The Chocolate Factory - Part Seven - Wonka Day!!

We have finished our read aloud of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It is time to celebrate all of our hard work and close reading of this fantastic literary classic. I spared no expense on this blow out. Honestly, I think I had more fun coming up with activities and treats for this day. I searched high and low for ideas that could match the imaginations of Roald Dahly himself.

Looking back on all of it, I'm not sure if I should have kept the schedule and treats for the day such a closely guarded secret. I think they might have enjoyed it that much more if I did a little lead up to the great day. I mean I had treats stashed everywhere in my room just so they wouldn't find them  until we were ready to celebrate. I couldn't believe how many things I was able to find that matched Charlie's adventure. I found:

*edible grass (thankfully Easter is close upon us),
*Exploding Candy for Your Enemies (in the form of Pop Rocks),
*Square Candies that Looked Round (actually, edible Lego squares with the little building block pegs on top),
*Fizzing Lifting Drink out of Club Soda and Mio Lemon flavoring,
*Caramels from the Caramel Lake,
*Edible Marshmallow Pillows (sugar coated marshmallows, oh my!)
*Tiny Bird's Eggs (that may or may not have a tiny baby bird inside)
*Everlasting Gobstoppers (those were easy since they actually sell them)
*Walnuts (sadly they were not opened by squirrels)
*Golden Eggs Laid by Golden Geese (gold foiled wrapped chocolate eggs)
*Rock Candy Mountains (my favorite drop shaped melt aways with candy beads on the bottom Nonpareils?)

YES! I had fun trying to find all of this stuff. I was actually giggling as I went through the candy store. Sadly I couldn't find Lickable Wallpaper in time. I was going to buy those sheets of Candy Dots and cut them up for each kid. Wouldn't you know it, I saw them in a store not three days after the party?

As for the activity list we started out the day completing our Candy Bar Creation sheet for morning work. As soon as they had their chosen ingredients that would bring the cost of their candy bar in under a dollar they came up to get the ingredients in their little muffin cup with a numbered stick. You should have seen me doling out M&M's, Hot Tamales, Mini Marshmallows, Reese's, Oreo crumbles, Marshmallow Fluff, Gummi Bears, Gummi Worms, Coconut, and Peanut butter. That was not fun.

I had the crock pot filled with the Kandi-Quik melting bars and just dropped melted chocolate over all their ingredients and stuck them in the refrigerator until the end of the day. Once they were able to sample their own inventions, there was not a disgusted customer in the house. 

We also had a Pinata stuffed with other goodies for the end of the day. Uh-huh. I ain't dumb. I saved all the chocolate for the end of the day. Surprisingly after 25 kids took a whack at it there wasn't even a dent in the thing at all. We saved it for the next day and got to earn chips for good behavior. After several more whacks the top came apart and spilled on the ground. Thankfully they did not all rush it at once and I was able to pass out the goodies evenly. 

I also had a big garbage bag filled with balloons for the very last moment of the day. One of my little friends got to come up and pull the cord that would open the bag. She required a little help, though. I told everyone to find one balloon and wait for me to yell, "GO!" before popping it. Then the rest were free game. First I made them promise that they would definitely help me pick up every scrap of balloon when we were done. 

1, 2, 3 .  .  .  GO!

Thanks, Mr. Dahl for a most incredible couple of weeks. I wonder how I could make it better for next year's group?  Any ideas? Share in the comments below. I'd love to hear them!