Book Review - Goldilocks

The children at Overton Preschool have read a version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Emma Chichester Clark. Young children really enjoy familiar stories and listening to the same story many times and this gives a parent a chance to discuss different aspects of the story each time.

This is a story which lends itself to a focus on mathematical language such as comparison of biggest, middle sized and smallest, first, second and last. It can also be used to explore different variations of words such as hungry, starving and absolutely ravenous, and different ways to express yourself: squealed, gasped, roared, cried, screamed, growled, laughed are all used in the story.

The children also talked about what the characters are doing and how they might feel:

I would scare Goldilocks with my megaphone if she came to my house said Finley.

How does Goldilocks feel when she sees the bears? Scared, she has big eyes.

They didn’t lock the door noticed Oscar.

After reading the story the children changed the home corner into the 3 bears cottage, with 3 different size bears, bowls, spoons, chairs and beds made from cardboard boxes. They really enjoyed making porridge for the bears and acting out the story that is familiar to them. Extending a story into further play is a great way to explore concepts within it.