An Invitation to Play: More Adventures with Goldilocks

ByChristie Burnett

I spoke a while ago about how I like to set up little invitations to play for Immy to find in her play space. Given our recent adventures with breakfast and Goldilocks and her interest in the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, she recently got up from her daytime nap to discover this…
… Goldilocks alongside three bears sitting on three chairs with three bowls of porridge…
… and of course, three beds!
Setting the stage for playful learning works for all sorts of play scenarios. When it comes to this literature based play of re-enacting stories, the experience encourages children’s oral language and story comprehension abilities as they retell the familiar story.
And sometimes they even improve upon an old favourite…
… after retelling the story in the traditional way, Immy pulled up an extra chair, laid an extra setting at the table and invited Goldilocks to stay for tea 🙂

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Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.

16 Comments

  1. Lauren @ Hobo Mama says:

    That is such a great idea! I'm going to try setting up an invitation tomorrow. Thanks!

  2. Can I play too?

  3. I love this idea. We've re-enacted 'We're going on a bear hunt' before but I love the idea of setting up props. Fun!!

  4. Gill@OurParklife says:

    I would love to wake up to this! Invites are a great idea – i can't wait to try it

    I too like to set up different play scenarios during my toddlers naptime…I first got the idea of doing so when we stayed with my aunt and uncle and my uncle spent ages arranging all of my son's little farm animimals into a party scenario in the garden during one afternoon nap.

    It was so nice to see his little face light up when he saw them having a garden party! And he played for ages!

  5. This is a wonderful idea. It has never occurred to me to set things up like this. I've always had the "there's your stuff. choose something to play with" approach.

    Rethinking that one now.

  6. Dionna @ Code Name: Mama says:

    So cute! That's akin to the pirate letter/treasure map we did with Kieran – it's got to be novel for the kiddos to have an imaginative play area set up for them.

  7. I just love this idea! My twins love to dress-up. I'm thinking of an invite to dress up as a favorite book character. Glad I came across your site.

  8. Joyful Learner says:

    So cute! We love going on a bear hunt and everytime our daughter sees a little bridge, we reenact the Three Billy Goats Gruff.

  9. What a great idea to set the stage for the story for them. I've always either followed their lead or had them help me set up. Both those things are fine ways to play, but it's great to offer up specific ideas. And I've found that with a little guidance (like suggesting that we play with these particular toys) their play often gets much more rich and exciting.

  11. I love this idea, it's so cute!

  12. I totally love the fact she invited Goldilocks to stay – little ones can be so generous – they are so cool!

  13. lovely x

  14. This is a great idea. I have often set up toys for my children to initiate play such as block structures or train tracks, but have never considered creating play scenarios based on a story. Thanks for sharing. I'm going to link to this on my United Teaching Discoveries blog (http://discoveries.unitedteaching.com).

  15. Christie - Childhood 101 says:

    Thank you all for your comments, I find this is an excellent way to capture a child's interest and set the stage for meaningful play.

  16. Pingback: Two Year Olds: 30 Activities for Having Fun - Kids Activities Blog

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