Porridge Monster?!

Who could it be?....

Last week our tissue box had gone missing from the classroom so the children came up with a great idea which was to make a camera. This generated lots of discussion about who took it and why. We placed our camera on top of the TV so that we could see who comes into the room but someone or something switched it off. A book was left on the chair and when we opened it there was a story called 'Who's been eating my porridge?'.

The next day there were porridge footprints all over our classroom like the ones from the story. There was also a GIANT gold envelope with a letter inside. The children were so excited, "it's the big bad wolf", "it's the bears". One child then shouted "check the camera!". He looked through the camera and shouted, "ahhhh it's a MONSTER!".

We read the letter from Goldilocks who needed to get across the river before the porridge monster comes. This involved the children thinking about what floats outside. The children tried leaves, wood, paper and paper plates, learning that these items "sink". After persevering, they found a container which floated down the river. The children were amazing at sharing their ideas and collaborated with each other to complete the challenge.

With a little facilitation, The children then made a trap for the monster and drew some scary monsters on the floor using chalk to frighten him away. Again this promoted team work and extended children's vocabulary in play, which supported new friendships and self-confidence.

But will we get our tissues back...? 

On Friday there was another golden letter with the mystery question mark. It was another letter from Goldilocks apologising for tricking the children as it wasn't the monster. The tissues were taken by Goldilocks because no one went to her porridge party, which is the last two pages we forgot to read in the story. The children made invitations to Goldilocks' friends to make her feel better, this was a great opportunity to practice our mark making skills. 

Throughout the week the children also participated in activities such as making their own monsters, messy porridge and playing the Kim's game. We learnt new adjectives for the word "big" and practiced counting beyond 20 in play.