Tooth Fairies and Moral Stories in Elementary School

Lynne Marie Fukuda
MAED Student
University of Phoenix
E-mail:  lfukuda@hawaii.edu

At the present time I am working as a writing consultant. However, I teach language arts, tutor in math, do arts and crafts, quiet little children who are having tantrums, watch children after school while their parents are picking them up, do recess duty, and a multitude of duties as many educators in elementary school often do. I also teach children manners, morals, and values of society.

One of the things I really love doing is telling stories with a moral, whether it be personal hygiene, friendship, or life outlook. I realize that little students (K-6) truly appreciate make-believe and stories as they are less threatening than an adult merely shaking his or her hand at them and forcing them to do things without explanation.

Fairy tales have always been successful in keeping social order. Many are scary because they were originally meant to keep children from dangers like wandering off into the woods alone or speaking with strangers (kidnappers did exist even hundreds of years ago). They were also meant to help children cope with step-parents who could be abusive at times (they exist in great numbers in today’s society as well) and show the possibility of transformation and becoming a better person (e.g. the turtle and the hare).

I created a story for my lively kindergarteners: it is the story of tooth fairies.

I scratched my head and pondered the reason why tooth fairies give money to children for their old, sometimes discolored, and bloody teeth. So my story, “Why Do Tooth fairies Pay for your Teeth with Money?” came about. This is how the story goes:

Why do tooth fairies pay for your teeth with money? Because there are tooth fairies in Toothfairlyland who do not have toothbrushes. They eat candy and have rotten teeth that fall out of their mouths.

There are many tooth fairies in Toothfairyland who do not have teeth (pictures show smiling fairies with few teeth).

So when your teeth come out….
And when you put them under your pillow at night….
And when you are asleep….
The Tooth Fairy (show picture of Tooth Fairy with bag labeled teeth) comes to pay for your teeth.

The Tooth Fairy goes back to Toothfairyland with all your baby teeth that fell out of your mouth that you brushed carefully so that you do not have cavities (teaches children to brush properly and preserve their teeth and answers the question why not everyone gets $$$ for teeth besides dead zones) and brings them to tooth fairies without teeth so that they can wear them (show pictures of fairies with bright toothy smiles).

And tooth fairies will have teeth,
And happy smiles.

The End

*******

I tell this story orally over and over to my 4-6 year olds, but they never tire of hearing it. By repeating the tale, the children will retain the information. During this time, it is good to slip in a few words about keeping one’s teeth clean and preserving adult teeth for a lifetime.

This story is also a good story about preserving things that are personal, giving them to others (not only teeth but organ donation or donations of material things), recycling, saving money, and preserving one’s health as well as practicing good health and hygiene.

Fairly tales and moral tales stick to young minds and are remembered for decades. I still remember the tales my grandmother told me more than 40 years ago, although not in the exact words. Good moral tales can teach children to adhere to social standards, have good morals and values, and teach good habits.

Many old tales taught children to have patience and learn caution, kindness, generosity, and brotherhood. I hope to keep on telling more tales. My students enjoy my tales so the feedback is good. I bring cheer to my students who are military dependents and often are burdened with hardship of being the eldest of their household or having been somewhat forgotten by depressed parents. Fairy tales can bring magic and bright smiles to young children because make-believe can take away the pains of daily life, even if it is for just a short while.

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