Once upon a time
Jack and the beanstalk
Story
Once upon a time there was a lady who lived on a farm in a little cottage with her son Jack. Jack and his mother were really poor and barely had enough money to eat. The mother thought the only way to keep Jack and herself from going hungry was to sell their cow. So, one morning she said to Jack ‘you must take the cow to the market for me and sell her’.
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Activity
Warm up – Jack on his way to the market.
Freeze game. What different ways can children think of moving around the working area? When coach shouts freeze, everyone to stop still.
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Story
On the way to the market, Jack met a man who had some magic beans. The man told Jack that they were special beans and that jack could have them if he sold him the cow. Jack agreed and sold the cow for beans.
Activity
Play the bean game
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Story
Jack’s mother was so angry when he arrived home with beans and no money. She shouted at jack for being so silly!
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Activity
Have children jump and run around angry like Jack’s mother. What do our facial expressions look like when we’re angry?
How would Jack be feeling?
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Story
Jack felt very sad and went to his bedroom. He was very angry at himself and the man who sold him beans for the cow. In his anger, Jack threw the beans out of the window and went to bed. The next morning, he found the beans had grown so much that the beanstalk had reached through the clouds. Jack could not believe his eyes. He called his mother and they gazed in utter surprise at the beanstalk.
Activity
Give each child a cone to put on their head, then have children crouch down and grow into a big tall beanstalk without the cone falling off. Once in a beanstalk and keeping the cone on their heads, do a few different balances for children to copy. Standing on one leg, two hands and one leg, balancing on bottoms only.
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Story
Jack wondered where the beanstalk led. ‘Climb up and see’ said his mother. So, Jack started climbing up the beanstalk which had huge branches and leaves.
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Activity
Get children to climb up the beanstalk using big movements to make sure they can reach the branches. Play mini twister.
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Story
Jack reached the top of the beanstalk and found a huge castle. Jack tried to push the door open, but it was too heavy. Jack wondered what could possibly be this big? As Jack climbed through the cat flap, he saw the big giant that lived in the castle. He quickly tiptoed out of sight! The giant did not see Jack at first, but he could smell him! ‘Fee, fie, fo, fum, I smell a small human’
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Activity
Have children become big giants. How does a giant walk? Does a giant use big steps or small steps? Do they walk tip toe or stomp? Traffic light game as a giant. Running, walking, walking backwards, sideways etc.
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Story
On the other side of the room, Jack saw a hen and gold eggs. When the giant was not looking, Jack decided to steal the hen and the eggs so the hen did not become the giant’s dinner. Slowly Jack tiptoed towards the hen, stopping still if the giant moved so he could not be seen.
Activity
Play Mr Giant where children hide the golden eggs from the giant and have to get them back to the beanstalk.
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Story
Jack quickly climbed back down the beanstalk and before the giant could make it down the beanstalk, he chopped it down. Jack and his mother lived happily ever after!
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Activity
Have children climb back down the beanstalk and then cut the beanstalk down before the giant makes it down the beanstalk.
Play duck duck goose at the end. Give every child a turn to become the goose.
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Little red riding hood
Story
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in a village near the forest. Whenever she went out, the little girl wore a red riding cloak, so everyone in the village called her Little Red Riding Hood. One morning, Little Red Riding Hood asked her mother if she could go to visit her grandmother as it had been awhile since they'd seen each other. "That's a good idea," her mother said. So they packed a nice basket for Little Red Riding Hood to take to her grandmother.
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Activity
Warm up – Get children dressed in their clothes to go see grandma. Play four corners (or more) with the items to fill up the basket. Have children run around the area.
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Story
When the basket was ready, the little girl put on her red cloak and kissed her mother goodbye. "Remember, go straight to Grandma's house," her mother cautioned. "Don't dawdle along the way and please don't talk to strangers! The woods are dangerous." "Don't worry, mommy," said Little Red Riding Hood, "I'll be careful." But when Little Red Riding Hood noticed some lovely flowers in the woods, she forgot her promise to her mother. She picked a few flowers, watched the butterflies fly about for a while, listened to the frogs croaking and then picked a few more flowers.
Activity
Play the traffic light game, calling out different animals little red riding hood might see in the forest. When coach calls out an animal, children have to become that animal. Use rabbits, frogs, birds, butterflies.
