06/09/2026
There is a big difference between planning activities and planning learning.
Take Dear Zoo, for example. 📚🦁
I could start my planning by making a list of activities:
Make a lion.
Wash the animals.
Build a zoo.
Make animal footprints.
And there's nothing wrong with any of those things. But that's not where I want my planning to start. I want to think about the learning first.
Dear Zoo could open up opportunities to explore the wider world — different animals, where they live, what they need and how we care for them.
We can explore cause and effect through the story. Why were the animals sent back? What was wrong with each one? What might happen if…?
We can build language and vocabulary as children describe, compare, predict, retell and explain.
Then the provision can give children different ways to actually experience and revisit that learning.
Wash and care for the animals.
Hunt for hidden animals.
Investigate footprints and make prints.
Use tools to pick up, rescue, sort and move them — building fine motor control along the way.
Build enclosures and habitats.
Create a zoo.
Open a ticket office and step into role play.
Retell and change the story.
And suddenly one little book isn't one activity.
It's language. Literacy. Understanding the World. Physical development. Problem solving. Imagination. Communication.
And importantly, we don't need to do ALL of those things at once. We choose the opportunities that support what our children need to learn next.
That's the difference for me.
Don't start with: “What activity shall we do?”
Start with: “What do I want my children to learn?”
Then let the story help you take them there. ❤️📚
This is a huge part of the work I now support nurseries and schools with — looking at curriculum, progression and provision and helping settings make that connection between intent and what children actually experience every day.
If you're reviewing your EYFS curriculum or planning this term and would like some support, send me a message. 📚
