Classroom Theme Resources

Are you planning a fairy tale unit and looking for ways to integrate math into your lessons? Our collection of Fairytale Maths Activities is here to help you bring a touch of magic to your math curriculum. Combining the enchanting world of fairy tales with essential math skills, these activities are perfect for engaging young learners and making math fun and meaningful.

Fairy tales have been a staple in children’s literature for generations, offering timeless stories that are rich in imagination and moral lessons. Using fairytale themes in the classroom leverages these familiar narratives to create a relatable and captivating learning environment.

These themes can make abstract math concepts more tangible and relatable, helping children to better grasp and retain new information. Additionally, fairytales often involve patterns, sequences, and logical problem-solving, providing natural connections to math skills. By using fairytale themes, educators can create a more engaging and immersive learning experience that resonates with young learners.

How to Incorporate Fairytale Activities in Your Classroom

Fairy tales have always been a magical gateway to learning for young children. Integrating these beloved stories into various activities can make learning both fun and educational. Here are some engaging fairytale-themed activities that will captivate your EYFS-aged children and help them develop essential skills.

Fairytale Play-Based Activities

Play Tray Ideas

• Goldilocks and the Three Bears – Create a sensory experience by setting up a tray with oats (to represent porridge), small bowls, spoons, bear figures, a small doll for Goldilocks, and miniature furniture (beds and chairs). Children can scoop oats into bowls, arrange furniture, and move the characters around, reenacting the story. This activity enhances storytelling and sequencing skills.
• Jack and the Beanstalk – Using green beans or green yarn (for the beanstalk), plastic or paper leaves, a small figurine of Jack, and cotton balls (for clouds), children can create a beanstalk by threading green yarn through holes in a cardboard “ground” base and adding leaves. They can place Jack and the cotton clouds around the beanstalk, fostering creativity and fine motor skills.
• Little Red Riding Hood Forest – Set up a tray with fake grass or green felt, small trees and bush figurines, Red Riding Hood and wolf figures, a small basket, and miniature food items. Children can recreate Red Riding Hood’s journey through the forest, using the props to tell the story and engage in imaginative play.
• The Three Little Pigs – Provide straw, small sticks, mini bricks, toy pigs, and a wolf figure. Children can build houses for the three pigs using straw, sticks, and bricks, and then act out the story with the toy pigs and wolf. This activity promotes understanding of different materials and their properties.

Fairytale Fine Motor Activities

• Goldilocks’ Porridge Sorting – Using small bowls, tweezers, and different types of beans or beads, children can sort the beans or beads into the small bowls, mimicking Goldilocks trying different porridges. This activity helps improve fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
• Jack’s Beanstalk Threading – Provide green yarn, plastic needles, and paper leaves with holes. Children can thread the yarn through the paper leaves to create a beanstalk, practising fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
• Little Red Riding Hood’s Basket – Using a small basket, tiny food items (plastic or paper), and tongs, children can place the food items into Little Red Riding Hood’s basket, improving their fine motor skills.
• Three Little Pigs’ House Building – Provide straws, small sticks, and miniature bricks. Children can build small houses using the materials, working on fine motor skills and understanding construction basics.

Fairytale Construction Block Activities

• Goldilocks’ Cottage – Using wooden blocks, bear figures, and a Goldilocks figure, children can build the bears’ cottage and place the figures inside, discussing the different rooms and items in the story. This activity promotes spatial awareness and problem-solving.
• Jack’s Beanstalk Construction – Provide large green blocks or foam pieces and a small Jack figure. Children can build a tall beanstalk and place the Jack figure on top, experimenting with balance and height.
• Little Red Riding Hood’s Path – Using blocks to create a path and Red Riding Hood and wolf figures, children can construct a path through the “forest” for Little Red Riding Hood to travel to Grandma’s house, discussing directions and map skills.
• Three Little Pigs’ Houses – Provide blocks in various sizes and shapes, toy pigs, and a wolf figure. Children can use the blocks to build sturdy houses for the pigs, testing different structures against the “wolf’s” huff and puff.

Hands-On Activities

• Goldilocks’ Porridge Recipe – Provide ingredients to make simple porridge, bowls, and spoons. Children can follow a simple recipe to make porridge, discussing measurements and following steps, which helps develop math and cooking skills.
• Jack’s Magic Beans Planting – Provide small pots, soil, bean seeds, and watering cans. Children can plant beans in pots, tend to them, and observe their growth over time, learning about plant care and growth cycles.
• Little Red Riding Hood’s Path Mapping – Using large paper, markers, and stickers, children can draw a map of Little Red Riding Hood’s journey to Grandma’s house, marking key points and practising spatial awareness.
• Three Little Pigs’ Construction Challenge:
• Provide straw, sticks, mini bricks, and glue. Children can build small houses for the pigs using different materials and test their durability, learning about engineering principles and materials.

These activities will not only engage children’s creativity and fine motor skills but also immerse them in the magical world of fairy tales. Incorporate these enchanting ideas into your classroom to make learning a truly magical experience for your EYFS-aged children.

Fairytale Maths Activities

Our collection of fairytale Maths Activities includes a variety of resources designed to cater to different math skills for EYFS, Kindergarten Preprimary and year 1 students. Here is a list of the concepts covered:

• Counting, Number Recognition & Ordering Numbers
• Subitising collections to 5 and partitioning collections to 10
• Addition and Subtraction
• Sharing & Grouping collections
• Non- Standard Measurement and Comparison
• Patterns and Sequences
• 2D & 3D Shapes
• Graphing

Ready to add a sprinkle of fairy tale magic to your math lessons? Download our collection of Fairytale Maths Activities today and watch your students’ excitement for learning soar!