We love getting out and about in the great outdoors, so on holiday, we love nothing more than to go on a forest walk. I like to give the children something to focus on, so this time I decided we should do a Gruffalo hunt.
We were to look for all the creatures featured in the Gruffalo story, the owl, the mouse, the snake, the fox and of course, the Gruffalo.
The first thing we came across were several ‘dens’ that had previously been made by other kids (or could have been made by adults, as they were rather good). They were made out of sticks and foliage against a tree. We suggested to the children that these could be the Gruffalo’s den. Then we found ‘scratch’ marks on the trees (actually, just sprayed, marked trees, presumably marked by the forestry commission, as trees to be cut down). These, we thought were the Gruffalo’s scratch marks to tell everyone to ‘keep out!’
Next we found a feather on the floor, which could have been from the owl.
We also found a hole burrowed into the ground which we thought could be the Fox’s den.
We found a pile of logs, for the snakes log pile house.
And lastly, we found a small opening at the bottom of a tree for the mouse to live.
This was one of the best walks we have done, the children enjoyed it so much. It brought the Gruffalo story to life, increased their imagination and allowed them to use their memory skills to recall the story. All at the same time as getting out and about as a family in the fresh air with nature. You really can’t beat that!
Looks like great fun!! x
It was a really good fun afternoon
Great idea! We are always on a bear hunt! One day you just may find the gruffalo!
Thanks, it was great fun
This looks so wonderful, and so simple! We must do this – thank you
It was so easy to do, as long as you know the story. The kids over it
this looks like lots of fun
xx
Yes, we had loads of fun with this x
What a great idea, as you say it was a perfect way to re-tell the story in a creative and imaginative setting. Thanks for sharing your outdoor fun with Country Kids.
Thanks, we all enjoyed it x
we have done our own gruffallo hunt before it is such fun and infact whenever we visit any woods the boys always say they are the deep dsrk Gruffalo woods! love thier imaginations.
wonderful post and photos – and it looks so much fun! x
Thank you. Kids love using their imaginations, so I like to utilise this when we go out for walks x
This is a great Gruffalo hunt and I love all the dens that had been built, but the first time I ever heard of it was Jenny’s post – you really should go check it out – they found the Gruffalo too!
Ooh, I will have a look x
What a lovely day you had, great photos
Thank you, it was great
What a brilliant way to bring the story to life! I would love to do this with L when she gets bigger or my Reception class when I am back at work. Also what a great way to make a walk more interesting, getting short legs to go far can be hard work I imagine.
Thank you, it is a great way to look at nature and have a great walk together
love this post, thanks for linking up with #MagicMoments x
Thanks x
Gosh now this is a wonderful idea, thank you, I think I will try this with my children x
Great, the kids will love it
hee! hee! We have a Gruffalo wood near us. It’s such a fun story to bring to life in a woods. My older children don’t play along so much now, but youngest still humours me!
It’s great fun bringing a story to life, especially in a lovely forest setting
How lovely! Our children adore the story of the Gruffalo too. I might have to take them searching when they are a little bit older.
#magicmoments
Do take them, it is such a great fun activity for all the family
You were very lucky to have the piles of logs etc – couldn’t have been set up better for you! x
Yeah, it was fantastic, we were lucky
Looks like a lot of fun!
It was great!
That looks like fantastic fun and what a great idea!
Thank you, I would recommend giving it a try
Ah, how much fun? It’s great to bring stories to life in this way,isn’t it?
Yes, it is such a great activity to do x
I’ve heard only good things about these Gruffalo hunts, must check it out! Looks like you all had a great day xx
You should give it a try, it’s great x
Looks like so much fun! We actually have a Gruffalo Wood near us that has Gruffalo sculptures hidden all around it and the kids love it (Thorndon Country Park) but we’ve never had a hunt thinking about where all the characters might actually hide and imagining it all… might have to give that a try too
Ooh, a graffalo wood sounds great, my children would love that!
We love The Gruffalo, what a great idea for a forest walk! #PlugYourPost x
Thank you
Looks like you guys had fun. I always think there’s something really magical about a woodland environment. How exciting to think the Gruffalo might be there
Thank you, we really did have a lot of fun