RIC-20950 Early years Fantasy - Witches

EARLY YEARS THEMES 

Fantasy 

Witches 

A complete unit of lessons and activities

Early years themes—Fantasy 

Published by R.I.C. Publications ® 2011 

Copyright © R.I.C. Publications ® 2011 

RIC– 20950 

Titles in this series: 

Early years themes—Places 

Early years themes—People 

Early years themes—Animals 

Early years themes—Science 

Early years themes—Fantasy 

Early years themes—Fairytales 

Early years themes—Special days and celebrations 

Copyright Information 

Only the blackline masters contained within this 

publication may only be reproduced by the original 

purchaser for use with their class(es). The publisher 

prohibits the loaning or onselling of these blackline 

masters for purposes of reproduction. No other part of 

this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any 

means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying 

or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval 

system, without written permission from the publisher. 

Accompanying resources: 

Early years themes—Fantasy Posters (set of 5) 

Early years themes—Fantasy Stickers (set of 5) 

Early years themes Interactive CD (Places, People, 

Animals, Science) 

Early years themes Interactive CD (Fantasy, Fairytales, 

Special days and celebrations) 

Internet websites 

In some cases, websites or specific URLs may be recommended. While these are checked and rechecked at the time of publication, 

the publisher has no control over any subsequent changes which may be made to webpages. It is strongly recommended that the class 

teacher checks all URLs before allowing students to access them. 

View all pages online 

PO Box 332 Greenwood Western Australia 6924 

Website: www.ricpublications.com.au 

Email: mail@ricgroup.com.au

Early themes – Fantasy 

Foreword 

Early themes—Fantasy is one of a new series of teacher resource books designed to support teachers as they impart knowledge 

about commonly-taught themes in early childhood classrooms. The books contain a variety of ideas for using the themes to 

assist teachers as they convey early skills and concepts using cross-curricular activities in learning centres or whole-class 

activities. 

Titles in this series include: 

Supporting materials available from R.I.C. 

• Early themes—Places 

Publications ® to accompany these books 

• Early themes—People 

include posters, stickers and interactives. 

• Early themes—Animals 

• Early themes—Science 

• Early themes—Fantasy 

• Early themes—Fairytales 

• Early themes—Special days and celebrations 

Contents 

Teachers notes ......................................................................... iv – xiii 

The format of this series of books .............................................. iv – v 

An explanation of the icons ............................................................ vi 

About the artwork ......................................................................... vii 

About the resource sheets/blacklines ............................................... vii 

Curriculum links .......................................................................... viii 

Sample social skills checklist ......................................................... ix 

Sample language skills checklist ..................................................... x 

Sample fi ne motor skills checklist ................................................... xi 

Sample fundamental movement skills checklist ................................ xii 

Sample mathematics skills checklist .............................................. xiii 

Dragons...................................................................................... 1–20 

Fairy folk................................................................................... 21–40 

Monsters and giants .................................................................. 41–60 

Mermaids ................................................................................. 61–80 

Witches .................................................................................. 81–100 

R.I.C. Publications ® – www.ricpublications.com.au Early years themes—Fantasy iii

Teachers notes 

The format of this series of books 

This series of books is designed to cater for early childhood teachers who use learning centres and cross-curricular activities as 

a basis for planning activities to develop key concepts and skills. Teachers will easily be able to locate activity-based learning 

within this complete compilation of ideas. 

All of the five themes within each book follow the same format over 20 pages. Each theme consists of: 

1. A title or cover page with 

appropriate artwork which the 

teacher can utilise for themebased 

activities. 

2. A number of pages of cross-curricular learning activities to develop the 

theme. Those themes which relate closely to a specifi c learning area may 

have more activities in key learning areas such as science. All themes 

have activities which are predominantly ‘hands-on’. 

Cross-curricular activities 

• Make a chart or set of cards of fairy folk-related 

words, such as fairy, wand, magic, wings, toadstool. 

Draw a picture next to each. Provide magnetic letters 

or stamps of each of the letters in the words. The 

children can choose a word, make it with the stamp 

letters or magnetic letters, then draw a picture of the 

word they made. (Language) 

English 

• Give children laminated pictures of characters from a 

fairy-related story they know, and a few props, such 

as a magic wand, a pillow, some dress-up wings 

or a bag of ‘fairy dust’ (glitter). The children work 

in pairs or small groups with an adult to create and 

share a new story using the characters and props 

they have. (Literacy) 

• Add fairy stamps, glitter and clear or sparkling cellophane to the writing 

centre. Add glitter to playdough, with which the children can make the letter 

‘f’ or spell out ‘fairy’ (or other theme-related letters or words). The children 

can write or trace other focus letters with glitter glue pens. (Language) • Print or photocopy some pictures 

of fairies and other fairy folk. Glue 

• The children can draw or paint an imaginary fairy creature, or make one them onto card and laminate. Hide 

from playdough. They then give their creature a name and write as much the fairy folk pictures around the 

of that name as they can. Collect the images (or take photos of playdough classroom. Children go on a hunt 

creations) and compile then as a class book, or use these characters to to fi nd them and when they do, 

create your own class fairytales. (Literacy) 

they describe the creature using 

as many descriptive words as they 

can. (Literacy) 

• After reading stories involving different types of fairy folk, • Read a story such as the Brothers Grimm’s ‘The elves and 

talk about some of the characteristics of the folk. Ask the the shoemaker’. Give each child a large piece of paper 

children to give some descriptions of the typical traits of folded into thirds. The children draw the beginning, middle 

folk; for example: fairies are often mischievous, gnomes and end of the story, then retell it in their own words using 

are often grumpy. Ask the children to select one type their pictures as cues. (Language) 

of fairy folk or a character from a story they associate 

• The children can draw or ‘write’ a letter to the tooth fairy 

with or feel they are like in some way. They draw this 

(after reading a storybook such as Dear Tooth Fairy by 

character and tell an adult (who scribes) why they 

Alan Durant) on tooth- or fairy-shaped paper. (Language) 

feel they are like this character; for example, ‘I am like 

Bashful, the dwarf, because I am a bit shy sometimes’. • Introduce the letter ‘f’ with a fl ower fairy (a fairy fl ying over 

(Literature) 

a fl ower drawn in an ‘f’ shape). (Language) 

• Make pairs of cards with pictures and names of characters from a story the children know. Place these face down in a 

grid. The children turn over two cards and try to link the two characters in some way. For example, if the class is studying 

