The Colorful Ghosts
A Flannel Board Story
by
M. C. Arvanitis
(See
patterns below.)
(Have six little ghosts, white side up, and mother on flannel board. Place ghosts in order of colors below.)
There were six little ghosts as white as could be.
Their mother warned them to eat carefully
For good ghosts need to have a big appetite
(Add pictures of popcorn and glass of milk on flannel board.)
For popcorn and milk and foods that are white.
If they eat any other, they just might be seen
And that would be bad for a ghost on Halloween.
(Remove Mother Ghost and white foods.)
While practicing haunting one day, as they should
They spied in the kitchen some food that looked good.
(Add Cherries to board under first ghost. Turn this ghost over to show red side.)
Ghost number one ate some cherries, so red
And turned the same color from his feet to his head.
(Place basket of blueberries under second ghost. Turn this ghost to show blue side.)
Ghost number two chewed some blueberries sweet,
And suddenly turned blue from his head to his
feet.
(Place lemon on board under third ghost. Turn this ghost to show yellow side.)
Ghost number three
saw a lemon and took a bite.
Before he could spit he was yellow, not white.
(Place green beans on board
under fourth ghost. Turn this ghost to show green side.)
Ghost number four ate a crispy green bean,
And much to his sorrow, he turned a bright green
(Place carrot on board under fifth ghost. Turn this ghost to show orange side.)
Ghost number five saw a carrot on the sink.
One bite turned him orange as quick as a wink.
(Place
grapes on board under sixth ghost. Turn this ghost to show purple side.)
Ghost number six ate some grapes from a bunch
And soon turned purple form eating his lunch.
They looked at themselves. They looked at each other.
“ Oh dear,” they cried, “How can we face Mother?”
(Place mother ghost back on board facing the colored ghosts. Touch each
ghost as you say his colors. )
When Mother saw them she scolded and said,
“You can’t
haunt a house when you’re green or red,
Or purple, or orange, or yellow, or blue.
There’ll
be no haunting on Halloween for you.”
“Will we stay this way, Mom?” they cried out in fright.
“Oh what can we do to turn ourselves white?”
They had waited so long for their special day.
Now they’d miss Halloween. What a big price to pay
For eating the things they knew that they shouldn’t.
If they could do it again, they certainly wouldn’t.
(Place Dr. Ghost on board with others. Place white food on the board.)
Mom called in Doctor Ghost, in hopes that he might
Know of a cure to turn them back again white.
He said, “Only white food will make color disappear.
It will take a long time, probably a year.”
So the sad little ghosts missed Halloween night,
(Take off mother and Dr. Ghost. – Slowly turn each ghost to its white side, calling the color as you turn
it. After all are turned finish the rhyme.)
Within a few months they turned back into white
And the next year on Halloween they haunted all night.
_____