Children’s Theatre Company is proud to present Corduroy! This year marks the 50th anniversary of the beloved book by Don Freeman, so we’re celebrating with the world premiere play.
Join Corduroy on his delightfully destructive chase through every section of the department store in search of his missing button. Will the Night Watchman find him and return him to his shelf before he can find his important button? Will Lisa ever convince her mother to let her give the bear a home? Adapted for the stage by Barry Kornhauser (you might have seen his work this season with Balloonacy) and directed by Peter C. Brosius, the tender, enduring story about true friendship stirs up the stage with a bustling rumpus of action—don’t miss it!
And – you can even bring the world of Corduroy into your home! Check out these fun activities from CTC’s Education Team!
“I didn’t know I’d lost a button,” he said to himself. “Tonight I’ll go and see if I can find it.”
- Get those fine motor skills going! Have your child draw Corduroy on one end of a piece of paper, and a button on the other. As a pre-writing activity, ask your child to make a path for Corduroy to find his button using different kinds of lines – squiggly, straight, zig-zag, or looped!
- Hide buttons around your home, and encourage creative play by pretending to be the Night Watchman to your child’s Corduroy! Have your child pretend to be Corduroy, searching for his missing button. You play the role of the Night Watchman – every time you shine your trusty flashlight on your child, they’ve got to freeze!
All at once he saw something small and round. “Why, here’s my button!” he cried.
- Ask your child to sort buttons or gummy bears by color – either into circles drawn in corresponding colors on a piece of paper, or into cups of the same color, or any other idea! Sorting activities encourage early stages of math development; have your child use salad tongs or chopsticks to move the buttons or bears to help develop fine motor skills.
- Corduroy is very focused on his button, so we’ve got even more button activities!
- Make a giant button out of a Play-Doh lid (This part is for adults only, since it involves making four holes in a plastic top!), and ask your child to thread yarn through the button holes.
- Make a necklace out of buttons! Ask your child to make a pattern, or sort them on the string by color.
- Write each letter of your child’s name on a button, and ask them to sort them to make their own name on a string.
“Last night I counted what I’ve saved in my piggy bank and my mother said I could bring you home.”
- Lisa saves up money she earns from doing chores so she can buy Corduroy. Ask your child to match and sort out that extra small change in your bag! One pile for pennies, one for nickels, one for dimes, and one for quarters. Matching games improve concentration, train visual memory, and increase attention to detail.
- If your children are older and have learned what value each coin has, have them count out their money to a certain sum. Ask them how they might save money to purchase a stuffed bear, or other furry friend like Corduroy.
“I like you the way you are,” she said.
- With your child, read Corduroy, a book about stuffed bear, and then read one about a real bear – some of our favorites are Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, and Bear Snores On. Ask your child what differences they see between a stuffed bear and a real bear. How big are they? Do they eat the same thing? Do they both wear overalls?
- Lisa loves Corduroy even though he’s missing a button – ask your child what they love about their favorite stuffed animal. Encourage them to draw or write about why they love that stuffed animal in particular.
“You must be a friend,” said Corduroy. “I’ve always wanted a friend.”
- Talk about friendship with your child – what makes someone a friend? What does it mean to have a friend? What does it mean to be a friend to someone? Then, maybe invite a friend to make bear snacks together – we love bear toast! (Spread toast with peanut butter and use banana slices for ears and a nose, and chocolate chips for the eyes.)
Corduroy runs NOW through May 20!
Buy tickets HERE or call 612.874.0400.
*All photos by Dan Norman*