Sleeping beauty and a child turns over images of Malefi cent and the Prince, the child could say, ‘Malefi cent tried to kill the 

Prince’. If a child connects the two characters, he/she keeps the cards, if not the cards must be returned. (Literacy) 

• Do some ‘magic writing’. The children write • With the children, plan a fairy party with fairy bread, fairy 

target letters (such as ‘f’ for fairy or copy whole cupcakes (see recipes page 37) and games (page 26). 

words) in white crayon. They then go over the The children can make invitations to parents or others in the 

writing with a tempera paint wash and the writing centre. Once written, add glitter, roll into a scroll and 

letters will magically appear. (Language) 

tie with coloured ribbon. (Language) 

• Listen to stories about fairy folk. Make up a sound for each of the main characters, such as ‘La, la, la!’ for the fairy, ‘Grumble, 

grumble!’ for the troll or ‘Stomp, stomp!’ for the giant. Each time the character is mentioned, the children make the sound that 

goes with him/her. (Literacy) 

22 Early years themes—Fantasy—Fairy folk www.ricpublications.com.au – R.I.C. Publications ® 

3. Background information with useful 

facts about the theme. 

4. A list of concepts to be developed 

provides suggested developmentallyappropriate 

learning outcomes that 

are achieved by completing the 

theme. 

iv Early years themes—Fantasy www.ricpublications.com.au – R.I.C. Publications ®


The format of this series of books 

5. A small number of resource/blackline pages which can be used 

to create games or oral language activities, as templates for art 

and craft activities or as worksheets for more capable children who 

are beginning to read and understand mathematical concepts. 

6. Recipes relating to the theme—simple 

cooking and non-cooking recipes, 

including those for manipulative play, 

such as ‘goop’. 

Recipes 

Cute cupcakes witches 

Ingredients 

• 1 packet cupcake mix 

• green food colouring 

• vanilla frosting 

• 2 tsp. milk 

• assorted food colouring of your choice 

• 12 to 16 small ice-cream cones 

• Fruit Roll-ups , licorice and assorted candies of your choice 

Instructions 

• Make cupcakes and allow to cool. Tint half of frosting green and use on cupcakes. Combine remaining frosting and milk, add 

choice of food colouring and coat ice-cream cones. Decorate cone hats with cut out shapes from Fruit Roll-ups . Add licorice 

for hair and candies for faces of the cupcakes. Place a cone hat on each cupcake witch. 

Ice-cream witches 

Ingredients 

• lime ice-cream (or vanilla ice-cream tinted with green food colouring) 

• black licorice strips, red and orange round candy 

• apple segment 

• ice-cream cones 

Instructions 

• Place scoops of lime ice-cream on a sheet of baking paper. Decorate quickly using black licorice strips for the hair, round red 

or orange lollies for the eyes and an apple segment for the nose. Add a small ice-cream cone for the hat. Place in freezer for 

15 minutes, then serve. 

Spider cake 

Ingredients 

• 2 round (15-cm wide) white sponge cakes 

• green jelly 

• chocolate icing 

• blue food colouring 

• 2 large round pieces of candy for eyes 

• 4 fl at long licorice strips 

Instructions 

• Make green jelly and place in fridge to set. Place one cake on 

a platter and cut a circle out of the centre for the spider’s head. 

Fill hole in cake with set jelly. Place other cake on top. Place the 

spider’s head in place on the platter. Prepare chocolate icing, 

then add blue food colouring until it looks blackish. Cover spider 

with icing. Cut licorice in half and attach to cake to make 8 legs. 

Add eyes and place cake in fridge until ready to serve. 

Note: The spider should ooze green slime when cut. 

96 Early years themes—Fantasy—Witches www.ricpublications.com.au – R.I.C. Publications ® 

7. Display ideas for art and craft or 

specifi c learning centres. 

8. A list of literature resources to 

complement the theme, including 

songs, action rhymes and fi ction 

and nonfi ction books. 

9. A notes section to enable the teacher 

to record useful websites or resources 

relating to the theme, or other 

worthwhile activities or ideas etc. 

R.I.C. Publications ® – www.ricpublications.com.au Early years themes—Fantasy v


An explanation of the icons 

A number of icons have been used throughout the cross-curricular activities sections to make it easier and quicker for teachers to 

locate appropriate learning activities. 

Fine motor activities—building with blocks, puzzles, sorting, sand and water play, sensory items 

such as ‘feely boxes’, playdough or clay work, threading, chalkboards, construction using recycled 

materials such as boxes 

Outdoor play—sand and/or water play (see also ‘fi ne motor activities’); gross motor activities such as 

climbing, balancing, bikes, scooters, jumping, throwing, obstacle course activities etc.; tracking activities 

using balloons and bubbles etc.; other messy art activities 

Dramatic play—home corner, dramatising stories, dressing up, puppets, shopping etc. 

Art and craft—free painting, directed and supervised painting, 

craft (assisted and independent) 

Computer—suggestions for simple games or activities (usually 

individual or in pairs) or relevant internet activities 

Cooking—supervised activities, some of which use heat 

Games—indoor or outdoor games relating to literacy such as card games, memory 

games etc.; mathematics, singing games, any physical education games involving 

movement etc. 

Writing—tracing, copying, writing on, and with, different things—cards, different types of paper etc.; 

adding patterns or stripes etc.; tracking and following paths, dot-to-dot activities etc. 

vi Early years themes—Fantasy www.ricpublications.com.au – R.I.C. Publications ®


About the artwork 

All the artwork in this series of books is: 

• age-appropriate 

• teacher- and child-friendly 

• an additional resource to help develop the theme 

• suitable for enlarging for: 

~ colouring 

~ handwriting 

~ dot-to-dot sheets 

~ use as templates for art and craft activities 

~ visual texts to encourage oral language development. 

Some artworks are based on simple shapes to support learning in the mathematics area; others are more elaborate. It is 

anticipated that early childhood teachers will view an illustration based on shapes and be able to use this idea to develop 

concrete play activities using shapes or as a technology and design project. More elaborate artwork is used to demonstrate a 

teaching resource which needs to be made, a recipe, game or other activity. 

Examples of artwork relating to art and craft activities have wide, bold, easily visible cutting outlines to allow the children some 

variation in the cutting path they will use. 

