• Reading
  • Writing
  • Math
  • Science
  • Gardening
  • Recipes
  • Cultural

The Educators' Spin On It

Learning Games and Activities

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Contact

By Amanda Boyarshinov 5 Comments

DIY Gruffalo Inspired Mouse Costume Headband

Costumes and pretend play are a great kids activity to make books come to life.  They can pretend to be the characters in the story: acting out the events in the book or creating their own story with the characters.  These interactions with the text build vocabulary and literacy connections.

DIY Gruffalo Inspired Mouse Costume Headband for Pretend Play and Learning: A Literacy Connection Educational Activity for Kids
This post contains affiliate links to books

This month, the virtual book club is reading books by Julia Donaldson.  Our house adores the Gruffalo and we have made a Gruffalo Apron for storytelling.  The mouse headband was a perfect pairing so that the children can take turns being the main characters in the story.

 
The Gruffalo
The Gruffalo’s Child

We love using felt because it is an easy material to work with and budget friendly.  This project took less than one hour and total supply cost was around $2.00.  My 8 year old sews the headbands together for her and her younger brothers, making it a great learn-to-sew project for after school as well!

DIY Gruffalo Inspired Mouse Costume Headband

Materials Needed:
Brown, white, pink, and black felt.
Scissors
Ruler (optional)
Needle and thread.

Directions to make the mouse costume headband:

1. Cut your mouse costume headband pieces out. I use a 3 inch band with that is 24 inches long and freehand the other pieces. You will need 2 ears, two white circles for the eyes, two small black circles for the pupils, a squashed pink triangle for the nose and 2 skinny black rectangles for the whiskers. I cut strips through the rectangles, but left them together at the end.

2. Assemble the pieces in the places you want.  Pin in place.

3. Using a straight stitch, attach the mouse features to the main headband piece. We added a little cotton batting under the nose to make it puff up a little bit.  Sew 2 /3 of the triangle nose, then gently stuff the cotton under and sew the remaining side.

4. Set the completed mouse costume headband around your child’s head to measure.  Sew the ends together so that it will fit around the top of their head.

 

5. Wear and act out parts of the stories!

 

  
The Gruffalo
The Gruffalo’s Child

For More DIY Costume Ideas for Play:

Gruffalo Costume Apron
Mouse Costume Headband
Owl Costume Headband
Duckling Costume Headband
Bunny Costume Headband

More Julia Donaldson Inspired Activities from the Virtual Book Club for Kids Bloggers


Room on the Broom Activities
Room on the Broom Activities by Inspiration Laboratories
Room on the Broom for a Rhyme by Ready Set Read
Room on a Broom Ordinal Numbers by Rainy Day Mum
Room on the Broom Sensory Bin by Still Playing School
Witch Hat Cupcakes for Kids by Coffee Cups and Crayons
Witch Hat Halloween Treat by The Pleasantest Thing
Witch Shape Craft by Toddler Approved

Stick Man Activities
Books for Kids: Stick Man by Growing Book by Book
Counting Ingredients into the Caldron by 3 Dinosaurs
Fancy Stick Crown by Mama Miss
Going on a Stick Hunt by Playing with Words 365
Recycled Stick Man Craft by LalyMom

The Gruffalo Activities
DIY Gruffalo Inspired Mouse Costume by The Educators’ Spin On It
Gruffalo Rhyming Tic Tac Toe Game by Royal Baloo
Gruffalo Themed Shape Animals by The Educators’ Spin On It
Roll a Gruffalo Game by Playdough to Plato
Color Pages by Crystal and Co

Like this idea? Pin for later or share now with a friend!

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Reading Tagged With: Amanda, Costume, Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson, Literacy Connections, Sewing, Virtual Book Club

About Amanda Boyarshinov

K - 12 masters reading teacher, author and mom to 3. Amanda is a National Board Certified teacher with oodles of experience in early childhood education.

« Preschool Weekly Lesson Plan
GoldieBlox Review: Keeping Our Girls Excited about Math and Science »

Comments

  1. Devany LeDrew says

    October 9, 2014 at 7:47 am

    How incredibly adorable! How did I miss your other headband creations? TOO CUTE!

    Reply
  2. Amanda Boyarshinov says

    October 9, 2014 at 8:46 am

    Thanks for your sweet words. My kids LOVE to sew and these are great for learning and then connecting with literature! Stay tuned for even more!!!

    Reply
  3. Growing Book by Book says

    October 10, 2014 at 9:15 pm

    I'm loving all of these costume ideas!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign Up for our Newsletter!

PRE-ORDER OUR BOOK!

The Big Book of Kids Activities

For ages…

Baby
Toddler
Preschool
Grade School

Find a Kid’s Activity

Popular Posts

spring virtual field trips for kids with flowers, trees, baby animals and more
10 things to put in a pinata that are not candy
Elementary School Classroom with tips for how to write a classroom placement letter for your child

You Might Also Like

earth day books for kids

Earth Day Books and Activities for Kids

Earth Day Kid Made Fruit Snack with Rice Cake, Blueberries and Grapes

Earth Day Snack Idea for Kids

earth day activities for kids

100 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day Every Day with Kids

earth day activity with sidewalk chalk

Earth Day Play with Chalk

10 Outdoor Activities for Kids this Spring

10 Ways to Tempt Your Kids to Go Outside and Play this Spring

Let’s Connect!

Kim Vij

Early childhood teacher, author, speaker and mom of 3. Kim Vij shares ways to make learning fun and parenting an adventure by sharing developmentally appropriate activities.
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Shop
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021