Peter and the Wolf was one of the first introductions to classical music that my sons received, and what a great piece it is for children! Sergei Prokofiev, who wrote this piece for Russia’s Central Children’s Theatre, tells the story through music of a boy who leaves the house and goes into the woods, unbeknownst to his sleeping grandfather.

The animals he encounters, and the trouble and he and his animal friends find themselves in, are told through text and music. Each character is represented by a different instrument. The strings were chosen for Peter, while the flute represents the  bird, and the french horn is the low and scary sounding wolf. No need to worry though, the townsmen (timpani section) and Peter’s grandfather (bassoon) come to help.

The book I have featured here includes a CD of the story and the music. The music is actually recorded by the Cincinnati Pops, which I found interesting since this is one of our local symphonies. If you are familiar with the original story, this book has a different ending. You can click on the book to take you to the Amazon link to purchase it or listen to an excerpt of the CD.

If you are interested in exploring the instruments more with your student, then check out these free instruments worksheets. Just click on the pictures and it will take you to the activity pages that are found on myfavoritekindofcrazy.com

You can incorporate art and language arts by having your student complete the worksheet I created. An example of the worksheet is below.  peter-and-the-wolf 

Sample- click on link above

Enjoy!

~Lisa