When Jack, the hero of Jack and the Dreamsack by Laurence Anholt and Ross Collins (Bloomsbury Publishing, 4.99) goes to sleep, he has wonderful dreams, so he decides to save them in a sack to enjoy when he is awake as well. Help children to follow Jack on his magical journey through fantasy landscapes, and extend their learning by linking the story to exciting play opportunities across the curriculum.
The journey starts
As you enter Jack's dreamworld, stimulate the children's imaginations by encouraging them to express their own fantasies.
* Find the picture of the pink twins in the pink beds. What would the world look like if everything was the same colour? Create spectacles from card and a range of coloured acetates or cellophane, and view the world through a different light.
* Look at the picture of the white snail dog. Discuss other fantasy combinations, such as a pink crocodile pig. Draw clear outlines of recognisable animals, all the same size, and cut them into three parts - a head, body and tail. Invite the children to try mixing and matching the parts to create imaginary creatures.
The book maze
Continue the journey through the book maze, increasing listening skills and early literacy along the way.
* Develop children's awareness of alliteration by asking them to repeat the phrase, 'long words lurking in the leaves'. Explain what is meant by 'lurking' and how the pages of a book are sometimes called 'leaves'.
Emphasise the repetition of the sound 'l' at the start of the words. Repeat the words 'hair' and 'chair', and explain that they are rhyming words. Does 'hair' and 'eggs', or 'chair' and 'beards' have the same effect?
* Explain the meaning of 'maze'. Jack's dream book maze was 'wild and dangerous' and he had to crawl through it. Look at some of the children's favourite story books and ask them why they chose them, and which ones they would include in a dream maze.
The finger forest
Develop movement skills as children negotiate the snapping, clapping finger forest.
* Explore the forest picture and suggest creating some finger branches. Ask most of the children to stand in two lines facing one another, with one line clapping and the other snapping their fingers. Invite the remaining children to walk between them, through the snapping and clapping forest.
How does it feel to be in such as busy, noisy place? Change places until all of the children have walked through the forest.
* Point to the leaping river and talk about the shapes of the waves. Invite the children to use their arms and legs to imitate the swirling, leaping movements.
The human zoo
Develop mathematical language and counting skills as you visit the human zoo.
* Use appropriate language to describe the size, shape and position of the fantasy creatures and objects in the zoo, for example, the 'long' bicycle, 'wide' fish and 'high' balloon bed. Can children see the 'small' car 'behind' the 'tall' one? Is the girl in bed 'above' or 'below' the fish?
* Count people, animals, boots and wheels. Are there more animals or people, or is the number the same?
The fruit salad tree
Learn about the process of growth, and look for similarities and differences as you discover the amazing fruit salad tree.
* Invite the children to identify the fruits on the tree. Suggest making a fruit salad tree by using half a grapefruit as the base and sticking plastic straws into it to represent branches. Wash and cut up a range of fruit and push the individual pieces on to the branches. Discuss similarities and differences in the look, smell, texture and taste of the fruits.
* Jack planted his dreamseed to grow a dreamtree. Plant a selection of seeds in small pots and discuss what they need to germinate. Observe the growth of the seeds and plant them outside if possible.
The Hohum Humdrum Waking World
In the end, Jack discovers that waking dreams are the best of all.
Encourage the children to discuss their own waking dreams about their favourite things.
* Look at the pictures of waking dreams and talk about them. Would the children like a baby brother or sister, or perhaps time with their best friend or a new pet, or would they dream of something different, such as being a firefighter?
* Can the children recall any sleeping dreams? Have they ever been frightened by a dream? Discuss these sensitively, perhaps on a one-to-one basis, and use Jack's experiences to stress that dreams are not real, just 'pictures in your head'.