Celebrate in Salsoria
Welcome to Salsoria, where castles sparkle, dragons adore tacos, and even the best-laid fairy-tale plans can go hilariously wrong! When a celebration, an uninvited fairy, and a very long nap turn one princess’s world upside down, children discover that the greatest gifts aren’t found in a castle—they’re the qualities we carry within ourselves.
Bringing Salsoria to Life?
Start with the Reader Guide!
Everything you need to move from the classic tale to dramatic play, the Salsoria adventure, Head–Heart–Hands conversations, and hands-on activities—all in one printable guide.
PRINT THE FREE READER GUIDE for The Princess Who Slept Through Taco Tuesday
Get Ready for the Adventure
Take a look around your classroom or playroom—you may already have everything you need to begin the adventure! Before visiting Salsoria, read a traditional version of Sleeping Beauty appropriate for your group's age. Then give the children time to explore the story through pretend play. They might build a castle, become princes and princesses, wave imaginary magic wands, pretend to be fairies, or even become a dragon guarding the kingdom. There is no right way to play—let their imaginations lead the adventure.
“When everyone is ready, it's time to leave the traditional tale behind and join the celebration in Salsoria!”
Build a Castle
Work together to create a castle using shoeboxes, paper towel tubes, construction paper, and other classroom materials.
Dress for the Kingdom
Use scarves, capes, crowns, hats, and other dress-up items to become anyone in Salsoria! Be a princess, a knight, a fairy, a dragon, or a royal helper. Use your imagination!Anyone can belong in the kingdom.
Make Some Magic
Create a magic wand with craft sticks, paper stars, ribbons, pipe cleaners, foil, stickers, and other craft supplies. If your wand could give someone one special gift, what would you give them?
Meet a Dragon
Every kingdom needs a dragon! Pretend to be a dragon or use a stuffed animal or puppet. Is your dragon silly, shy, brave, sleepy, or hungry? What does your dragon like to eat?What kind of dragon will you be? All dragons are welcome in Salsoria!
Live the Story
Before you begin reading, invite the children into the Kingdom of Salsoria with a little imagination, a little ceremony, and a whole lot of magic!
👶 A Reason to Celebrate
Before entering Salsoria, help children connect the royal celebration to their own lives. Ask if anyone knows a new baby—a brother or sister, cousin, family friend, or neighbor. What happens when a new baby arrives? How do people welcome the baby? Do they visit, bring gifts, take pictures, make food, or have a celebration? Explain that Salsoria is celebrating, too. A new princess has been born, and guests from across the kingdom are gathering to welcome her. Now it’s time for the children to join the celebration!
Add a Little Extra Magic: Before the children arrive, write "It's a Girl" on the board —or, if you have one, hang an “It’s a Girl!” sign, pink balloons, or another simple new-baby decoration before the children arrive. Let them notice it and wonder what is being celebrated before you explain that a new princess has been born in Salsoria. That could be especially fun because the teacher doesn't have to say anything at first. The children walk in, spot the sign, and immediately start asking questions. Then you ask, “Why do you think we might have an ‘It’s a Girl!’ sign today?”
Become the Royal Herald
The reader gets to join the adventure, too! Put on a cape, a crown, or a fancy hat, and become the Royal Herald of Salsoria. The Herald’s job is to welcome each guest into the kingdom and announce the beginning of the royal celebration. For extra flair, speak in your very best royal voice!
Make the Royal Scroll
Create a large Royal Scroll that the Royal Herald will use to welcome everyone to Salsoria!
Use a long sheet of kraft or butcher paper.
Roll each end around a cardboard tube and secure.
Print the “Royal Proclamation of Salsoria” using the button below and attach it to the center of the scroll.
Decorate the scroll with markers, stamps, stickers, or paint.
Hang or prop the scroll where everyone can see it.
Use the scroll to welcome guests into Salsoria.
Later, it will become the Royal Scroll of Gifts!
Want to Go All Out? Make a Royal Herald Hat!
Turn a little cardboard and fabric into a fabulously dramatic Royal Herald hat! Cut a large circle from cardboard for the brim, then cut a smaller circle from the center to fit comfortably around your head. Cover the brim with fabric. Attach a larger circle of fabric over the opening, leaving plenty of extra fabric so the top can puff up. Add ribbon or trim if you wish—and, of course, finish it with a BIG feather sticking proudly out of the side! It doesn’t need to be perfect—it just needs to be dramatic! Then it's time to Enter the Kingdom of Salsoria.
Enter the Kingdom of Salsoria
Have the children gather just outside the reading area with their magic wands. The Royal Herald unrolls the scroll and reads the Royal Proclamation of Salsoria. Then, one at a time, welcome each child into the kingdom: “Hear ye! Hear ye! The Kingdom of Salsoria welcomes a very special guest! What magical gift do you bring to our kingdom? ” Children who wish to answer can name the special gift they chose for their wand. Children who would rather not speak can simply raise their wand as the Herald welcomes them. Once every guest has entered Salsoria, announce: “By royal proclamation, all our guests have arrived. Let the celebration begin! ” Then everyone settles into the reading area and the story begins.