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Story
Little Red Riding Hood was enjoying the warm summer day so much, that she didn't notice a dark shadow approaching out of the forest behind her... Suddenly, the wolf appeared beside her. "What are you doing out here, little girl?" the wolf asked in a voice as friendly as he could muster. "I'm on my way to see my Grandma who lives through the forest, near the brook," Little Red Riding Hood replied. Then she realized how late she was and quickly excused herself, rushing down the path to her Grandma's house.
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Activity
Imagine a forest, ducking under branches, jumping over rocks etc. Have children move through the forest using different ways to move.
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Story
The wolf, in the meantime, took a shortcut... The wolf, a little out of breath from running, arrived at Grandma's and knocked lightly at the door. "Oh thank goodness dear! Come in, come in! I was worried sick that something had happened to you in the forest," said Grandma thinking that the knock was her granddaughter. The wolf let himself in. Poor Granny did not have time to say another word, before the wolf gobbled her up!
Activity
Play crossing grandmas house (across the river). Wolf is in the middle; children try to keep away from the wolf.
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Story
The wolf then poked through Granny's wardrobe to find a nightgown that he liked. He added a frilly sleeping cap, and for good measure, dabbed some of Granny's perfume behind his pointy ears. A few minutes later, Red Riding Hood knocked on the door. The wolf jumped into bed and pulled the covers over his nose. "Who is it?" he called in a cackly voice. "It's me, Little Red Riding Hood." "Oh how lovely! Do come in, my dear," croaked the wolf. When Little Red Riding Hood entered the little cottage, she could scarcely recognize her Grandmother. "Grandmother! Your voice sounds so odd. Is something the matter?" she asked. "Oh, I just have touch of a cold," squeaked the wolf adding a cough at the end to prove the point. "But Grandmother! What big ears you have," said Little Red Riding Hood as she edged closer to the bed. "The better to hear you with, my dear," replied the wolf. "But Grandmother! What big eyes you have," said Little Red Riding Hood. "The better to see you with, my dear," replied the wolf. "But Grandmother! What big teeth you have," said Little Red Riding Hood her voice quivering slightly. "The better to eat you with, my dear," roared the wolf and he leapt out of the bed and began to chase the little girl.
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Activity
Play the volcano game. The volcanoes can be wolves. Children to move different ways over the wolves. Coach picks a child to be the wolf and then to make as many children into wolves as they can.
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Story
A woodsman who was chopping logs nearby heard her cry and ran towards the cottage as fast as he could. He grabbed the wolf and made him spit out the poor Grandmother who was a bit frazzled by the whole experience, but still in one piece." Oh Grandma, I was so scared!" sobbed Little Red Riding Hood, "I'll never speak to strangers or dawdle in the forest again." "There, there, child. You've learned an important lesson. Thank goodness you shouted loud enough for this kind woodsman to hear you!" The woodsman knocked out the wolf and carried him deep into the forest where he wouldn't bother people any longer. Little Red Riding Hood and her Grandmother had a nice lunch and a long chat.
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Activity
Play dishes and domes. Dishes are the wolf. Domes are the grandma. Domes need to beat dishes to save grandma from the wolf!
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three little pigs
Story
Once upon a time there was an old mother pig who had three little pigs and not enough food to feed them. So when they were old enough, she sent them out into the world to seek their fortunes. All three pigs decided to build a house and set off to the brickworks to buy some bricks.
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Activity
Get all children ready to go to the brickworks. Get children get dressed in their house building clothes.
Play animal freeze game. What animals might they see on their way to the brickworks?
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Story
Soon the three little pigs came across a man carrying a bundle of straw. The first little pig said to himself ‘now I won’t need to walk so far to the brickworks! I’d much rather do less work, and then spend the rest of my afternoon relaxing’. So the first little pig got some straw and quickly built a house right where he stood, and then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing.
Activity
Play messy bedroom - say we need to clear the area to build our house of straw. Use the cones as leaves and stones that need to be cleared out of the area. Play the game a few times. Then have children stack up the cones and see if they can stack them up without them falling over.
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Story
The other two pigs carried on walking. Soon, they came across a man carrying sticks. The second little pig thought to himself ‘sticks are stronger than straw – I think they’ll do the job!’ So the second little pig asked the man for sticks to build his house. He built his house right there where they stood. And spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing.
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Activity
Play safari game. Think of animals they might be sharing their surroundings with as they build their new houses.
