Let the children take turns playing the "owner" and the "customers" of a store. Have the owner wear an apron and describe his products to the customers, and let the customers ask questions about the variety and prices. Arrange a display of items that are “for sale” in the store. For example, use individual candies to keep to the theme of the story or arrange small toys or books with price tags. Add play coins to help kids learn simple math concepts such as addition and subtraction. Use paper money for higher-priced items to teach them how to count and make change.
In addition, let each child take a turn being Ben, the main character in the story; they miss a chance to win by not answering the riddle so they understand how Ben feels.
Just as the children in the story answer a riddle to win a prize, have kids make up simple riddles about everyday objects using clues to describe the object. Start with a single clue and see if anyone guesses the name of the object. Build the riddle one clue at a time until someone guesses the correct object. For example, make up a riddle about a pet, using one characteristic of the animal. If no one guesses correctly, add another characteristic to the riddle. “What has four legs” could describe a chair or an animal. Asking, “what has four legs and wags its tail” would make a simple riddle about a dog.
Use a bag of jelly beans to help the children learn how to sort, measure and create patterns. Let them sort the jelly beans by color. Have the kids line up the jelly beans in a straight line by color and measure with a ruler the length of each line. Let them create patterns or shapes with each color of jelly bean, and have them count how many of each color they have and write it down. When they complete these activities, have them put all the jelly beans in a jar and try to guess the total number of jelly beans. Let them try to guess; then add the numbers for each color they have written down to see who guesses closest to the correct amount.
Let the children create unique short stories with a simple sentence structure, applying their imagination and knowledge of jelly beans. Start with a sentence such as, “Today I invented a new jelly bean. It tastes like...” and continue building into a short story about the invention. As an alternative story idea, begin, “When I walked to school today, it started raining jelly beans,” and let each child add a sentence to build the story. Some stories will turn out to be nonsensical, while others will be more imaginative.