Welcome back to #PLAYfulpreschool! This Little Red Hen Activity is perfect for a preschool farm theme! I am having a blast sharing ideas and lessons every Wednesday, along with the rest of the “team”. Today’s theme is harvest, and you’re going to love this Little Red Hen sensory play idea!
Related: Little Red Hen Activities
Little Red Hen activity that combines sensory play and literacy
Materials we used
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Glass bowls
Little red hen (a chicken from the farm Toob that I painted red)
Mouse (from the pets Toob)
Dog (from the dogs Toob)
Cat (from the pets Toob)
Harvest wheat play dough
Plastic wheat stalks (I found at a local craft store)
Barley
Whole wheat flour
Setting up
We read The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone multiple times last week and this week. For the retelling activity, I placed each different story element in its own glass bowl. The barley (the closest I could get to wheat seeds at the time), play dough and wheat stalks, flour, and play dough (for the cake). The characters were set next to the bowls, along with The Little Red Hen.
Related: Thanksgiving Activities for Preschoolers
What we did
I called the children over to the table in groups of four, one for each character in the book. I explained that we were going to act out the story of the little red hen using the animals and the materials in the bowls. Then each child chose an animal to be for the retelling. For the first retelling adventure, I helped guide them through the story. After that, they were confident they could handle it on their own. Here’s how the kiddos used this little red hen activity:
1. By the barley, the Little Red Hen asked, “Who will help me plant these seeds?” The remaining animals take turns replying, “Not I!” The students took turns feel the barley and pretending to plant it on the table.
2. By the play dough with the plastic wheat stalks, the Little Red Hen asked, “Who will help me cut down the wheat?” Again, a chorus of “Not I!” All of the children loved removing the wheat from the play dough, even those representing the lazier animals!
3. By the bowl of flour, the Little Red Hen asked, “Who will help me take the wheat to be ground into flour?” “Not, I” replied the other animals. The children reached in and felt the flour. We also discussed baking with their families, and what items can be made with flour.
4. By the bowl with the harvest play dough, the Little Red Hen asked, “Who will help me make a cake with the flour”? More replies of “Not I!” The little red hen pretends to make a cake, put it into the oven and take it out.
5. The Little Red Hen asked, “Who will help me eat this cake?” All of the other animals want to, but she decides to do it herself.
By the end of the story, the kiddos were giggling! I was so impressed with the language they used, as well as the details they remembered about the story! The synopsis above is very brief in comparison to all of the narration they gave to the story. Oh, and some of the children even did different voices for each character! I LOVE how much the children got into this story retelling! They took turns and played with the little red hen activity for over an hour!
The learning
So much learning took place amid the giggles and silly voices:
- Sensory exploration of the materials (mostly through sight and touch)
- Story sequencing
- Reading/listening comprehension
- Language and conversation skills
- Fine motor skills
Do you have a Little Red Hen activity to share? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
More preschool harvest ideas
Don’t forget to see what my #PLAYfulpreschool buds are up to this week!
Plan your PRESCHOOL Harvest Theme Learning Week with Activities from the Playful Preschool Education Team:
Learning with Gourds: Comparing, Sorting, and Labeling for Fall by Still Playing School
Corny Science: Will it sink or float? by Capri + 3
Harvesting in the Carrot Patch by Powerful Mothering
Preschool Math: Measuring Pumpkins by Mom Inspired Life
Making Bread by Rainy Day Mum
#PlayfulPreschool Harvest Time Math by Tiny Tots Adventures
Alphabet Activities: Letter Harvest by Growing Book by Book
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves Sequencing Cards & Power Point by The Preschool Toolbox Blog
Go Global: Harvests Around the World by The Educators’ Spin On It
Harvest Time: Jamaican Style Music by Learning 2 Walk
Pumpkin Patch Sensory Bin: Practicing Matching with Preschoolers by Life Over C’s
Little Red Hen Activity – Retelling through Sensory Play by Fun-A-Day
Pumpkin Activities Preschool Learning and Play by Little Bins for Little Hands
Done-for-You Preschool Resources
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Preschool Teacher 101 is excited to share with you some amazing lesson plans, activity packs, and much more! We offer a wide variety of themes that are frequently used in preschool classrooms, as well as some less common (but super interesting) themes. Click on the image below to learn more about our Little Red Hen Lesson Plans!
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We have the little red hen magntetic story stuck on our washer right now. This is a great way to re-tell the story in another way too! Will add it to my lesson plans!
Thanks, Amanda! We’re still having fun with it. 🙂
This is such a great hands-on way to re-tell the story!
Thanks, Danielle!
That looks like so much fun and is a great way to make the story come to life.
Thanks, Theresa! Those kiddos sure know the story now! A few even made sure to tell their parents all about it 🙂
Aww! LOVE this activity! I know my kids will too 😀
Thanks Nicolette!!!
This is one of my favorite books of all time! What a fun hands-on activity to accompany the story.
I must admit I love The Little Red Hen so much, too! All the different versions are fun to read with the kiddos. Thanks, Jodie!
Oh, what a neat idea! I found some real wheat stalks at the grocery store last year, but it was very prickly. I’ll have to look for the plastic kind.
Thanks so much, Karen!! The little plastic wheat stalks are holding up pretty well so far! 🙂
This is fantastic! I want to play, too!
This is a great way to extend the story! I would not have thought about painting our toob animals:) Great photos to share how you played!:) Wonderful post for the harvest theme!
It’s funny cause I have a little red hen on my kitchen wall for the very reason the book. When it Comes to cake baking in my home I often ask “who will get the flour from the basement for me?” Soon as someone says no I move on to who wi.Lloyd help me mix the cake? They usually catch on by then and if they don’t help they under they gets no cake. We love The Little Red Hen!
Just awesome love it so much! Pinned and shared. My fb readers enjoyed it too!
I love the miniature aspect of all the sensory pieces! A fun change from the usual sensory bins!
Love this, had my first grade students learn vocabulary words in story they may not have heard before. Students used character masks to role play the story and retell by creating a pathway story map (butcher paper) from one end of the front classroom to the back. One end started with the title of the book, characters, setting, problem and solution this was a word box for students. My students always want me to spell for them, so we create this together and then section into four parts (beginning, middle, end and recreate or change one part of the story). I created a path from the beginning to the end so that students can walk the pathway as they retell the story. Students started out with drawing first then writing. Afterwards, I placed sisters, rolling pins, bowls, measuring cups and spoons, aprons, chef hat’s and flour for students to sift, measure, roll, knead the dough. As a culminating activity, we tasted several types of bread.
LOVE hearing about all of the fun you had with your students! I bet they will remember making bread and retelling the story with you. 🙂
I loved your retelling ideas. I am definitely going to try this. Thank you.
Thanks so much, Ann Marie! Let me know how it goes. 🙂