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Story
The third pig carried on walking all the way to the brickworks. When he got there, he asked for bricks to build his house. The man at the brickworks kindly gave the pig bricks to build his house. The little pig spent all day building his house, complete with a chimney and fire place.
Activity
Play hat game. Different coloured hats to represent different houses the little pigs built.
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Story
The next day, a wolf happened to pass by the lane where the little pigs lived. He saw the straw house and smelled the pig inside. He thought the pig would make a fine meal and his mouth began to water. So he knocked on the door and said ‘little pig, little pig! Let me in, let me in!’
But the little pig saw the wolfs big paws through the keyhole and answered back ‘no, no, no! not by the hairs on my chinny chin chin!’ the wolf showed his teeth and huffed and puffed and blew the house down! He opened his mouth wide and bit down as hard as he could but the little pig escaped and went to hide with the second little pig with his house made of sticks.
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Activity
Play across the ocean in stages. Start with catching one little pig, then continue the story, then the next little pig etc. Coach in the middle as the wolf and children as the little pigs. When caught, the children become wolves.
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Story
The wolf continued down the lane and soon came to the house made of sticks. He could smell the little pigs inside so knocked on the door and said ‘little pigs, little pigs! Let me in, let me in!’ but the pigs could see the wolf’s pointy ears through the key hole so answered back ‘no, no, no! Not by the hairs on our chinny chin chin!’ So the wolf huffed and he puffed and he blew the house down! The wolf was greedy and tried to catch both little pigs at the same time but he caught none.
The pigs ran down the lane to the brick house and slammed the door shut! The wolf came down the lane. He could smell the little pigs inside. So he said ‘little pigs, little pigs! Let me in, let me in!’ but the pigs could see the wolf’s narrow eyes through the key hole so answered back ‘no, no, no! Not by the hairs on our chinny chin chin!’
So the wolf huffed and puffed and huffed and puffed and he could not blow the house down. So the wolf sat and thought for a bit. He danced around and said he would come down the chimney and have the little pigs for his dinner. But while he was climbing the house, the little pig made up a blazing fire and put on a bit pot of water to boil. Just as the wolf started to come down the chimney, the little pig pulled off the lid. Then plop! In fell the wolf into the boiling water. The little pig put the lid back on and boiled the wolf and ate him for their dinner.
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Activity
Play four corners with the different characters/houses in the story.
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The Gingerbread man
Story
Once upon a time there lived a little old woman and a little old man. One day the little old woman made a gingerbread man. When she opened the oven, the gingerbread man jumped off the baking tray and ran out of the house! The little old woman and the little old man ran after the gingerbread man shouting ‘stop! Stop!’ Sadly, they could not catch him. The gingerbread man just laughed and said ‘run, run, as fast as you can, you can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!’
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Activity
Have children moving like the gingerbread man. Slowly as first and then speed up. See who can run as fast as they can. Get children moving side to side to avoid the little old woman and little old man. Play across the ocean.
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Story
The gingerbread man ran until he came to a frog. Stop! You look good enough to eat!’ said the frog. The gingerbread man just laughed and said ‘run, run, as fast as you can, you can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!’
Activity
Get children to do frog jumps. Put cones down on the floor, have children jumping over them. See who can jump really high. Who can jump really long. Set out cones for a jump challenge to see who can jump the furthest.
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Story
The gingerbread man ran on. Then he came to a horse. Stop! You look good enough to eat!’ said the horse. The gingerbread man just laughed and said ‘run, run, as fast as you can, you can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!’
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Activity
Get the children to gallop like a horse around the island. Who can gallop the highest, who can gallop the fastest? Have children change the legs they are leading with.
Have children become other animals that could be chasing the gingerbread man. Ask children for their ideas. Play animal freeze game.
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Story
The gingerbread man ran on until he came to a river. He stopped as he could not swim! Just then a fox came by. ‘I can help you cross the river’ said the fox. ‘just hop onto my tail and I will swim across’ the gingerbread man saw the others coming. He knew that if he did not go with the fox, he would be eaten. So, he jumped onto his tail. Soon the gingerbread man began to get wet. ‘climb onto my back’ which the gingerbread man did.
Activity
Get children to walk on their tip toes on the foxes back. Who can balance on their tip toes without falling off and getting wet in the river? Put out a few skipping ropes for children to balance along. Use the skipping rope as the foxes back. The river is all around the ropes.
