dramatic and Pretend Play
Set up a mouse café dramatic play center. Add toy cookies, aprons, plates, napkins, and a small table. Children can “serve” cookies, pour pretend milk, and take orders. Dramatic play encourages language skills, cooperation, and imagination.
Lessons in Responsibility and Friendship
A big part of the story is helping someone else. Talk with kids about kindness and taking care of friends. Ask:
- How can we help our friends?
- What could we do if someone lost their toy or felt sad?
You can practice classroom jobs like cleaning crumbs or setting the table at snack time. Kids feel proud when they help.
“If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” is a joyful story that brings reading to life. When children act, build, bake, and pretend through a book theme, the story becomes a full learning experience. These daycare lesson plans are simple to set up, low-cost, and full of hands-on fun. Kids will ask to read it again and again, and each time opens up new opportunities for learning through play.
More Children’s Book Lesson Plan Ideas for Daycare
For more ideas for daycare lesson plans based on children’s books, check these out:
