Fairy tales and nursery rhymes are some of my favorite resources to use in my teaching. The story of Goldilocks is one that young children love to hear again and again.
I love reading different versions of the story with them and talking about the end of the story and how they are different. We have great discussions as we notice the different ways the illustrator drew the characters to look different in each version. Two of our favorite versions are from James Marshall and Jan Brett. Read the story and give these free Goldilocks and the Three Bears printables a try with your young learners.
The Story of Goldilocks
In this familiar tale, a bear family who lives in a cute little cottage sits down for a meal of porridge. Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear decide the porridge is too hot and leave to go for a walk. Up skips a curious girl named Goldilocks. She wanders inside the house. She tries each bowl of porridge. One is too hot, one is too cold, and one is just right. She eats all of Baby Bear’s porridge. Then she wanders into the living room and sits in each of the three chairs. One is too hard, one is too soft, and one is just right. Goldilocks sits in Baby Bear’s chair and it breaks. Feeling a little bit tired, Goldilocks goes upstairs and sees three beds. One is too hard, one is too soft, and one is just right. Goldilocks falls asleep in Baby Bear’s bed. When the bears return home they notice their porridge has been eaten. Their chairs have been sat in. Their beds have been tried out and Goldilocks is sleeping in one. Goldilocks wakes up and sees the bears and runs away, never to be see again.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears Activities
Here are a variety of activities with a Goldilocks theme to make learning fun. Print the pages, gather the materials, and let your little leaners try them over and over again.
Goldilocks Size Sorting
Arrange the bowls of porridge, beds, and chairs from largest to smallest. This is a fun way to work on different vocabulary.
Goldilocks Color Matching
Use blocks, pom poms, or bingo chips and match them to the same colored bed. You can also turn this into a listening activity by saying, “Can you find the piece that goes on the red bed?”
Goldilocks Shape Sorting
Did you know that sorting is an important math skill? It is! Cut out the spoons. Identify the shapes. Go on a hunt for items that are each shape. Or collect different trinkets that are the same shapes and have your child or student sort them to the matching shaped spoon. So much fun!
Goldilocks Rhyming Cards
Print and cut out the picture cards. Match the pictures that rhyme. These simple pictures are great for vocabulary development, color recognition, and even beginning letter sounds if your students are ready for that skill.
Goldilocks Dice Game
Give this free printable Goldilocks dice game a try. Roll the die. Cover the number you rolled. If you roll a number that is already covered, roll again. When all of the numbers are covered, you win! This is a great way that students practice number recognition and counting. Use pom poms, gems, buttons, blocks, or candy to cover the numbers.
Goldilocks Texture Sorting
Collect several items that are hard and several items that are soft. Mix them up and put them in a bowl. Put the sorting cards at the top of the work surface. Talk about how a rock is hard. What else is hard? Talk about how a feather is soft. What else is soft? Challenge your child or student to sort the items.
Here are a few ideas to get you inspired as you start collecting items for this sorting activity.
Hard
Collect items like a rock, spoon, block, book, an apple, or an uncooked noodle.
Soft
Find items like a feather, piece of fabric, pom pom, string or yarn, or a stuffed animal.
Goldilocks Finger Puppets
Head over to The Activity Mom to download free Goldilocks finger puppets. Not only are they perfect for imaginative play, but they are great for strengthening fine motor skills. Each time you isolate the fingers, it increases finger dexterity which is important in fine motor skills.
We hope you like these activity ideas and Goldilocks and the Three Bears Worksheets as much as we do!
Download the FREE Goldilocks and the Three Bears Printables
More Goldilocks Activity Ideas
STEM Challenge – Build a bed for Goldilocks.
Letter Sound Hunt – Hunt for things that start with /b/ like bear.
Stuffed Animal Sort – Sort your own stuffed animals by color or size.
Make Your Own Porridge – Make oatmeal or grits together.
Play Dough Bowls – Make bowls (one of each size) for the bears out of play dough.
Draw a Map – Draw a map of where the bears went for a walk.
Goldilocks Open Ended Questions
- Do you think Goldilocks told her Mom about her visit to the bears’ house?
- Were the bears scared of Goldilocks?
- Do you think Goldilocks has ever tried porridge before?