We’re sure that you’ll all be familiar with this story; you might even have a copy at home. It’s called What the Ladybird Heard and is written by Julia Donaldson. As you listen, why not join in with the animal sounds!:
Which part of the story did you enjoy the most?
How did the animals trick Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len?
Which is your favourite farm animal?
We think you’ll also enjoy this version where Julia Donaldson tells the same story through a song.
Here are some activities that you can try that are linked to the story.
Creative
Can you make a farm yard? You could use Duplo or Lego to make a farm house or barn for your toy animals and tractors. If you have a tray with sides or an empty (storage) box with low sides you could make your own farm small world area. In class, we often add Weetabix and other dry cereals to use as animal food. It can be a little bit messy but hoovers up easily at the end of the day!
You could make a little ladybird and use it re-tell the story as it flies from one animal to the next.
Mark making
Can you draw some of the animals that they found on the farm? Maybe you could draw a map of the farm like Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len used. You could even draw a long wavy line to show where the ladybird flew.
Listening games
Listen closely to the story. What does the ladybird hear? There is a ladybird on every page and he/she hears all the goings on in the farmyard and story. Play your own game, listening to the world around you. Say the phrase “I hear with my little ear something that sounds like…” Describe that you can hear around you.
Here’s a game we sometimes we play at Nursery. Get your listening ears ready… What animal can you hear? One of the cats purring is a little bit tricky!
Find out more about ladybirds
Here’s a short video all about ladybirds. Can you spot any ladybirds in your garden or on a walk?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01cb05t
Mathematics
1) One of the mathematical concepts that children sometimes find difficult is knowing that they can split a group of objects in different ways, but that the total is still the same. Here is an activity that may help with this.
Draw a ladybird outline and cut out 4-6 spots. Start with 4 spots and count them together with your child. Ask them to put the spots on the ladybird’s wings. How many are there? Talk about how many spots there are on each wing, but that there are still 4 spots altogether. Repeat, splitting the spots in a different way (Eg 2 spots on each wing, or 3 spots on 1 wing and 1 spot on the other). Each time you move the spots, count how many there are on each wing and how many there are altogether. That’s right, there are still 4!
If you return to play again another day, repeat the activity using a different number of spots between 2-6.
2) If you fancy painting, draw some basic ladybird outlines and ask your child to paint or fingerprint a given number (e.g 1-5) of spots on each wing. How many spots are there on both wings? Which ladybird as the fewest/most spots?
Can you spot the difference?
