We have been doing lots of activities based around the traditional tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears
recently. This week we played this wonderful game with out little four and five year old kangaroos. This game would be suitable for all Primary School aged children. They LOVED
it.
It's a mix of "1,2,3,Soleil", "Grandmother's Footsteps" and "Sleeping lions". We named it "Sleeping
Goldilocks"
Age range: 4 years +
Minimum number of participants: 4
Resources needed: a clear space
Benefits: It's a great game for concentration, listening skills, following rules and improving reaction skills.
Language and communication aims: I can listen carefully to instructions:
walk quietly, lie down, go to sleep, wake-up
How to play: Explain to the children in L1 that they are Goldilocks and her friends walking in the woods and that
when they come across a bear, they must lie on the ground, keep very still and pretend to go to sleep. One child volunteers to be the bear. The bear goes to the end of the clear space and turns
his/her back to the others and covers his eyes. Goldilocks and her friends walk quietly through the woods and gradually sneak up to the bear. When the bear turns around, the children
need to lie down and keep very still on the ground. If the bear sees a child moving s/he pulls that child to join him/her and they become a bear as well. The last person to get picked to be a
bear is the winner. As they play the game, give them instructions "Shhh, walk quietly", "Lie down!", "Be quiet, keep still. Shhh! Go to sleep",
"Wake-up!" etc
They learned the game very quickly and all wanted to be the bear! They were able to keep very, very still even at this very young
age (always a bonus!) As an extension, children could give the instructions. We shall definitely be playing this again.