Make harder but putting down hoops and use them as lily pads. Have children balancing on the ropes then jump onto the lilypads.
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Story
The water was getting even deeper. This time the fox said ‘Jump onto my nose so you don’t get wet’. The gingerbread man climbed onto the tip of his nose. Just then the fox tipped back his head and the gingerbread man flew into the air. The fox opened his mouth and SNAP! That was the end of the gingerbread man.
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Activity
Play across the river. Coach will be an animal the gingerbread man was trying to get away from, children will be the gingerbread boys and girls.
Goldilocks and the three Bears
Story
Once upon a time there were three bears that lived in a house together in the forest. There was a very little small bear, a medium sized bear and a great big bear. One morning, the great big bear was making porridge for breakfast. As he was stirring it, a bit of porridge flicked onto his hand. Ouch! Said the great big bear, the porridge was too hot to eat. So, the three bears went for a walk together in the forest while the porridge cooled.
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Activity
Everyone to make some porridge. Hand out cones to the children and have them cook their porridge in their cone. Pour in the oats, milk and heat it up. Put on a topping of their choice.
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Have children put down their porridge bowls on the floor, and take children through a warm up as bears as they go to the forest for a walk while their porridge cools. Have children walk like bears.
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Have children the walk on their hands and feet. Can they go backwards and side to side? Can they jump?
What noise does a bear make?
Let children run around like bears and get their bodies warm.
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Story
That same day, a little girl went walking in the forest. This little girl had golden, blonde curls that rolled down her back and everyone called her goldilocks. Goldilocks loved walking in the forest, jumping over the stream and the fallen branches that had fallen from the tree.
Activity
Have children now explore the forest like Goldilocks. Run around, jump over the cones which are now the stream, rocks and logs. Play the jungle game. Instead of animals, use the cones as objects in the forest. Animals in the forest can also be used – white rabbit.
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Story
On her way, Goldilocks saw a beautiful white rabbit hopping around the leaves. She followed the bunny which led her straight to the bear’s cottage. Goldilocks could smell the lovely porridge so she crept inside. She tiptoed to the bear’s kitchen. First, she tasted the porridge in a great big bowl. That was too salty. Then she tasted the porridge in a medium sized bowl. That was too sweet. Then she tasted the porridge in the smallest bowl and that was just right and she liked it so much she ate it all up!
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Activity
Get children to follow the white rabbit (coach can be the white rabbit) to the bears house. Once there, slowly enter the house. Have children tip toe around the porridge bowls being careful not to knock them over.
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Get children to taste the different porridge bowls. Once they get to their own bowl of porridge, have them eat it all up! Ask children to put their porridge bowls upside down on their heads. Play body part game and ask children to balance their bowls on different parts of their bodies.
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Story
After eating all that porridge, Goldilocks was tired, so she went into the bedroom where she found three beds. Goldilocks decided to try the beds. First, she lay down on the great big bed, but that was too hard. Then, she lay down on the medium sized bed, but that was too soft. Then she lay down on the smallest bed and that was just right. She covered herself up with a fluffy blanket and lay there until she fell fast asleep.
Activity
Have children explore the beds. Play traffic light game with the different types of bed: big bears bed is hard so children get into a plank position. The medium sized bears bed is too soft so children take big slow steps as it’s hard to walk on. The little bears bed is just right so children curl up into a ball on the floor. When coach says go, children get up and run around again.
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Story
By this time, the bears came home to eat their porridge. ‘Somebody has been at my porridge!’ Said the great big bear in a very loud voice. ‘Somebody has been at my porridge!’ said the middle bear. Then, the small bear looked at his and the porridge was all gone. ‘Somebody has been at my porridge and has eaten it all up!’ said small bear in his small little voice. The bears could hear some snoring coming from their bedroom, so they went up to the bedroom to see where the noise was coming from.
‘Someone’s been sleeping in my bed’ growled the great big bear. ‘Someone’s been sleeping in my bed’ said the medium sized bear. ‘Someone’s been sleeping in my bed, and she’s still there!’ said the little bear.
Just then, Goldilocks woke up, saw the three bears and screamed ‘Help!’ she jumped out of bed, ran down the stairs, out the door and down the garden path.
Goldilocks never returned to the bears house again.
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Activity
Do an obstacle course as goldilocks leaves the bears house.
