The Tiger Who Came to Tea tells the story of a hungry tiger who joins Sophie and her mummy for tea. Read or watch the story with your child and try the activities below. They will help your child to talk about what is happening in the story and explore the main characters.
Watch the story
Activities for while you read the story
- As you are reading the story together, encourage your child to talk about what is happening on each page.
- When the tiger arrives, talk about what he looks like (for example, big, stripy, and furry).
- Point out that the tiger does not say thank you. Explain how important it is to thank someone when they give you something.
- Ask questions about what they think might happen next (for example, “what else do you think the tiger will eat?”)
Tiger Play!
- Stripy pattern: go outside and use playground chalk to create your own stripy pattern. Talk about how the colours repeat. You could also use grass and sticks to create your stripes.
- Hide and seek: Talk about how some animals have patterns on them so that it makes them more difficult to spot. Play a game of hide and seek with a toy or something you have found outside like a rock. Take it in turns, with one person hiding and one person looking for the item within a designated area. You could give each other clues or say “hot” when they are close and “cold” when they are not.
- Act out the story: Use a cuddly toy tiger or other animal to act out your own version of the story. You could use toy food, drawings of food or even real tins and packets of food. Encourage your child to pretend to be Sophie, mummy or the tiger and think about what they might say at different parts of the story.
Tea time play!
- Songs and rhymes: Sing these rhymes about tea time. Polly Put the Kettle On, Pat a Cake, Pat a Cake, or Five Currant Buns
- Bake or decorate a cake: Follow a recipe or decorate your own cakes for tea. Encourage your child to help with the weighing, measuring and mixing. When your cakes are ready, you could lay out your own tea party. You could even invite some toys as extra guests.
For older children
Make a list of food that you would like to have for tea. Your child could try to sound out each word and write it down or write the first sound that they can hear in each word.
Ask your child to think about how they would react if a tiger knocked on the door. What adventures would they have together?
