Zoolab came to visit the Bluebells and Sunflowers preschool children and retold their own version of the much loved children’s story ‘The Gruffalo’ using exotic animals to illustrate the tale. The children listened attentively to the story as the heroic Gordon the rat took them on a trip through the deep dark wood and introduced them to a host of fantastic animals along the way that wanted to eat him; learning interesting facts about each animal.
The children were very courageous and took great delight in touching and petting some of the creatures with kind gentle hands and joined in with repeated refrains of the story. The story taught the children that strength doesn’t always win as the clever rat outsmarts predators much bigger and dangerous than he is. It also was a gentle introduction to the topic of animals and their habitats.
The animals featured in the workshop were:
Gordon the Rat
Thomas the Snail
Charlotte the Tarantula
Colin the cockroach
Prince charming the tree frog
Lilly the Millipede
Sydney the Snake.
Links to EYFS
PSED – Self-confidence and Self awareness
CL - Listening and Attention
PD - Health and Self care
L - Reading
UW – The World
EAD – Being Imaginative
