FOR ALL AGES
Image © pvproductions, under a Creative Commons license.
Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler are the genius duo who gave us the fantastic Gruffalo that the kids love reading every night.
They knew they were writing a storybook but what they didn't know was that they were also filling our heads with endless opportunities for fun Gruffalo activities. From Gruffalo craft ideas to Gruffalo outdoor activities, there's no end to the inspiration.
But, just so you know where to start, we've compiled our list of all our favourite things to do, thanks to the amazing Julia Donaldson and her imagination. No matter what age your child is, or what they are interested in, we're sure we can find a fun Gruffalo activity that will suit the whole family. These are also great ideas if you are planning a Gruffalo themed fancy dress party, with plenty of easy activity ideas for Gruffalo costumes, as well as some Gruffalo sweet treats to serve as tasty snacks. Here's everything you need to know!
Take a look in the Gruffalo book and you'll find all the animals you need to plunge the family into the Gruffalo world with this treasure hunt.
Age: 3+
Materials: Paper or card, coloured pens, scissors
How-to:
Using your card and coloured pens draw and cut out an animal for each of those that appear in the book.
You will need:
If you have a laminator or sticky back plastic, use it to cover the animals to stop them from getting wet.
This is one of the best Gruffalo activities for early years. In a garden or park, hide all the animals around and then let the children play! They have to find each of the Gruffalo animals. Once they have found them, ask your children to close their eyes and try hiding them in different places. You could even write clues for older kids.
Tip: Use string to hang your Gruffalo animals from trees or bushes.
Fun activity idea: Try making 3D animals out of old toilet roll cylinders.
As Gruffalo activities go, this is the tastiest one - let's hope his paws taste better than they look! This super simple yet fun biscuit recipe is well suited for children of all ages.
Age: 4+
Materials: Mixing bowl, wooden spoon, weighing scales, baking tray, greaseproof paper, tablespoon, dessert spoon, oven gloves, ingredients.
100g Butter (softened)
50g Caster Sugar
2 tablespoons Cocoa Powder
125g Self-raising Flour
Flaked Almonds
How-to:
Hint: If your children don't like almonds, why not try adding half a chocolate button on as a claw using icing. Make sure you wait until the biscuits have cooled so the chocolate doesn't melt.
There are so many activities for making a model Gruffalo but this one is for textile lovers. This Gruffalo activity will have your kid making pompom models - perfect for children who love craft activities, as well as reading.
Age: 6+
Materials: Brown yarn, pom pom rings, googly eyes, glue, coloured card, scissors.
How-to:
A classic game inspired by the book. This Gruffalo memory game is a great DIY activity that'll keep your child learning as they play.
Age: 6+
Materials: White card, scissors, coloured pens and pencils
How to make the game:
Why not try: Designing a Gruffalo-inspired pattern to go on the back of the cards. Make sure they are all identical though so you can't tell which are the pairs when the cards are face down.
How to play the game:
One of our favourite Gruffalo activities, that is perfect for fancy dress, as well as being a really easy activity for children of any age. Children will love acting out the story with this brilliant mask activity.
Age: 4+
Materials: Paper plate, scissors, coloured paper, glue, coloured pens, elastic. If you don't have any paper plates just cut a face-sized circle out of a piece of cardboard.
How-to:
One of our truly unique Gruffalo activity ideas for children who love to play with slime, and who love reading the book! Kids love slime, and this is a great play activity for imaginative Gruffalo lovers.
Age: 5+
Materials: PVA glue, Borax, green food colouring, wooden lollipop or cocktail stick for stirring
How-to:
Tip: Store your slime in a sealed container like a Tupperware box or a zip-lock plastic bag, so that it doesn't dry out.
Ready for more Gruffalo art ideas? This is a really easy fancy dress activity to complete the set of Gruffalo activities, and is great for pretend play.
Age: 5+
Materials: Brown paper or card, sticky tape, dark brown card, green paper, orange paper, white paper
How-to:
Hint: If you have more than one child, you could make one Gruffalo headband and one mouse headband. This could be a perfect idea if you're looking for Gruffalo activities for toddlers or younger children.
Read The Disclaimer
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
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