Friday Reconnect - SPP Week 1!

By Oliver Perry, Read to Them Staff

Happy Friday everybody! We have reached the end of the first week of our read of The Adventures of a South Pole Pig, and what a week it’s been! In only thirteen chapters, Flora the adventurous piglet has gone from her humble pigpen to a voyage on the sea! Along the way we’ve gotten to know the wise feline Luna, the sheriff of the docks Sophia, the head-of-the-pack Oscar, and more than a few nasty rats. Who has been your favorite character so far, and why? How do you think Flora’s adventure will go? Good? Bad? Chew on these questions as we delve further into Flora’s tale.

For this activity, we want to reimagine the farm for the animals that live there. Flora complains about how cooped up she feels in her tiny pigpen, and we hear Nessie slamming against the stable walls because she’s so cramped! We want to imagine a farm where all the animals can roam free, and have fun with each other. Using what resources you have on hand, be it construction paper, colored pencils, crayons, markers, (printer paper and a pencil is fine!), draw out a barnyard scene where all the animals are having fun! Draw as many farm animals as you can think of (pigs, cows, horses, chickens, etc.) and be as creative as you want. You can have a chicken playing with a cow, or a pig riding on a horse!

As we prepare for Flora’s voyage to the South Pole, here are some writing prompts to munch on while we wait.

• If you could be any farm animal, which one would you be, and why? Once you’ve picked your animal, write a few sentences about what a day on the farm would look like for you as your selected animal. What would you eat? Who would you play with?

• Write a short story from the perspective of one of Flora’s lazy, sleep brothers. Pick a piglet name for him, and describe a typical day in his life. How do the brother and Flora interact? Since there’s a lot of piggy sleeping going on, what does he dream about?

• Instead of getting caught by the farmer, imagine Flora spent much more time out of her pigpen. In a few sentences, describe what adventures she might get up to. What would she do? Where would she go? Who would she meet? Make sure to wrap up the adventure by describing how Flora returns (or doesn’t return) to her pigpen.

• Consider where you live a pigpen. If you could break out and go anywhere in the world and have any adventure, where and what would they be? Write a few sentences about an adventure you’d like to go on.

• Luna, Oscar, and Sophia are a few of the characters that Flora has met so far in our reading. Add a new character to the group. What kind of animal (or person) are they? What is their personality like? How do they interact with Flora? Be creative, and keep your new character’s description to paragraph form.

We can’t wait to dive back into The Adventures of a South Pole Pig next week! Until then, stay safe, be kind, and have a great weekend.