Big, Medium and Small in the Bears' House

With the three bears from the traditional tale, children move in three sizes and sort hoops and balls into big, medium and small. It builds size perception, body levels and sorting through movement.

How to play

1. Without retelling the whole Goldilocks story, the teacher introduces Papa Bear (huge, heavy steps), Mama Bear (medium, normal steps) and Baby Bear (small, quick little steps). Everyone imitates them (2 min).
2. When a bear is called, we move like that bear: big ones stretched tall on tiptoe, medium ones normal, small ones crouched down (3 min).
3. On the floor are big, medium and small hoops: they are the beds. When the teacher calls “Bedtime!”, each child picks a bed for the bear named (3 min).
4. Gather the bears' breakfast: balls of three sizes are mixed up and we carry each one to the bed of its size, walking like the matching bear (4 min).
5. We're all little bears curled up asleep inside the hoops (2 min).

Rules

• Each ball goes to the bed of its size.
• Several little bears can share a bed.
• Papa Bear's steps are heavy, but we don't bump anyone.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the child sorts the balls brought to them and tosses or places them in the hoop from the wheelchair.
• Visual impairment: use balls that sound or feel different by size, and hoops the child can touch.
• Autism: put pictures of the three bears with their size next to each group of hoops.

Learning goals

• Tell big, medium and small apart.
• Move at different levels: high, middle and low.
• Sort objects by carrying them.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Large hoops: 6
• Small hoops: 6
• Balls in three sizes: 15

Teacher tip

Make size differences really obvious: a big ball, a regular one and a tennis ball. No need to tell the whole story; the three bears are enough.

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