The King Says

Family Activities

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• “Daddy says ‘Brush your teeth’ / Daddy says ‘Clean out your ears’…”

You may want to play charades and, rather than read the dialogue in the story, act it out without using any words. Can your children guess what the little boy’s daddy said?

• Perhaps you’d enjoy looking at the illustrations and discovering all the little boy’s stuffed animals and other toys. What sort of stuffed animals do you have? Do you also take them to bed with you at night? You may want to follow the illustrations and find out what happens to the toys when they lose the game (they go to sleep!)
• You can also play this game, often known as ‘Simon Says’: you each play the role of the king in turn and give others various instructions. If you begin by saying “The king says…”, the other players must follow your instruction; however, if the “king” orders you to do something without first saying “The king says…”, you do not follow the order. Did you get mixed up? You’re out of the game, and must wait until a new king assumes the throne.
• The little boy in the story pretends to be king and makes up new rules: in his kingdom you’re allowed to jump on beds, fly, be a giant, and ride wolves. You may want to use your imagination together, and think of things you’d like to change in your world. For instance, what would happen if we were to go to school at night and sleep in the daytime?
• The little boy in the story gets ready for bed having brushed his teeth, showered and kissed his father good-night. How does your child get ready for bed? Do you have a ritual, prayer or song that accompanies you as you transit between day and night?
• You may like to share memories from your own childhood with your child: did you share your bedroom with your siblings? Who tucked you into bed at night? Were you read bedtime stories or sung lullabies? Perhaps you went to bed with a doll or teddy-bear. Do you happen to remember a funny story from your past that is related to bedtime?