Wow! Said the Owl tells the story of a curious owl who stays awake all day instead of having her usual sleep. Read or watch the story with your child and try the activities below. They will help your child to explore colours and understand the difference between night and day.
You can watch the National Literacy Trust reading Wow! Said the Owl below!
As you are reading the story together, encourage your child to join in with repeated parts of the story: “Wow! Said the owl.”
- Talk about what other things you can think of that are that colour.
- Count the number of objects you can see on the page, for example the number of butterflies and clouds.
- Talk about the things that your child does that make you say “wow!” For example, when they build a tall tower or help with the tidying up.
Colour play!
After you have finished the story, try these colour-themed activities together.
- I spy colours: Go outside to your garden or an outside space. Look around and play ‘I spy colours’, where one person says “I spy with my little eye, something blue.” Your child has to guess what it is. Try it with other colours.
- Rainbows: Paint or draw a rainbow. Talk about each colour as you use it. You might like to display this in your window.
- Colour sorting: Collect different coloured items from around your house. This could include toys, craft materials, clothes and kitchen utensils. Ask your child to sort them into different colours and talk about what they have done.
- Songs and rhymes: Sing these rhymes about colours. Ten Green Bottles, Baa Baa Black Sheep and I Can Sing a Rainbow
For older children
Talk about what the word 'nocturnal' means. Use the internet to look up owls and other nocturnal animals. You could find links to other stories about owls, such as Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and illustrated by Patrick Benson.
Watch the video
Watch a special recording of Wow! Said the Owl filmed for our Facebook page.