About the resource sheets/blacklines 

All resource sheets/blacklines contain: 

• simple, age-appropriate artwork 

• prominent visual clues 

• little or no text 

• visual clues to support text pages 

• few instructions, so as not to confuse beginning readers 

• teacher instructions in the margins with a number of 

different suggestions for using the resource sheet/blackline 

• literacy and numeracy activities. 

These resource sheets/blacklines are included as valuable 

time-savers for teachers. 

It is anticipated that the teacher will enlarge any pages to A3 

size and photocopy them onto more durable paper or card, to 

make them easier for learners of this age group to manipulate. 

The cross-curricular section of each theme includes a reference 

to resource sheets/blacklines relating to specifi c activities. 

R.I.C. Publications ® – www.ricpublications.com.au Early years themes—Fantasy vii


Curriculum links 

All the learning activities in this series of books support the key learning areas of the current curriculum documents. 

In particular, one or more activities also support each strand of the new English and Mathematics National Curriculum. The 

specifi c strands from the National Curriculum relating to each activity are denoted by the words in brackets in the English and 

Mathematics learning areas of the cross-curricular section. 

For example, in the ‘Dragons’ theme: 

English Identify the initial letter ‘d’ for ‘dragon’. Brainstorm, record and display words which begin with ‘d’. Use 

the dragon outline on page 10 to display your ‘d’ words. (Language) 

Mathematics Use arbitrary units to calculate the area of various dragon footprints. (Measurement and Geometry) 

Reference to both is shown below. 

Relevant curriculum reference 

NSW 

Qld 

SA 

Vic. 

WA 

National Curriculum: refer to pages 6 and 11 of Shape of the Australian Curriculum: English 

National Curriculum: refer to pages 6 and 7 of Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics 

National Curriculum: Science learning activities also support pages 6 and 7 Shape of the Australian 

Curriculum: Science 

Belonging, being and becoming: The early years framework for Australia (2009) 

Refer to Early years curriculum guidelines page 55 (Table 9: A 

summary of the learning statements in the early learning areas) 

and pages 61–75. 

Refer to ‘Early years band: Age 3–Age 5’. South Australian 

Curriculum, Standards and Accountability at . 

Refer to Victorian Essential Learning Standards Level 1 at 

. 

Refer to K-3 scope-and-sequence charts at . 

viii Early years themes—Fantasy www.ricpublications.com.au – R.I.C. Publications ®


Sample social skills checklist 

Date: 

Student name 

separates easily 

from parents 

interacts readily with 

adults 

interacts readily with 

peers 

shares with others 

and takes turns 

participates in group 

activities 

cooperates with 

others 

accepts 

responsibility for 

own behaviour 

respects the property 

of others 

respects the feelings 

of others 

listens without 

interrupting 

expresses feelings 

appropriately 

solves simple 

problems 

is developing an 

awareness of the 

wider community 

R.I.C. Publications ® – www.ricpublications.com.au Early years themes—Fantasy ix


Sample language skills checklist 

Date: 

Student name 

communicates needs clearly 

articulates most words correctly 

relates personal experiences 

contributes to discussions 

uses age-appropriate 

vocabulary 

articulates most initial sounds 

correctly 

asks appropriate questions 

speaks in complete sentences 

relates events in order of 

occurrence 

able to tell a story from pictures 

retells a familiar story without 

pictures or clues 

uses simple compound 

sentences 

responds appropriately to 

questions about himself/herself 

listens to a story for a given 

length of time 

follows simple two-step 

instructions 

knows his/her fi rst and last 

name 

recognises rhyming words 

answers simple oral cloze 

questions 

labels emotions such as happy, 

sad, angry, scared … 

x Early years themes—Fantasy www.ricpublications.com.au – R.I.C. Publications ®


Sample fine motor skills checklist 

Date: 

Student name 

completes simple puzzles 

builds a tower of eight or more 

small blocks 

dresses himself/herself (apart 

from buttons and shoelaces) 

manipulates playdough to 

create a specifi c object 

places small pegs in small 

holes 

threads small beads 

uses scissors to cut out simple 

shapes and pictures 

completes simple folding 

activities 

uses a knife, fork and spoon 

correctly 

holds a crayon or pencil 

correctly 

colours within lines 

writes or copies own name 

draws and copies simple 

pictures 

copies a sequence of letters or 

numbers adequately 

traces or recreates patterns 

R.I.C. Publications ® – www.ricpublications.com.au Early years themes—Fantasy xi


Sample fundamental movement skills checklist 

Date: 

Explicit teaching 

Exposure 

Student name 

balances on one 

foot (static balance) 

runs 

jumps vertically 

catches a ball or 

beanbag 

hops 

throws a ball or 

beanbag using an 

overarm movement 

gallops sideways 

skips 

leaps 

kicks a ball 

strikes a ball or 

object using a twohanded 

strike 

dodges a ball or 

object 

xii Early years themes—Fantasy www.ricpublications.com.au – R.I.C. Publications ®


Sample mathematics skills checklist 

Date: 

Number and algebra Measurement and geometry Statistics and probability 

Student name 

recognises numerals 1 to 

writes numerals 1 to 

rote counts to 

places numerals to 

in correct order 

understands one-to-one 

correspondence 

understands ‘more than’ or ‘less 

than’ 

able to do simple addition and 

subtraction using concrete materials 

shares collections 

creates or completes a pattern 

measures using everyday items 

makes comparison of size and 

length 

recognises basic shapes 

identifi es attributes of objects and 

collections 

is aware of devices used for 

measuring (scales, tapes etc.) 

shows awareness of 

(money, temperature, time etc.) 

sorts or orders objects 

is aware of collections and 

presentations of data 

interprets data in a display 

makes predictions about chance 

events 

R.I.C. Publications ® – www.ricpublications.com.au Early years themes—Fantasy xiii


English 

• Explore reasons why bats are associated with witches, such as their dark colour, where they live, when they fl y and that they 

are often one of the ingredients in witches’ spells. (Literacy) 

• Make up a list of ingredients (with specifi c quantities) for a witch’s potion; e.g. 5 frog legs, 2 lizards. Write each ingredient 

on a card and attach the cards to a large cauldron drawn on a large sheet of paper and displayed on the wall. Encourage the 

children to collect pictures or make drawings of the ingredients to add to the cauldron. They can practise reading the displayed 

recipe. (Literacy) 

• Read Bony legs by Joanna Cole. Encourage the children to talk about the witch, why she was wicked and how the little girl 

was able to trick her and escape. (Literature) 

• Compile a Y-chart, recording children’s ideas about what a witch looks like (e.g. black, ugly); sounds 

like (e.g. screeching, cackling) and feels like (e.g. scary, wicked). Children can ‘read’ the words from 

the chart. (Literacy) 

• Read the story of ‘Hansel and Gretel’. Talk about how the witch tried to trick the children. Possible 

reasons include: by living in a house made of sweets so children would like it and want to stay; 

pretending to be kind; giving Hansel lots of food to eat. Then discuss how the children tricked the witch; 

for example: poking a bone out of the cage and persuading the witch to put her head in the oven. 

