The Little Red Hen - EYFS/Early Years activities, Displays and ideas

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Core ‘The Little Red Hen’ 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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