“I Spy” a Peppermint Stick

Create Together

Watch and listen to “Sheila Rae’s Peppermint Stick” by Kevin Henkes.

1. Take time to pause the video and examine the illustrations. What do you notice about them? What colors do you see?
2. What type of animals are Sheila and her sister? Have you seen that animal before?
3. How did Sheila Rae act toward her sister in the beginning of the book compared to how she acted at the end of the book? Why do you think this is? Think of ways we can share our things like Sheila Rae did.

Create an ‘I spy’ peppermint stick with a friend!

1. Find a paper towel tube and cut it in half to make one for you and one for a friend.
2. Cut strips of paper in equal sizes, preferably ½ inch wide.
3. Glue the pieces of paper to the paper towel tube diagonally in a pattern alternating between red and white until the whole paper towel tube is covered.
4. Use markers, crayons, or colored pencils to decorate your ‘I spy’ peppermint stick. You can also add glitter.
5. Use the hole puncher to punch two holes near the top of your ‘I spy’ peppermint stick.
6. Cut your ribbon or string about 10-14 inches.
7. Put the string through the hole and attach it to the other side of your ‘I spy’ peppermint stick to form a necklace.
8. Put on your ‘I spy’ peppermint stick and give the other to a friend to play ‘I spy’.

How to play ‘I spy’:

1. Player 1 looks through their peppermint spy glass and chooses a color of an object in sight and says, “I spy with my little eye something (insert color of object here).”
2. Player 2 looks through their peppermint spy glass and guesses objects that are the given color.
3. A player wins when they guess the object correctly. Then it is the other player’s turn to say “I spy….”