Week 1  The Gruffalo's Child

What a wonderful start to Term 3 it has been. The children have settled back into their routines beautifully, and the classroom has been full of energy and curiosity. We were delighted to welcome our new Barn Owl friends this week, and by the end of the week it already felt as though we had always been one class.
This week, our focus story was The Gruffalo’s Child by Julia Donaldson. The children loved exploring the characters, joining in with familiar phrases, and talking about the brave little Gruffalo’s Child as she ventured into the deep, dark wood.
The excitement continued as we headed outdoors to explore the fresh blanket of snow. The children loved making their own footprints and then comparing them with the footprints of the animals from The Gruffalo’s Child.
Our Wendy House transformed into the Gruffalo Café, where the children took turns serving delicious (and very imaginative) treats such as owl ice cream and scrambled snake.
Outside, the tuff tray was filled with oats, inspiring the children to create their own versions of Gruffalo crumble. They scooped, poured, mixed, and pretended to bake, all while retelling parts of the story.
Inside the classroom, the children continued bringing The Gruffalo’s Child to life in imaginative ways. Using shadow puppets, they retold the story with great enthusiasm, experimenting with light and movement to make the characters dance across the screen. It was wonderful to see how confidently they used their voices and storytelling skills.
We also created our own Gruffalo characters using cardboard tubes and playdough. These hands‑on activities encouraged fine‑motor skills, creativity, and lots of rich language as the children described their designs. A great start to this term!