Skipping ropes for balancing, jumping over cones (logs), through hoops (trees), side steps to get away from the bears.
billy goats gruff
Story
Once upon a time there were three Billy Goats who lived in a meadow at the foot of a mountain, and their last name was Gruff. There was Big Billy Goat Gruff, Medium-sized Billy Goat Gruff and the Little Billy Goat Gruff. All three of them jumped about the meadow and ate what grass they could find, but there wasn’t much at all.
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Activity
Warm up as goats. Get children in to character. Play the volcano game. Instead of volcanoes, the cones can be rocks in the meadow the children need to jump over to get some grass.
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Story
One day, the Little Billy Goat Gruff looked up at the high mountain overhead, and he thought to himself there was a great deal of fine grass up on the mountain. I believe I’ll just run up there by myself, without telling anybody and eat and eat so much grass that I’ll grow as big as anybody.
So the Little Billy Goat Gruff went off without telling his brothers a word about it. He ran along, tip-tap, tip-tap, tip-tap until he came to a wide river with a bridge above it. The Little Billy Goat Gruff did not know it, but this bridge belonged to a great, terrible Troll, and the Little Billy Goat had not got but half way over the bridge before the troll started shouting from under the bridge.
‘Who’s that going across my bridge?’
‘its me the Littlest Billy Goat Gruff’
‘well don’t go much further, I’m going to come and eat you up!’
Little Billy Goat Gruff got scared and in his little voice said ‘oh please Mr Troll don’t eat me up, I’m such a little goat that it would hardly be a mouthful for you. Wait for my brother, he’s far bigger than I am and just as tender’.
The troll agreed and Little Billy Goat Gruff went on his way, crossed the bridge to over to the mountain where it was safe.
Activity
Hedgehog game – turn into the Billy Goat Gruff Game – Children have to hide the ball (grass) from the Troll.
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Story
Not very long after, the Middle-sized Billy Goat Gruff decided that he would go up the mountain too. He did not tell Big Billy Goat Gruff and went on his way. He ran along, tip-tap, tip-tap, tip-tap until he came to a wide river with a bridge above it. The Middle-sized Billy Goat Gruff did not know it, but this bridge belonged to a great, terrible Troll, and the Middle-sized Billy Goat had not got but half way over the bridge before the troll started shouting from under the bridge.
‘Who’s that going across my bridge?’
‘its me the Middle-sized Billy Goat Gruff’
‘oh it is, is it? You’re the one I’ve been waiting for. I’m the Troll that owns this bridge, and now I’m coming up to eat you up.’
The Middle-sized Billy Goat Gruff got scared and said ‘oh please Mr Troll, don’t eat me up, I have a brother, he’s far bigger than I am.
‘far bigger you say?’
The troll agreed and the Middle-sized Billy Goat Gruff went on his way, crossed the bridge to over to the mountain where it was safe.
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Activity
Play Hulk Smash!
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Story
A little while later, the Big Billy Goat Gruff decided that he too would like to go over to the mountain, he thought to himself ‘if I don’t go over both Billy Goat Gruffs would be bigger and fatter than him! So off he plodded towards the river to cross the bridge. Big Billy Goat Gruff was so big you could hear his hoofs pounding a mile away. Clump-clump, clump-clump he went.
When Big Billy Goat Gruff came to the bridge to cross the river, the Troll shouted ‘who’s that crossing my bridge?’
‘Its me the Big Billy Goat Gruff’
‘Oh it is, is it? You’re the one I’ve been waiting for. I’m the Troll that owns this bridge, and now I’m coming up to eat you up.’
But the Big Billy Goat Gruff was not one bit scared.
‘So you’re a Troll and you own this bridge do you? And now you’re going to eat me up? We’ll see about that’.
‘I have a forehead as hard as stone, and I will knock you back into the river’.
The Troll jumped up on the bridge, put his big bushy head down and rand at the Big Billy Goat Gruff, but Big Billy Goat Gruff’s head was harder than the Troll’s. Big Billy Goat Gruff knocked him about a little bit and then threw the Troll over the bridge into the river below. The Troll sank into the river and was never seen again.
Big Billy Goat Gruff went over to the mountain and told them what had happened with the Troll. All the Billy Goat Gruffs were happy to hear the Troll no longer lived under the bridge.
Activity
Play Cannonball Alley. Children are goats, the Troll tries to get the children by rolling the balls.
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