Seven little mice, curious and bright, Each went to explore, both day and night. "What's this Something? Let's take a peek!" One by one, they used their feet.

The first said, "It's a rope, I know!" The second felt, "A tree that grows!" The third declared, "It's a big, flat wall!" The fourth exclaimed, "A fan so tall!"

The fifth touched, "A snake, it's clear!" The sixth proclaimed, "A pillar is here!" But the seventh mouse, so clever and wise, Explored the whole, and opened her eyes.

"It's an elephant, big and round! Together, we’ve solved what we have found!" The mice all cheered, hand in hand, "Together, we understand!"

Large sheets of paper

Non-toxic paint in seven colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and black)

Paintbrushes or sponge brushes

Small cutouts of mouse shapes

Glue sticks

Optional: googly eyes or markers for details

1. Setting the Scene: Start by briefly talking about the story. Explain how each mouse explored a mysterious object, one by one, and what they discovered.

2. Painting the Journey:

   
   

   Assign each preschooler a "mouse" to decorate. Let them paint their mouse using one of the colors from the story.

   
   

On the large sheet of paper,

encourage the children to paint

shapes encourage the children to

paint shapes encourage the children

to paint shapes and textures that

represent the discoveries and

textures that represent the discoveries

of the mice (e.g., stripes, smooth

curves, or rough textures).

3. Adding the Mice

   Once the paint dries, have the kids glue their decorated mice onto the big artwork, showing where their mouse explored.

4. Group Discussion: Talk about how all the mice needed to work together to solve the mystery. Have the kids point out the different painted areas and share what their mouse “found.”

Pre-drawn outlines of mice on paper

Crayons or markers

Space for a sentence or a few words under each drawing

Word bank cards or picture cues (to help with spelling or ideas)

1. Story Recall: Begin by asking the children what each mouse discovered in the story. Show pictures from the book to help jog their memory.

2. Imagine and Create:

   Give each child a sheet with a mouse outline

   Ask them to imagine their own mystery object—what might a mouse find if it were exploring? It could be something silly, like a big shoe, or something familiar, like a toy.

3. Draw and Write:

   Have the children draw their mystery object near the mouse.

   Help them complete a simple sentence describing what their mouse found

4. Sharing: After everyone is finished, invite the children to share their drawings and sentences with the group. Talk about what their mouse might think or feel about the object.

Small rice cakes, crackers, or slices of bread (as the base)

Cream cheese, hummus, or yogurt (as a spread)

Food coloring in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and black

Sliced fruit, veggies, or edible decorations (e.g., strawberries, blueberries, carrots, etc.)

Plastic spoons or butter knives (kid-friendly)

1. Prepare the "Mice

   Help preschoolers spread the cream cheese, hummus, or yogurt on the base (rice cakes, crackers, or bread).

   Use the food coloring to create spreads in the seven colors featured in the book.

2. Add Features:

   Use slices of fruit or veggies to make the mice’s ears, eyes, noses, and tails. For example:

   Banana slices for ears

   Blueberries for eyes

   Carrot strips for tails

3. Story Connection

   As the children decorate their colorful snacks, talk about the book's story. Ask them to name their mice and share what they think the mice might “discover.”

4. Enjoy:

   Once the mice are finished, let the preschoolers enjoy their colorful creations as a snack. They can proudly show off their designs before eating

Large cardboard boxes or tunnels

Hula hoops

Foam blocks or cushions

A large sheet or cloth to represent the "mystery object" (like in the book)

1. Set Up the Course:

   Create an obstacle course with different stations. For example

   Crawl through a tunnel

   Jump into or out of hula hoops

   placed on the ground

   Balance on a foam block or walk

   along a straight line

   Wiggle under the large sheet or

   cloth, exploring what’s underneath.

2. Act Like Mice

   Give each child a color to represent one of the seven mice. They can wear a matching mouse headband or hold a colored cutout.

   Have them take turns going through the obstacle course, pretending to be a curious mouse discovering parts of the "mystery object."

3. Group Discovery

   At the end of the course, gather the kids and talk about what they "found." Reinforce the idea from the story that everyone’s perspective matters and working together helps them see the whole picture

Cutouts or small toy mice in seven colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black)

Containers or bowls for sorting (labeled with color names or matching colored stickers)

Large poster or paper with numbers 1–7 written on it

1. Counting the Mice:

   Start by giving each child a handful of colored mice (or cutouts). Have them count the total number of mice they have and then break the group into smaller sets by color.

2. Sorting the Mice by Color

   Let the children sort the mice into the containers based on their colors. Talk about how many mice are in each container to reinforce number concepts.

3. Connecting to the Story

   As they sort the mice, discuss the order of the mice in the book and the colors they represent. For example, “The red mouse was first—do you see your red mice? How many are there?”

4. Number Matching

   After sorting, have the children place their mice next to the correct number on the poster or paper (e.g., one red mouse next to the number 1, two orange mice next to number 2, etc.).

Small cloth or paper bags

Natural objects such as pinecones, leaves, rocks, shells, sticks, or flowers

A large poster with pictures of the items for matching (optional)

1. Set the Scene:

   Talk about how the mice in the book used their sense of touch to explore the mystery object. Discuss how we can explore objects in nature by using our hands, just like the mice.

2. Nature Exploration:

   Collect natural items during a short outdoor walk or use pre-prepared objects. Place each item in a small bag so it can’t be seen.

3. Touch and Guess:

   Have the children take turns reaching into the bags to feel the object inside. Ask them to describe how it feels (e.g., rough, smooth, spiky) and guess what it might be.

4. Reveal and Match

   Once everyone has guessed, reveal the objects and discuss what they are. For an extra challenge, provide a poster with pictures of the items and let the children match their guesses to the pictures.

5. Extend the Fun

   Encourage the children to sort the objects by categories, such as “hard” and “soft” or “big” and “small,” or have a chat about what plants, animals, or environments these items might come from.