(Literature) 

• Collect pictures of black things and glue them on a wall chart divided into two sections: ‘Black things 

we like’ and ‘Black things we don’t like’. Label each picture and encourage children to read the labels. 

Each child can have a turn to choose and talk about one of the pictures and to explain why he or she 

likes or dislikes that particular black thing. They could also try to speculate whether a witch would agree with them.(Literacy) 

• Read the story ‘Rapunzel’ and talk about the good and bad 

things the witch did; for example: she looked after Rapunzel 

well, was kind to her and visited her every day; but she 

locked her away in the tower, cut off her hair, tricked the 

prince into climbing up the cut-off hair, made the prince so 

sad that he jumped off the tower and became blind and sent 

Rapunzel to live by herself in the desert. (Literature) 

• Retell the story of Rapunzel, using a series of pictures as 

prompts. Then give a group of children sitting in a line a 

picture each and ask the fi rst of them to retell his or her 

part of the story. After the child has fi nished, encourage the 

listeners to add any details the reteller has missed, then 

proceed to the next child and picture and repeat the process. 

The children can then take turns at retelling the part of the 

story related to each picture. (Literature) 

• Draw a large picture of a witch and display it on a board. 

Give the children cards with words to be placed near each 

appropriate part of the witch. Examples include: hat, nose, 

mouth, eyes, head, hands, feet, broomstick, shoes, cloak 

and raven. Children can practise reading the cards. (Literacy) 

• Read Winnie the witch by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul. 

As a class, think of other names beginning with ‘W’ to call a 

witch. Clap the syllables in each name. (Literature) 

• Turn the book corner into a bat cave, using large 

cardboard boxes painted black or with tables and 

blankets. Some bats, cobwebs and spiders could be 

added. Use the cave to read books about bats. The cave 

could also be used for dramatic play. (Literature) 

• Provide laminated cards for children to use in the writing 

corner. Write a word related to witches (adjectives and 

nouns) on each card. Place pictures of each word in 

a box and encourage children to match them to the 

words. (Language) 

82 Early years themes—Fantasy—Witches www.ricpublications.com.au – R.I.C. Publications ®

Witches – 1 

Mathematics 

• Ask children to pretend that one of them is a witch or wizard who wants to cast a spell on the principal but doesn’t know 

where the principal’s offi ce is and how to get there. The other children all want to help turn the principal into a frog, so they 

have to tell the witch how to reach the offi ce. (Measurement and Geometry) 

• Put about 10 cm of water in a large pot and colour it black by adding a small amount of tempera paint. Add about 10 

‘witches’ worms’; these can be polystyrene s-shaped packing pieces or coloured jelly snakes. Children take turns to grab 

some ‘worms’, which they then count before replacing them in the pot. (Number and Algebra) 

• Discuss unpleasant animals and make a list of 

those the children don’t like, including some of the 

creatures associated with witches. Encourage the 

children to talk about these animals. Ask them to 

think about which creature they think is the worst. 

The children can then vote to fi nd the animal the 

class most dislikes. Tally the votes and record the 

scores. Use this information to make a pictograph 

or a simple bar graph. (Statistics and Probability) 

• Teach a rhyme such 

as ‘Five small bats’ 

to help the children 

count backwards from 

fi ve to zero. (Refer to 

page 99.) (Number 

and Algebra) 

• Make sets of eight spider cards, giving each spider a different number of legs. Children then arrange the spider cards in 

order according to the number of legs they have. (Number and Algebra) 

• Make patterns for children to complete using witch-themed stickers; for example: 1 witch, 3 black cats, 1 witch, 3 black 

cats ... (Number and Algebra) 

• Draw the outline of a large witch with clearly defi ned features and attach it to the fl oor. Give the children blocks or short 

lengths of wood and ask them to measure how many blocks long her head, legs, arms, hands etc. are. (Measurement 

and Geometry) 

• Children sort a collection of pictures of witch-related animals into; for example, toads and cats, and then sort them again 

according to colour. Then they describe the groups they have made; for example: ‘I have 3 blue cats, 1 yellow cat, 2 

green toads and 2 black toads.’ (Number and Algebra) 

• Cut lolly snakes of different colours and lengths in half and mix them up. (Note: To ensure you start with snakes of 

different lengths, you will need to make some shorter by cutting a piece off before halving them.) Children will need to 

understand that halves are of equal size in order to match the snake parts correctly. (Measurement and Geometry) 

• Teach the comparatives: bigger, biggest; smaller, smallest; taller, tallest; and shorter, shortest using three different-sized 

pictures of witches and associated creatures. Children can demonstrate their understanding of the concept by selecting 

the appropriate pictures. They could then complete a simple worksheet by circling or colouring the relevant drawings. 

(Measurement and Geometry) 

R.I.C. Publications ® – www.ricpublications.com.au Early years themes—Fantasy—Witches 83


Science 

• Place some real spiders in a glass jar for the children to observe. They could, for example, count their legs, determine their 

body parts and describe their behaviour. Explain that the spiders will need to be returned to their natural environment later in 

the day. 

• Make ‘magic milk’. Pour some milk on a shallow plate and add a few drops of food colouring. A few drops of liquid soap is 

then added to magically change the milk. 

• Discuss bats with children to determine their understanding. Many children 

will be unfamiliar with these animals and may even be confused about 

whether they are real or imaginary. They will benefi t from opportunities to 

engage with some well-illustrated informational texts. Encourage them to 

provide facts about real bats, such as they are not blind; they hang upside 

down; eat fruits, fl owers, leaves, insects, frogs, fi sh and small mammals and 

reptiles; and their young are called ‘pups’. 

• Introduce this activity by talking about cats and ravens and how witches 

often use both of them as helpers to, for example, collect ingredients for their 

potions and to collect information by acting as their spies. Compare these 

two animals by discussing obvious similarities and differences, recording this 

information on a chart using words and illustrations. A poster-sized picture of 

each may help children to generate ideas. 

