Some of Roald Dahl’s books are a little gruesome for pre-schoolers but I have just started reading some of the less scary ones to my 4-year old. We are currently reading ‘James and the Giant Peach’, she has watched the film of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and we recently finished ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’.

One of her favourite activities is potion making, so she really loved the story of a boy who empties out every container in the house to make a special medicine.  I have to leave the girls toiletries out of reach to avoid them emptying bottles to make potions but that doesn’t stop them sneakily taking their dad’s, sister’s or my toiletries or climbing onto the stool to get food colourings from the cupboard.

I set up the mud kitchen in the garden with some of the ingredients from George’s Marvellous Medicine and a cauldron for mixing it in.

I set up the following ingredients:-

• A jug of water
• Shaving foam
• flour
• washing powder
• protein powder
• lip gloss
• bubbles
• paint

They poured the ingredients in

Don’t stir it yet, you can’t stir it until everything is in.

We forgot the animal powder, it won’t work without the animal powder.

Sorry we don’t have any animal powder because we don’t live on a farm like George.

Can we test it on the dog?

Sorry no, it’s just pretend it will make the dog sick.

I know we could put mud in it because George used brown shoe polish to make it brown and mud makes brown.

What else could we put in mummy? Maybe grass or petals?

After adding some grass and petals they asked for some more things from the house. We looked for what we could find. We added tea, mulled spices and cornflour.

I’m going to add more shaving foam.

My 2 -year- old practised squirting the foam, she was really getting the hang of it.

It’s full now, it’s ready.

Other Roald Dahl Activities for Pre-Schoolers.

• Read Roald Dahl’s books for younger readers, Esio Trot, The Enormous Crocodile, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Twits or The Minpins.
• Go on a bug hunt for the bugs from James and the Giant Peach
• Collect Peach Stones, observe them with magnifiers, make imprints in clay, make peach stone houses and stick them in sand to make a village, print with Peach stones, add them to the loose parts station for children to come up with their own ideas.
• Add flavourings to melted chocolate, make chocolate shapes in moulds and test the flavours.