At Winchburgh ELC we have been exploring the Gruffalo story. Literacy was our focus, but the story has permiated through all of our learning and the children have taken it down many avenues
We captured our ideas about the story in our floorbook and we use this daily to record our learning
I enjoy exploring events and characters in stories and other texts, sharing my thoughts in different ways. LIT 0-19a
Our story tuff tray was made with the children after their walk and inspired them to recall and retell the story with their friends as well as use their imagination and creativity
We read the story in small groups and talked about how the characters might be feeling at certain points in the story. We asked our own questions to help us understand the story and made predictions about what might happen next
To help me understand stories and other texts, I ask questions and link what I am learning with what I already know. LIT 0-07a / LIT 0-16a
Story spoons were provided to encourage the children to explore the characters further and they used these around the nursery to recreate the story
I enjoy exploring events and characters in stories and other texts, sharing my thoughts in different ways. LIT 0-01c
The story was a big focus in our literacy area and the children enjoyed drawing pictures and mark making inspired by their favourite parts of the story
As children progress in their mark making, they begin to understand the concept of writing as a form of communication. This understanding is a key component of early literacy and prepares them for reading and writing in the future
I explore sounds, letters and words, discovering how they work together, and I can use what I learn to help me as I read and write. ENG 0-12a / LIT 0-13a / LIT 0-21a
Through games and puzzles we further explored the characters and events in the story
We talked a lot about the descriptive words used to describe the Gruffalo and this helped us create our own artwork
After examinaing the features of the Gruffalo we used mirrors to look at our own features and drew self portaits
We used clay to create our own Gruffalo! As children play with clay, they naturally use and learn new words related to textures, shapes, and actions which helps to promote and enhance their language development
Using tactile materials such as clay or play dough to create characters, objects, and scenes from stories can encourage children to use their imagination and practice storytelling
I enjoy exploring events and characters in stories and other texts and I use what I learn to invent my own, sharing these with others in imaginative ways. LIT 0-09b / LIT 0-31a
We love sewing at Winchburgh ELC and used the Gruffalo character as inspiration for our creations
One of our favourtie parts of the story is when the mouse says he loves Gruffalo Crumble! We looked up the recipe, went shopping for ingredients and made our own for snack!
We also made some Gruffalo crumble outside in the mud kitchen and used lots of descriptive language to explain the ingredients. "It needs some more big stones like the horns" "the pinecones are orange like his eyes" "I've added grass- its prickly like his back."
In the garden, the children used lots of natural materials to create some Gruffalo inspired transient art. Manipulating small objects used in transient art helps develop fine motor skills, which are crucial for writing
The children discussed the features of the Gruffalo as they completed their masterpieces
"He has purple prickles all over his back"
After retelling the story using the spoons we decided to do some drama to recreate the story
We used musical instruments to sing the Gruffalo song and to create our own songs
Working together in the block area we created the animal houses from the story. The blocks encourage the children to create stories and scenarios around their creations. This fosters their imagination and helps them develop narrative skills, which are crucial for literacy development
I enjoy exploring events and characters in stories and other texts and I use what I learn to invent my own, sharing these with others in imaginative ways. LIT 0-09b / LIT 0-31a