• Talk about the life cycle 

of frogs and toads and 

collect or draw pictures 

to make a chart showing 

an adult, eggs, young 

tadpoles without legs and 

with long tails, and mature 

tadpoles with short tails 

and developing legs. 

• Make a bubbling witch’s brew. Fill a small 

witch’s ‘cauldron’ with two tablespoons 

of water and a few drops of blue food 

colouring. Add one tablespoon of baking 

soda and stir until it dissolves. Pour two 

tablespoons of vinegar into a separate 

cup and add a few drops of yellow food 

colouring. Pour all the vinegar into the 

cauldron and watch it change colour and 

bubble up. Note: The ‘cauldron’ should be 

placed on a tray to catch the overfl ow. 

Society and environment 

• Find some illustrations of witches’ homes and look at and talk about 

some of their features; for example: the location—perhaps on a cliff 

or in a deserted, lonely place; the colour:—often black and gloomy; 

surroundings—perhaps stark trees, cobwebs and scary black creatures. 

Encourage children to talk about their own homes and how they differ 

from witches’ homes. 

• Discuss friends and friendship, encouraging children to talk about their 

friends and some of the things they do together. Pose the questions: 

– Do witches have friends? 

– Do they do the things you do with your friends? 

– Would you like to have a witch as your friend? 

Encourage the children to discuss and explain their answers. 

• Brainstorm and make a list of different forms of transport children use or know about. They can look through magazines 

to fi nd pictures of each type to glue on a chart. Discuss each form and ask how a witch gets from one place to another. 

Encourage the children to speculate about whether a witch would use any of these and to explain why or why not. 

Possible reasons could include: people wouldn’t want to sit next to a witch, they would be worried she’d turn them into 

something, and that she would think it was too slow or too boring. 



Visual arts 

• Make black bats by cutting out a line of three egg carton cups. Turn the 

two end cups into wings by cutting away part of the front and back to form 

scallop shapes. Paint black and allow to dry before gluing some eyes on 

the middle cup. Make two small holes on the top of this section. Thread 

black wool or elastic through the holes and hang up. 

• Weave a web by fi rst punching 20 holes around a paper plate, all about two centimetres from the edge. Weave a random 

pattern from one hole to another, using dark-coloured wool or string. Use adhesive tape to attach the beginning and end to the 

back of the plate. Add some ‘fl ies’ by twisting small rectangles of black crepe paper and placing them in the web. 

• Create a polystyrene cup spider. Turn the cup upside down. Use eight 

pipe-cleaners to make the spider’s legs by pushing them through the 

open end of the cup about one centimetre from the edge. Ensure 

the legs are not too close together or the cup may crack and come 

apart. Glue big eyes on the cup and use a black marker pen to draw 

the spider’s mouth. 

• Make a paper plate witch. Cut out a simple witch’s hat outline from black paper. Make the witch’s face by painting a paper plate 

green and allowing it to dry. Trace around the children’s hands on orange construction paper to make the witch’s hair. When cut 

out, glue the hands (orange hair) to the green plate, then add the black hat. Use marker pens or shapes cut from black paper 

to add the witch’s eyes, nose and mouth. 

• Staple a small paper plate (the spider’s head) securely to a larger one (the spider’s body). Paint 

the plates black on both sides. Make spider’s eyes from white paper and glue them on. Add 

black streamers for legs. Add a piece of string and suspend the spiders from a longer 

length of string stretched across the room. 

• Use large triangular shapes cut from pieces of black fabric as wizards’ hats. Glue the 

‘hats’ to a sheet of coloured paper. Ask the children to glue smaller shapes cut from 

brightly coloured fabric, glitter and other collage materials to decorate their hats. 

• Make witches’ hands. Trace around the children’s hands on green card or paper 

and cut them out. Make pointed ovals from coloured card or paper to use as long 

fi ngernails and glue them on. Stickers or glitter can be added to the nails for greater 

effect. Marks such as warts and veins can be drawn on the hands to make them even 

more unattractive. 

• Make a witch’s broom, using a strong 

straight stick about 1.5 metres long. Find 

some thin twigs all about 50 cm long. 

Tie strong string to the stick about 20 cm 

from the end and wrap it around the fi rst 

layer of twigs and tie them tightly to the 

stick. Add layers of twigs until the broom 

is quite thick. Make a band of string about 

6 cm wide around the outside of the twigs 

to hold them all in place. Children can 

talk about how witches use their brooms. 

They can then use their own brooms to 

sweep up leaves or to play the singing 

game ‘Old mother witch’. Refer to . 

• Use a large black rubbish bin liner to create a wizard 

cape. Cut about 2 cm along the edge of the closed end 

of the bag. This can be used later as the tie around the 

top of the cape (instead of ribbon). Cut the bag down 

one seam and unfold it to make a large rectangle shape. 

Fold and tape down a 10-cm seam across the top edge 

of the cape. Make slits along this seam and thread 

ribbon or the cut-off strip of plastic through the slits to tie 

the cape around the wizard’s neck. Turn the cape to the 

other side and use clear tape to attach glittery moon and 

star shapes to decorate the outside of the cape. Use for 

dramatic play. 

• Make cat puppets by painting a paper bag black. Glue on 

collage materials for eyes, nose, mouth and whiskers. 

Twist the corners of the bag carefully to make the cat’s 

ears. The children can take turns to interview puppets to 

ask questions such as how the cat helps its witch and 

why they are always black. 



Health and physical education 

• Play ‘What’s for dinner, Mrs Witch?’ This game is played like the traditional ‘What’s the time, Mr Wolf?’ Mrs Witch (or Mr 

Wizard) hides her/his eyes and the other children line up behind and chant, ‘What’s for dinner, Mrs Witch/Mr Wizard?’ 

The answer could be, for example, fi ve worms, one toad, three spiders or two rats, and they move forward that many 

steps. When they hear the answer ‘You’, they all turn and run. Mrs Witch/Mr Wizard turns and chases them and the fi rst 

one she/he catches becomes the next Mrs Witch/Mr Wizard. 

• Play ‘Don’t stop on my hat’. Draw a large outline of a witch’s hat, colour it black, cut it out and place it fl at on the ground. 

