Folktales, Monkeys and Sweets... OH MY!! {May ~ PBN Theme}

 

 

With my husband being from Brazil, we thought it would be fun to explore some of the folktales of South America. Brazil has such a rich, colorful culture!! For our books, we chose Monkey Business Stories from Around the World by Shirley Climo and So Say the Little Monkeys by Nancy Van Laan

From  Monkey Business we read The Spider Monkey's Close Shave which is the folktale that tells why the Spider Monkey doesn't have hair on the end of their tale. It's a cute little story about a mischievous monkey who wants something to do that isn't everyday monkey play. He comes across a line of men at a barber shop and decides whatever is going on inside must be fun! So... he stands in line and when it's his turn, "Give me a shave!" he shouts. Not knowing where to start, the amused barber starts with the monkeys tail and shaves off a good 12 inches of hair! The hair never grew back and THAT is why the Spider Monkey have no hair on the end of their tails.

The monkey does not put its paw into the jaguar's mouth twice.

Meaning: Experience is the best teacher

-Proverb, Ecuador

So Say the Little Monkeys is all about some procrastinating squirrel monkeys who everyday say, "Amanha (tomorrow)" when it comes to building themselves a home. Instead of doing what should be done the little stinkers play the day away and each night wish they had worked on a house.

Day after day, year after year, the squirrel monkeys still wait for tomorrow.

 

After reading our folktales we looked up the different kinds of monkeys on Kids Encyclopedia Britannica. It took me a minute to think of a recipe we could tie in but then it dawned on me (duh, mom!!) Monkey Bread!! So, here it is.. our Monkey Bread Recipe...



Our Monkey Bread Recipe (adapted from the Pioneer Woman)

 

  Ingredients:

* Brown Sugar  1/2cup

* 2 sticks of butter (1 cup)
* Bundt Cake Pan
* Cinnamon  2-3 teaspoons
* 3 cans of Buttermilk Biscuits (the non-flaky ones)
* White Sugar 1 cup

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Open up all three cans of biscuits and cut each biscuit into quarters.

Next, combine the white sugar with 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon. (3 teaspoons of cinnamon gives it a fairly strong cinnamon flavor. If you’re not so keen on cinnamon, cut it back to 2 teaspoons.) Dump these into a 1 gallon zip bag and shake to mix evenly.

Drop all of the biscuit quarters into the cinnamon-sugar mix. Once all the biscuit quarters are in the bag seal it and give it a vigorous shake. This will get all those pieces unstuck from one another and nicely coated with cinnamon-sugar.

Spread these nuggets out evenly in the Bundt pan.

At this point, you’re going to want to melt the two sticks of butter together with ½ cup of brown sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook butter/sugar mixture on medium-high, stirring for a few minutes until mixed. Once the brown sugar butter has become one color, you can pour it over the biscuits.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes until the crust is a deep dark brown on top.

Allow it to cool for about 15-20 minutes before turning it over onto a plate and ENJOY!!

 

 

Don't forget to visit these other FANTASTIC blogs to find more great ideas to use with folktales!

 

 

Enchanted Homeschooling Mom ~ 3 Dinosaurs ~ To the Moon and Back ~ Planet Smarty Pants ~ Farm Fresh Adventures ~ Growing in God's Grace ~ Chestnut Grove Academy ~ Learning and Growing the Piwi Way ~ The Usual Mayhem~ Preschool Powol Packets ~ Monsters Ed Homeschool Academy ~ Adventures in Mommydom ~ Teach Beside Me ~ Life with Moore Babies ~ Kathy's Cluttered Mind ~ Are We There Yet? ~ Our Crafts N Things ~ Hopkins Homeschool ~ ABC Creative Learning ~ Joy Focused Learning ~ P is for Preschooler ~ Laugh and Learn ~ A Mommy's Adventures ~ Inspiring 2 New Hampshire Children ~ World for Learning ~ Ever After in the Woods ~ Golden Grasses ~ Our Simple Kinda Life ~ A glimpse of our life ~ Journey to Excellence ~ Happy Little Homemaker ~ Little Homeschool Blessings ~ Simplicity Breeds Happiness ~ Raventhreads ~ Learning Fundamentals ~ Tots and Me ~ As We Walk Along The Road ~ Stir the Wonder ~ For This Season ~ Where Imagination Grows ~ Lextin Academy ~ The Canadian Homeschooler ~ School Time Snippets ~ Peakle Pie ~ Mom's Heart ~ A Moment in our World ~ Every Bed of Roses ~ Finchnwren ~ At Home Where Life Happens ~ Suncoast Momma ~ The Library Adventure ~ Embracing Destiny ~ Day by Day in our World ~ Our Homeschool Studio ~ A "Peace" of Mind ~ Thou Shall Not Whine ~ SAHM I am ~ eLeMeNo-P Kids ~ Simple Living Mama

 

Be sure to check back each month for another dose of fun learning!!

 

And now for the GIVEAWAY!!

Poppins Book Giveaway! Every month the Poppins Book Nook group will be offering readers a chance to win a brand new storybook or product that ties in with our theme for the month. This month one lucky entrant will win a copy of the E.H.M. curriculum Journey into the World of Folktales  (PDF) and one copy of the book that is required to teach it called Around the World in 80 Tales by Saviour Pirotta to further their learning all about folktales.


Entrants must be 18years or older and reside in a country that receives U.S. Postal mail. This giveaway is brought to you by the company Enchanted Homeschooling Mom who is owner and founder of the Poppins Book Nook. By entering this giveaway you are also acknowledging that you have read and agree to all of the Rafflecopter terms and conditions as well as Enchanted Homeschooling Mom's disclosures found here.  Just enter the Rafflecopter below to win:

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{Clip art by Melon Headz}

 

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