A Squash and A Squeeze, by Julia Donaldson, is a firm favourite book here. The story is brilliant, the repetition makes it enjoyable to read and very memorable, and the illustrations by Axel scheffler are fabulous.
I thought it’d be fun to bring the tale to life for the children with some really simple small world play. This has been one of the fastest activities I think I’ve ever set up and they did enjoy playing with it.
You’ll need:
Farm animals – hen, goat, pig and cow
A figure for the old lady
Lego/Building Blocks
The Activity:
The children are then set the task of constructing the old lady’s house. This can be as basic or as complicated as you want, depending on the ages of your children. You may use wooden building blocks, or huge piles of Lego to include and build every feature of the house for older kids.
My two went for Lego and built their walls and the table, ready for a jig to be danced on it.
Once built, the story can be read and the characters can come to play.
This one had the kids in fits of giggles as they operated the goat nibbling at the table leg and the hen flapping around!
This one was so easy to get ready for them, was mess-free and brought together construction, reading and imaginative play. It got a thumbs up here.
What do you think? Can you see your children enjoying this one?
I love this idea! Have shared 🙂
Thanks very much 🙂
ah we love that book here too. what a lovely idea to make the story come to life. i love the pics of the kids together, too cute. #letkidsbekids
Thanks very much 🙂
I have actually never read this Julia Donaldson – must rectify that! Thanks for inspiring me, this is such a good way of expanding on the story. #letkidsbekids
You must! Thank you, it’s a fun one.
This was one of my favourite books when I was a preschool teacher! I forgot about it o will have to order one asap!! Great idea to turn it into a small world.
Yes, get a copy now! It’s a lovely book 🙂
Great idea, we love the story too so will be giving this a go
Thank you, have fun 🙂
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This is the second time I’ve updated a popular post on Julia Donaldson activities with one of your ideas!
Ha ha, thanks very much for including me 🙂
Brilliant idea!
Simple yet effective 🙂
Thanks very much 🙂
Great idea. We haven’t read that book, but we do like Julia Donaldson books. This looks fab and easy to set up. Love bringing books to life.
Thanks for sharing with #LetKidsBeKids
It’s a good one!
This looks fab. We love this story and I am loving the extended play set x
They had fun! x
Such a lovely idea Jocelyn – and a great way to bring favourite stories to life. This is Ethan’s favourite bedtime read, along with The Gruffalo, and I think he would love to do this.
Thank you. It’s so sweet and easy to do, hope Ethan enjoys it.