The children line up and walk over the hat and back around in a circle. Play music and when it stops, the child standing 

on the hat or the last one to cross it, is out of the game. The last child standing is the winner. 

• Go on a witch hunt. Provide a ‘witch’, which could be a witch toy, an illustration of a witch or even an adult dressed 

as a witch. Set a trail for the children to follow to fi nd the witch. Then complete individual cards, each with a list of very 

simple written instructions with pictorial clues, and then hide them in various places. Each card leads the children to the 

location of the next card, until fi nally the witch is found. The witch hunters can take turns trying to read the cards. 

• Make a list of the horrible things a witch might put into her cauldron to cook. Discuss whether any of the ingredients she 

might use would be healthy. Explain that the things a witch could cook in her cauldron would be likely to make you very 

sick or change you into some other creature. Then ask the children to suggest some healthy food for the witch to cook. 

This food could be written in a list, with matching pictures cut from magazines added. 

• Talk to children about how different people and animals move. Encourage them to stride along like a witch or to ride on 

a pretend broomstick. They could then jump like a toad, fl y like a raven or a bat, creep like a cat, or scurry like a mouse 

or rat. 

• Children sit in a circle and one child, the witch, walks 

around the outside of the circle carrying a black spider. 

One vacant spot is left in the circle. The other children 

chant ‘Spider, spider, where are you? Black and hairy 

from the witch’s brew. Spider, spider, when you drop, 

I’ll start running to fi nd my spot’. The spider is dropped 

behind one child, who has to pick it up and race the 

witch to the vacant spot in the circle. If that child 

reaches the spot before the witch, he or she 

is safe and the witch has another turn. If 

the witch beats the child with the spider, 

that child must walk around and drop 

the spider behind another child and the 

game continues. 

• Play ‘Wicked Witch says’, a game based on the old, 

well-known game of ‘Simon says’. This game focuses 

on listening skills. In this game, the children can only 

do what Wicked Witch says. For example, if Wicked 

Witch says ‘stand up’, the children have to follow the 

command. But if an order is given such as ‘Put your 

hands on your head’, the children can not do it and 

are out of the game if they do. The aim is to trick the 

children into doing something not prefi xed with 

‘Wicked Witch says … ’ or into not following 

a Wicked Witch instruction. The last child 

left in the game is the winner. 



Drama 

• Children role-play being a witch. Provide props such as a container to use as a cauldron, something to stir with, broomsticks, 

bats, ravens, toads, witches’ or wizards hats, black cloaks and toy black cats. 

• Dramatise the scene from Sleeping Beauty in which the witch, who is sitting in an isolated room of the palace spinning yarn, 

is discovered by Sleeping Beauty as she wanders around the palace. Beauty asks her if she can try using the spinning wheel, 

but she pricks her fi nger and falls asleep. Ask the children to consider how the witch felt when this happened and what she 

may have said and done. Repeat with other familiar stories involving witches. 

• Role-play being a witch fl ying on her broomstick, describing all the things she can see from up in the sky. Children could chant 

‘Witch, witch, what do you see?’ and the witch could reply ‘I see a (name of an object) looking at me’. 

• Children take turns to role-play different creatures associated with witches, such as cats, ravens, toads and bats. The others 

have to decide which creatures they are representing by watching how they move and what they do. 

• Follow instructions to make a spell. Use a circular mat to represent the witch’s cauldron. The teacher reads from a recipe 

and adds the different ingredients by counting and selecting the appropriate number of children. For example, the recipe may 

require fi ve toads and three snakes. The children selected to be the ‘ingredients’ then have to role-play their particular creatures 

while they stand or sit on the mat. 

• Who has the witch’s cat? Children sit in a circle. One child, who is chosen to be the witch, 

is blindfolded and sits in the middle of the circle. A toy black cat is passed around the circle 

until the witch calls out ‘stop’. The child with the cat and all the other children put their hands 

behind their backs and pretend to be hiding the cat. The blindfold is removed and the witch 

has to fi nd the cat by asking the question ‘Do you have my cat?’ and guessing from the 

responses. When the cat is fi nally located, the child hiding the cat becomes the next witch. 

Technology (and design) 

• Discuss with the children the advantages and disadvantages of 

fl ying on a broomstick rather than in an aircraft. Talk about things 

such as fuel, cost, pollution, protection from weather, noise, 

speed, passengers and comfort. Work with the children to plan 

the features of the world’s best broomstick. 

• Design a candy house similar to the one owned by the witch in 

Hanzel and Gretel. It should be a very pretty house and it should 

taste delicious so children who go there will want to stay. Talk 

about suitable confectionary to use for the different parts of the 

house, such as the walls, the roof and the doors. Children may 

like to make their choices based, for example, on colours, size 

or taste. They may also like to consider planning the garden. 

• Visit . 

Music 

• Design a different 

witch’s hat that is 

more suited to be 

worn when fl ying 

on a broomstick 

and would stay 

on better. 

• Listen to the song ‘We’re off to see the wizard’ from The wizard of Oz. Clap or play 

percussion instruments to accompany the song. Encourage the children to join in to sing 

the chorus. 

• Play marching music (then skipping music) for children to move to as they go see the 

wizard. They can run away to running music when they are scared and want to leave. 

• Play ‘Pass the parcel’ 

while listening to 

songs about witches 

or wizards, or scary 

music. 

• Use voices and different instruments to produce witch sounds, such as cackling, 

screeching, bubbling and other related scary sounds, such as cats yowling, bats 

squeaking and children crying. 

• Play claves (clapping sticks) in different rhythms to mimic witches stomping, cats 

creeping around, bats fl ying, snakes slithering, toads jumping and children running 

away. Have the children indicate changes by varying speed and volume. 


Teacher background information 

In this unit within the theme of fantasy, the focus is on traditional witches as they are portrayed in fairytales. 

In traditional fairy stories, the witch is often seen as an evil fi gure who tries to harm others (particularly vulnerable children). She 

is usually portrayed as old and ugly with a large nose, warts on her face and gnarled claw-like hands. She is dressed in black 

and is not very sociable. Her face, hands and sometimes her shoes are all that are usually visible. She is seen occasionally 

during the day as well as at night when she rides across the sky on her broomstick. 

In fairy stories, the witch is seen as a solitary fi gure, shunned by people who fear her because of her appearance, evil nature and 

power. Her companions also tend to be black in colour and nature. A black cat and a black raven are her allies and assist her by 

spying on and locating people trying to escape or evade being captured. These creatures also access the unsavoury ingredients 

for the witch’s potions and spells she brews in her cauldron. 

