Mangos for Matilda
Prep: 5 Minutes | Activity Time: 15–20 MinutesÂ
Extend your child’s learning through an imaginative writing activity designed to help her think about food allergies.
- Paper
- Crayons, pencils and/or markers
- A mango and a banana, or pictures of each
Step 1: Read the book Mangos for Max to your child. Talk about food allergies and how in the story, Max can safely eat only mangos, not bananas. Show your child a mango and a banana (or photos of each).
Step 2: Tell your child that there will be a new addition to Max’s class. Her name is Matilda and she also has a banana allergy. Matilda is new to Max’s school and very shy.
Step 3: Give your child a few sheets of paper and some crayons, pencils and/or markers to use.
Step 4: Explain that Matilda needs help explaining her banana allergy to her teacher and friends. Your child can help her by writing a note or drawing a picture to help them understand what she cannot eat.
Step 5: Ask your child about what she wrote and drew. Prompt her to write an “M� for Matilda, like the “M� for Max, and explain that both names start with the same letter “M.� Encourage her to write her own name on the paper.
Help your child draw a banana and mango. Then you can label both. Ask your child to draw a circle around the fruit that Matilda can safely eat (mango) and draw an “X� on top of the fruit she cannot eat (banana).
Incorporate some rhyme into the note helping Matilda. The first lines could be:
Dear Teacher and Classmates,
I have something to say,
Bananas can hurt me, so I stay away.Â
Emphasize the end sounds of â€ÈÙ²¹²â’/‘a·É²¹²â’ in that they both end in –ay. ‘S²¹²â’Ìý²¹²Ô»å ‘A·É²¹²â’ are rhyming words!