Activity Ideas

Explore the Story

Act out the story from the scripted version in the Materials Tab. This will allow you to lead the acting out Helicopter Stories style.

Look at the images from the word bank. There are copies to print in the Materials Tab.

Retell the story of The Princess and the Pea. (You will find an abridged version in the Materials Tab.)

Thoughts for Discussion 

What makes someone a real princess?

How did the princess manage to feel the pea under all those matresses?

Where do you think the princess and the prince went when they galloped off on the horse?

Activity Ideas

Explore which materials would make the best mattress. Using a bed from a doll’s house or just a think piece of card as the base, try to make a bed where you can’t feel the pea or in this case marble. Explore different materials such as sponges, cloth, felt, bubble wrap, cotton wool. Then get the children to press down with their hands to see if they can feel the ‘pea’. Which materials work best?

Create the stack of mattresses in the story by sticking strips of colourful paper, card or material, one on top of the other. Children could draw a small pea at the bottom or even stick on a dried pea at the bottom of the pile of mattresses.

Investigate a pea. Peas that the children would have seen before will probably be the cooked, soft version. Show them a dried pea and let them feel how hard it is. Ask them why they think one pea is hard and one if soft. Put some dried peas in warm water and leave them for an hour to an hour and a half. Then show the children once they have rehydrated. Talk about the difference with language such as smooth, soft, shiny, round, hard, wrinkled, rough.

Try putting the dry pea under a cushion and seeing if they can feel it, if not maybe try a dry pea under a blanket. If you can feel it, how can you make it more comfortable if you can’t feel it what could you cover the pea with instead that’s thinner.

Make your own prince and princess crowns. Using card measure around the child’s head making a plain band of card that you can cut into different shapes, colour, paint, cover in glitter or stick tissue paper flowers onto.

Fun Resources

• Dried peas
• Blankets
• Cushions
• Sponges
• Doll’s bed
• Marbles
• Small world figures