The secret and special recipes a witch uses for her evil potions and spells are often written in a big black book which she and her 

companions guard carefully. These recipes, passed on from one witch to another (or stolen), are often seen as the source of her 

great power. 

Witches tend to live in dark, mysterious, secluded places surrounded by their black companions and other creatures such as 

bats, toads, snakes, lizards and rats, which they like to use in their evil potions. A witch is often seen sitting at home, stirring a 

magical brew that is boiling in a large black cauldron. Witches’ homes are generally not places that would attract children. The 

classic exception is the witch’s home in the story of Hansel and Gretel. It was beautiful to look at and taste, but its sole purpose 

was to attract children she could use for her own wicked ends. 

In traditional fairytales, a recurring theme is that of outsmarting or tricking a witch in order to escape her evil control; Hansel and 

Gretel escape because they are clever, and Snow White and Rapunzel are fi nally rescued by a handsome prince. 

Wizards 

Wizards are considered by some as male witches and feature in some activities despite the fact that, unlike witches, they do 

not appear in the most popular traditional fairytales. However, they have been included because wizards are well represented 

in popular children’s literature. Like Merlin in The sword in the stone, they are generally portrayed as wise, powerful magicians 

whose magic is performed to help a good person or for amusement rather than for malice. Wizards usually have a companion— 

a young man who is being taught their secrets and who is hoping to become as powerful and as wise as his mentor. Wizards 

often wear a wonderful cloak or cape covered with symbols of mystery and power, such as moons and stars. They are fi gures of 

respect, but a wizard is not someone a wise person would willingly cross. 

Concepts to be developed 

• Witches are not real. We read about them in fairy stories. 

• Witches in fairytales are often meant to be scary. 

• The witches in most fairytales are not good or kind and they are really mean to children. 

• Some good children in fairytales are so clever, they can trick wicked witches. 

• Witches can do magical things like fl ying on broomsticks. 

• Witches use spells to change people into other things or to make them do things. 

• The spells and potions witches need are made in big black pots called cauldrons. 

• Witches put horrible things in their potions and boil them. 

• While their potions are boiling, witches stir them and say magical-type things. 

• Recipes for spells and potions are written in a special black book. 

• Usually, witches are not friendly to people. 

• Black cats and black ravens are witches’ friends and help them do bad things. 

• Most fairytale witches are ugly, old ladies with warts on their noses. 

• Witches wear black clothes and a pointy hat. 

• The houses witches live in are usually dark and gloomy. 


Magic spell animals 

Instructions: Talk about each animal the witch is using in her nasty spell before the children colour the pictures. Reinforce the reading of the colour words. 

Colour the: 

back red. 

wings black. 

body green. 

eyes pink. 

skin yellow. 

pot black. 


Hansel and Gretel maze 


Instructions: Explain that Hansel and Gretel need to fi nd their way home from the witch’s cottage. They may fi nd it helpful to trace a path through the maze with their fi nger before using a coloured pencil to show it.

Dot-to-dot 

Instructions: Enlarge the page to A3 size and cut the pictures apart for use at separate times. Point to and count the numbers in the correct order fi rst so that the children are following the path with their eyes 

before using a pencil to join the dots to complete each picture and colour it. 

2 

3 

3 

2 

4 

1 

5 

1 

4 

6 

5 

7 

1 4 

7 

3 

2 

8 

6 

2 

1 

9 

10 

5 

3 

4 


Count the witch’s friends 

The 3rd 

bat is black. bats 

The 1st 

raven is black. ravens 

The 5th 

cat is black. cats 

The 6th 

spider is black. spiders 

The 2nd 

rat is black. rats 

The 4th 

toad is black. toads 


Instructions: This page includes practise of counting and ordinal numbers. Children count the number of each different creature and write that number in the box on the right. They then identify the ordinal number and 

colour the correct creature black.

Instructions: Photocopy or trace the worksheet onto stiff card. (In particular, the house shape should be reproduced on card.) Colour, cut out and glue each witch to her matching strip—Witch C should be 

attached sideways to the tip of her strip, while the others are attached facing up from the tips of their strips. Cut out and remove windows. Cut along the dotted lines and fold door back. Cut slits as marked and 

slide the witches in. Decorate the house with coloured candy shapes and cake sprinkles. 

Where’s the witch? 

A 

Glue here 

A 

C 

Glue 

here 

R.I.C. Publications ® – www.ricpublications.com.au Early years themes—Fantasy—Witches 93 

B 

A 

C 

B 

B 

C 

Glue 

here

Witch on a broomstick 


Instructions: The children colour the pictures, then glue some straw to the end of the broom. They cut out the witch and the broom then cut along the two dotted lines to create slits. The broom handle can be 

threaded through the slits and secured so that it does not fall out.

Finger spiders 

Instructions: Photocopy onto A3-size paper, allowing plenty of room on either side of the body to create legs using spread fi ngers. The children place four fi ngers on one side of the spider and trace around 

them to draw four legs, then do the same on the other side. They can draw features on the spider, count the fl ies and complete the spider’s web so all the fl ies are caught in it. 


Recipes 

Cute cupcakes witches 

Ingredients 

• 1 packet cupcake mix 

• green food colouring 

• vanilla frosting 

• 2 tsp. milk 

• assorted food colouring of your choice 

• 12 to 16 small ice-cream cones 

• Fruit Roll-ups , licorice and assorted candies of your choice 

Instructions 

• Make cupcakes and allow to cool. Tint half of frosting green and use on cupcakes. Combine remaining frosting and milk, add 

choice of food colouring and coat ice-cream cones. Decorate cone hats with cut out shapes from Fruit Roll-ups . Add licorice 

for hair and candies for faces of the cupcakes. Place a cone hat on each cupcake witch. 

Ice-cream witches 

Ingredients 

• lime ice-cream (or vanilla ice-cream tinted with green food colouring) 

• black licorice strips, red and orange round candy 

• apple segment 

• ice-cream cones 

Instructions 

• Place scoops of lime ice-cream on a sheet of baking paper. Decorate quickly using black licorice strips for the hair, round red 

or orange lollies for the eyes and an apple segment for the nose. Add a small ice-cream cone for the hat. Place in freezer for 

15 minutes, then serve. 

