The Little Red Hen: Early Years (EYFS & KS1) activities, Displays & ideas

🌾 Get ready to cluck, scratch, and learn with our wonderful 'The Little Red Hen' resources! From our vibrant Display Banner & Call Out Quotes to engaging Story Sequence Cards, we have everything to bring this classic tale to life. Encourage imaginative play with our Role-Play Masks and Role-Play Headbands (both available in colouring and pre-coloured versions), and explore character traits with our Character Descriptions. Get active with Activity/Movement Challenge Cards, spark creativity with 'My Favourite Part' and 'My Favourite Character' drawing/writing sheets, and make literacy fun with Sentence Illustration. Plus, enjoy a lively Picture Snap Game and relaxing Colouring Sheets. We even have theme and activity ideas tailored for different age groups to ensure everyone can join in the farmyard fun! 🦊

Please scroll down to browse our The Little Red Hen themed activity ideas, printable educational materials, planning inspiration, display resources, classroom & setting management tools and much more! If you’re looking for Preschool, Nursery, Childminder, Reception, SEND or Home Education resources for 0-7 year olds, you’ve come to the right place! Our interactive and engaging EYFS and KS1 learning resources are lovingly made (including original hand drawn images) by early years teaching and learning experts; a husband and wife team. We hope it helps! 😊

If you are not a member already, become a ‘Free Access’ member here. This will give you access to resources within the ‘Free Sample Resources’ sections at the top of most pages and ‘Special Dates Calendars’. Some whole topics are even free! Find out more about all of our membership options here. If you are already a member… thank-you! x

Please note that both Editable (docx file) and non-editable (pdf file) versions are available for all ‘Little Red Hen’ topic resources. (Editable files require Microsoft Word to work at optimum level and Non-Editable files require a pdf viewer.)

Educational value of teaching & learning surrounding ‘The Little Red Hen’ for Early Years children (0-7 years)

Teaching "The Little Red Hen" to early years children offers a wealth of educational opportunities, perfectly aligning with key developmental stages. For EYFS, this classic tale enriches Communication and Language through vibrant storytelling and expands vocabulary. It fosters Personal, Social and Emotional Development by exploring themes of fairness, cooperation, and consequences, prompting discussions about the characters' actions. In Literacy, children engage with narrative structure, character understanding, and sequencing events, laying foundations for comprehension and retelling. As children progress into KS1, the story continues to be invaluable for English curriculum objectives, supporting deeper comprehension, character analysis, and inspiring creative writing and dramatic retellings, encouraging pupils to understand cause and effect within a familiar narrative.

Click on the thumbnail images below for further details…

‘The Little Red Hen’ Printable Resources

🐔‘The Little Red Hen’ related Theme & Activity Ideas by age (🥚0-3/🐣3-5/🐤5-7 years)

(Note: Ideas by age and stage below are merely a guideline. Please use your own discretion and knowledge of your children to ensure appropriateness of each activity and safety concerning any materials given.)

Possible Theme/Topic Titles

🥚Ages 0–3 Years (simple and sensory-based titles introducing key elements of the story)

- Cluck Cluck Hen - Who Will Help? - Bread for Hen - Hen’s Busy Day - Flour, Dough, and Bread

🐣Ages 3–5 Years (support storytelling, turn-taking, and basic moral understanding)

- Helping Hands - From Grain to Bread - Hen’s Bakery - Let’s Help the Hen!

🐤Ages 5–7 Years (encourage deeper thinking, sequencing, and moral reflection)

- Hard Work Pays Off - Hen’s Harvest Challenge - Should They Share? - The Bread Makers - The Tale of the Wise Little Hen

📚 Literacy & Storytelling

• Explore a cloth or board book version of the story with animal textures or listen to an audio story with animal sound effects (🥚0–3 years)

• Use puppets or soft toys to retell the story in group time (🐣3–5 years)

• Rewrite the ending or create speech bubbles for each character (🐤5–7 years)

🌾 Understanding the World & Science

• Explore real grains, flour, and dough in sensory trays (🥚0–3 years)

• Bake simple bread or rolls with adult support (🐣3–5 years)

• Investigate the farm-to-table process of making bread (🐤5–7 years)

🎨 Creative Arts

• Handprint or sponge painting to make hens and chicks (🥚0–3 years)

• Create a collage of the hen using natural materials (🐣3–5 years)

• Design posters showing the hen’s hard work and the moral of the story (🐤5–7 years)

🔢 Maths

• Stack and count soft toy animals (🥚0–3 years)

• Match animal pictures with quantities (e.g., 3 pigs, 1 hen) (🐣3–5 years)

• Measure ingredients while baking or weigh grain vs. flour (🐤5–7 years)

🎭 Imaginative Play

• Explore animal noises and movements in a small world farm set (🥚0–3 years)

• Set up a role play bakery or farm shop with pretend play items (🐣3–5 years)

• Create a short play or skit retelling the story with props (🐤5–7 years)

🏃 Physical Development

• Crawl and cluck like hens through tunnels or soft play areas (🥚0–3 years)

• Carry baskets of “grain” in a relay game – careful balance required! (🐣3–5 years)

• Knead dough or create actions to match key story phrases (🐤5–7 years)

💡 Thinking & Problem-Solving

• Match toy animals to their homes (barn, coop, field) (🥚0–3 years)

• Discuss fairness and helping others – "Should the animals get the bread?" (🐣3–5 years)

• Debate and write alternative endings – What if the animals helped? (🐤5–7 years)

Related resources

More Traditional Fairy Tales

GENERAL ‘TRADITIONAL TALES’ RESOURCES

Role-Play Packs

FURTHER PAGES TO SUPPORT LEARNING SURROUNDING ‘The Little Red Hen’

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