We are big fans of Julia Donaldson books in this house. Our particular favourites include Room on the Broom, A Squash and a Squeeze and of course, The Gruffalo. We’ve done quite a few play and learning activities linked to Julia Donaldson books now, so I thought I’d share them here as a round up.
This Halloween tuff spot linked to Room on the Broom was so cheap and easy to put together. My toddler used tongs to pick up the creepy crawlies, building her fine motor skills, and loved mixing and pouring the red split lentils.
This farmyard tuff spot took a little more effort to put together, but boy, was it worth it! My toddler was so excited when she saw it. She had a fantastic time roleplaying with all of the animals, and it promoted lots of discussion around the noises that the different animals make.
As a break from the tuff spot, we decided to make this delicious Gruffalo Crumble, perfect for blackberry season. My toddler still talks about the purple prickles on this crumble now, weeks after making it. The recipe is simple enough for my two year old to manage almost completely by herself (after I’d weighed everything accurately for her!) and tastes great, too (especially with a bit of owl ice cream!).
One for the garden, I think this sensory seaside tuff spot is one of my daughter’s all-time favourite tuff tray activities. She spent a good hour making ‘mud pies’ as she called them, and enjoyed practicing her fine motor skills with the tongs. A bonus of this activity is that it only takes around five minutes to set up, although it does require a little bit of pre-prep to freeze the pink fishy ice cream sprinkles, if you choose to include them.
As a slightly tidier alternative to traditional rock painting, we used sharpie pens to decorate our rocks, which we then made into shells for our play dough snails. Googly eyes completed the look!
I hope you enjoyed my learning activities linked to Julia Donaldson books. If you’re looking for more, then check out my swampy dinosaur tuff spot linked to Tyrannosaurus Drip!
Let me know in the comments if you try any of these ideas – I’d love to hear how you got on!
