“Once upon a time…” There’s just nothing like those four words signaling the start of an enchanting story…a fairy tale. Personally, I adore fairy tales—give me all the princesses, castles, bad wolves, and magic beans! And I love sharing them with my kiddos! One of my favorites is Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It’s lite on the scare factor—but packed with valuable lessons for littles! I’ve got some great ideas and resources for using the Goldilocks story with young kids to encourage imaginative play, language skills and critical thinking! (Also perfect for a Goldilocks Preschool or Kindergarten Theme!)
Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” G.K. Chesterton/Neil Gaiman
Thematic Units
Thematic Units are probably my favorite way to approach learning with preschool and kindergarten kiddos! And whenever I make connections across subjects, I find my kids are more deeply engaged in the learning process.
Thematic Units in preschool and kindergarten are also just plain fun! Here are some ideas for creating a Goldilocks and the Three Bears Thematic Unit or for using the story to compliment other Thematic Units:
Letter G Unit:
I LOVE wrapping themes around letters of the alphabet! I strongly encourage families to do activities that help kids make concrete connections when learning new letters and the sounds they make. Goldilocks is the perfect choice for reinforcing the hard G sound! (It’s one of the thematic unit ideas in my phonics curriculum Reading for Reading!)
Bear Unit:
Bears are a favorite preschool and kindergarten theme! The Goldilocks story lends itself nicely to a unit including bears (or a Letter B unit including Bears…you know how I love my letter units)!
Early Math (Number 3 and Story Problems) Unit:
Besides creating fun thematic units around letters—try incorporating literature into a math lesson! Goldilocks not only works for exploring the Number 3—but also creating math story problems!
For example:
There were 3 chairs in the living room, but Goldilocks broke Baby Bear’s chair! How many chairs are left?
Goldilocks used a lot of the bears’ things: 3 Bowls of Porridge, 3 Chairs, and 3 Beds! How many things did she use all together?
Learning Through Play
I love extending my kids enjoyment of stories through play! Fairy Tales especially lend themselves to this–which is another reason they’re such a great choice for little ones! Here are some great ideas for providing rich language activities and creative play opportunities for your kiddos after reading Goldilocks and the The Three Bears:
Felt Boards:
These felt boards keep my little kids busy playing and retelling the story for hours…But they can be hard to keep organized, especially if you own several sets! I think they’re perfect to rotate into your kids playtime or morning activities–but then store out of reach! (I’ve learned this the hard way…)
Here is the Sprogs Set of 4 Felt Story Boards that we own and love (includes Goldilocks, 3 Little Pigs, Gingerbread Man, & Red Riding Hood boards).
I keep very simple versions of each story in the bag with the felt boards.
Now if this isn’t the cutest thing…I fell in LOVE with this Storytime Toys Goldilocks and the Three Bears Book and Toy House Set house and just knew my girls would eat it up! It’s really even cuter in person–and very sturdy (seems like it’s made out of a heavy foam material)! A simple, beautiful toy that really extends their creative play with the story!
Act It Out!
One of my kids’ favorite story extensions is to act it out! This is great for comprehension and language skills! Your kids will love it if you play a part too! Have them take turns being different characters!
Printable Goldilocks and the Three Bears Story + Fun Pack
My kids love reading with me–being a part of telling the story! Including children during read-alouds gives them opportunities to understand how books work, understand context clues, practice sight words, and gain confidence in their reading skills!
And so I decided to create a printable Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Read-With-Me Book that my kiddos could jump in and read right along with me!
In addition, I created other resources to expand the story and practice comprehension skills:
- Story Order Cards: Perfect way for your child to practice putting the story events in order!
- Memory Cards: Memory is always one of my kids’ favorites games–I also play memory with sight words, letters, and math facts!
- Narration Pages: Have your child retell the story in their own words while you write it down!
- Color-By-Number Pages
The entire 32 page fun pack (printable book + activities) is available HERE!
Favorite Goldilocks Books
In addition to my own story and the simple Goldilocks paperback I keep with my felt board, here are our very favorite versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears! (Don’t worry that sharing different versions will confuse your child–kids have fun noting the differences and similarities, which are also excellent comprehension and higher level thinking skills!)
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jan Brett
The Three Bears Little Golden Book Classic Edition
Richard Scarry’s Best Nursery Tales Ever by Richard Scarry
The Folk Tale Classics Treasury by Paul Galdone or The Three Bears by Paul Galdone
Enjoy Those Littles
Have so much fun sharing this classic fairy tale with your sweet little people! Don’t forget to visit my shop and grab your printable book so they can read right along with you!
With Love,
Jen xo