📖While You Read
For the first reading, keep the story moving and let the children simply enjoy the adventure. Let the surprises unfold, laugh together, and be caught up in the celebration in Salsoria. There will be plenty of time to wonder, predict, and talk about the story later.
🎁 Watch for Gifts
On a second reading, invite the children to listen carefully as each fairy gives the princess a special gift. What gift did the fairy choose? What might that gift look like in everyday life? Help the children notice that the fairies are giving the princess qualities she can carry with her throughout her life. Afterward, the children can think about these gifts—and add some very special ones of their own to the Royal Scroll of Gifts.
Step 1: A Royal Invitation
The children were invited to the castle to celebrate the birth of a baby princess.
Step 2: Ready for the Celebration
They put on crowns and jewelry for their royal visit.
Step 3: Follow the Stone Path
We walked along the stone path to our story circle, imagining we were entering the castle.
Step 4: Storytime in Salsoria
Together, we read The Princess Who Slept Through Taco Tuesday.
Step 5: Gifts for the World
The children made magic wands and talked about gifts they could give the world, such as kindness, honesty, and humor.
Step 6: Let the Royal Play Begin!
The children helped set up the dramatic play area with a royal robe, jewelry, play taco supplies, crowns, and magic wands to continue the adventure.
After the Story
The story may be over, but the adventure isn't! Take a few minutes to help children think about what they learned, how the story made them feel, and what they can do with what they discovered.
🧠 Head — What Did We Discover?
- What special gifts did the fairies give the princess?
- Why do you think the fairies chose those gifts?
- Which gifts can we actually see in the way someone acts?
- What did you discover about what makes someone truly special?
❤️ Heart — What Did We Feel?
- How do you think the princess felt when she learned about all the gifts she had been given?
- Which gift would you most like to give to someone else? Why?
- How does it feel when someone notices something special about you?
- Can someone have wonderful qualities that we don't notice right away?
👐 Hands — What Can We Do?
- How can we use kindness to make someone else's day better?
- What is one special gift or quality you can share with others?
- How can we help someone else recognize a wonderful quality in themselves?
- What can we do this week to make our classroom, home, or community a little more like the best parts of Salsoria?
📜 The Royal Scroll of Gifts — See the Magic in Others
The Royal Scroll has one more job! After the story, unroll the extra bulletin-board paper beneath the Royal Proclamation. Invite the children to think about the special gifts and qualities they notice in one another—kindness, courage, creativity, helpfulness, patience, humor, friendship, or something uniquely their own. Add each child's name to the scroll along with at least one special gift others see in them. Make sure every child is included. When the scroll is complete, hang it where everyone can see it as a reminder that you don't need a fairy or a magic wand to have wonderful gifts—you just need someone to take the time to notice them.
The children’s chosen royal qualities include honesty, happiness, being nice, sharing, being very kind, politeness, good manners, joy, excitement, being “kindful,” being beautiful, and being silly when appropriate.
✨ Make a Little Magic
We used pre-purchased decorate-your-own magic wands, but you could easily decorate cardboard cutouts. We also have a worksheet on choosing a gift to give to the world, much like the ones the fairies bestowed upon Princess Veronica.
Print the Decorate Your Own Magic Wand Activity Print the Gift to Give the World Activity🌮 Design a Taco Fit for Salsoria
In Salsoria, no two perfect tacos have to be alike! Give each child a blank taco and let them create a taco worthy of a royal feast. They can add traditional taco fillings—or invent completely ridiculous ones. Strawberries? Macaroni and cheese? Pickles? Marshmallows? Princess-approved hot peppers? Anything goes! When everyone is finished, invite the children to name their tacos and tell the group what is inside.
🌮 Open the Salsoria Taco Café!
Turn your dramatic-play area into the Tacos Happily Ever After Café—Salsoria's favorite place for a royal feast! Add play food, paper plates, aprons, notepads, pretend money, and other materials you already have. Children can take turns being chefs, servers, and customers as they create meals, take orders, and serve up a royal feast. Choose one of the two menu options below—the simple picture menu for younger children or the create-your-own menu for children ready for more writing and number play. Then open the café and let their imaginations take over!
🏰 Build It Strong — The Salsoria Castle Challenge
Every great castle starts with a strong foundation! Give children blocks, cups, cardboard tubes, boxes, or other building materials and challenge them to build a castle as tall as they can. Before they begin building upward, encourage them to think about what needs to happen at the bottom. What kind of base will keep their castle standing? Let them build, test, tumble, and try again. If the castle falls, that's part of the challenge! Ask, “What could you change about your foundation to make your castle stronger?” Then let them rebuild and see what happens.
The strongest things we build begin with a strong foundation.
🎒 Take the Magic Home
The magic of Salsoria doesn't have to stay in the classroom! Send home A Little Salsoria Magic, a simple family activity that invites children to notice the wonderful gifts and qualities in the people around them. Families can use it anytime—or make it a special Taco Tuesday dinner conversation! No tacos required—but they certainly make it more fun.
Print the Family Note