Spider cake 

Ingredients 

• 2 round (15-cm wide) white sponge cakes 

• green jelly 

• chocolate icing 

• blue food colouring 

• 2 large round pieces of candy for eyes 

• 4 fl at long licorice strips 

Instructions 

• Make green jelly and place in fridge to set. Place one cake on 

a platter and cut a circle out of the centre for the spider’s head. 

Fill hole in cake with set jelly. Place other cake on top. Place the 

spider’s head in place on the platter. Prepare chocolate icing, 

then add blue food colouring until it looks blackish. Cover spider 

with icing. Cut licorice in half and attach to cake to make 8 legs. 

Add eyes and place cake in fridge until ready to serve. 

Note: The spider should ooze green slime when cut. 


Recipes 

Tasty witches’ cauldrons 

Ingredients 

• 4 eggs 

• 1 

/ 2 

cup self-raising fl our 

• 1 1 / 2 

cups milk 

• 1 fi nely chopped onion 

• 1 grated zucchini 

• 1 cup grated cheese 

• 1 cup diced bacon, ham or pre-cooked vegetables (such as potatoes or pumpkin) 

Instructions 

• Grease muffi n tins. Place all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir well. Spoon into muffi n tins. Bake in a moderate 

oven for about half an hour or until golden and puffed. Can be served cold with salad. 

Ingredients 

• 1 packet chocolate buttons 

• 1 packet dried instant noodles 

• red M&Ms 

Instructions 

Freaky fruity broomsticks 

Ingredients 

• Fruit Roll-ups 

• thin pretzel sticks 

Instructions 

• Cut 5-cm strips from Fruit Roll-ups . Fringe one long side of 

each strip, leaving a 1-cm border along the top. Wet the upper 

edge of each strip and wrap it tightly around a pretzel stick. 

Witch’s hands 

Ingredients 

• unused clear, disposable gloves 

• popped corn 

• large red gum drops, jelly beans or jubes 

• rubber bands or ribbons 

Instructions 

• Make the witch’s fi ngernails by placing a red lolly in each fi nger 

of the gloves. Stuff the glove tightly with popcorn. Tie off the 

glove. Edible decorations can be added to the hand as rings. 

Chocolate spiders 

• Place the chocolate in a microwave and melt. Stir in 

noodles and mix. Drop spoonfuls onto tray covered 

with baking paper. Add two M&Ms for eyes. Allow to 

set in fridge. 


Display ideas 

A spider’s web 

• The children colour and cut out small black paper spiders. The spiders can be glued onto a 

large spider’s web drawn and displayed on a chart on the wall, or attached (using pins or 

a stapler) to a simple web woven with string or wool and stretched across a corner of the 

room. 

Spiders on webs 

• Make paper plate spiders. (See page 85.) Attach each spider to its own web by stapling it to 

a length of black wool. These spiders can then be tied to a piece of string stretched across the 

room and suspended. 

Sweet house 

• Draw a large outline of a house and explain that the children are going to make it into the witch’s house from the story of 

Hansel and Gretel. After discussing sweets the children like best, ask them to draw or paint colourful pictures of some of the 

different sweets they really like to eat. They can cut out these pictures and glue them on the house outline. Display the house 

and encourage children to talk about the pictures they glued on it and to explain what their sweets are called, what they taste 

like and why they like them. 

Witch on a broomstick 

• Display a large black silhouette of a witch fl ying on her broomstick. Use the picture to generate discussion about witches, such 

as what they look like, what they do, what they like and how the children feel about them. The children could suggest suitable 

names for the witch and vote to select the most popular one. Record some of the children’s responses on strips of card along 

with their names, to display next to the outline. 

Witch’s cauldron 

• Draw a large cauldron on a sheet of card. Photocopy pictures of about six of each 

possible ingredient—spiders, toads, lizards, rats, mice, cockroaches, eggs and 

snakes. Children can use these pictures to create their own spells by cutting out a 

particular number of each ingredient and gluing them on their own smaller cauldron 

shapes; for example: 2 lizards, 3 mice, 4 snakes, 1 toad and 5 spiders. They can 

‘read’ their recipes to others, then glue them around the large cauldron. After they 

have been displayed, the children can try to ‘read’ each other’s recipes. 

Witch’s house 

• Make a witch’s house, using cardboard boxes painted black. Add a witch, a 

cauldron, a broomstick, some bats, a black cat, a raven, spiders and spiders’ 

webs and some toads, lizards, mice, rats and other unpleasant features, and a big 

book with ‘Spells’ written on it. Make labels for the children to attach to the different 

features of the house and its inhabitants. 

Spiders and ravens 

• Display simple diagrams of a real spider with labelled body parts, and a raven 

with similar labels (e.g. head, legs, body) and some different ones (e.g. feathers, 

beak). Encourage children to compare the two animals and fi nd similarities and 

differences. 

Broomsticks and things that fly 

• Draw and display a large broomstick and talk about things that can really fl y. Add 

pictures of bats and ravens to the broomstick. Use pictures collected and cut from 

magazines to make a class collage of fl ying things. Ask the children to copy labels 

to place next to the pictures. 


Literature resources – 1 

Stories 

• Winnie the witch by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul 

• Bony-legs by Joanne Cole 

• The word witch by Margaret Mahy 

• The witch with a twitch by Layne Marlow 

• The frog prince by Jan Omerod 

• Guess what? by Mem Fox 

• Meg at sea (Meg and Mog series) by Helen Nicholl and 

Jan Pienkowski 

• Room on the broom by Julia Donaldson 

• Wendy the witch by Karen Dolby 

• What’s in the witch’s kitchen? by Nick Sharrat 

• The witch’s children and the queen by Ursula Jones 

Songs, action rhymes, fingerplays and poems 

Two black bats 

Two black bats hanging in a tree, 

One named Lisa, one named Lee. 

Fly away, Lisa. 

Fly away, Lee. 

Come back, Lisa! Come back, Lee! 

The witch’s pot 

What can I put in my witch’s pot? 

Stir it well and make it hot. 

I’ll add some toad’s legs to the pot. 

Stir it well and make it hot. 

(Children take turns to add more horrible things to the pot.) 

Five small bats 

Five small bats hanging by the door. 

One fl ew away and then there were four. 

Four small bats hanging in a tree, 

One fl ew away and then there were three. 

Three small bats looking down at you. 

One fl ew away and then there were two. 

Two small bats hiding from the sun. 

One fl ew away and then there was one. 

One small bat wasn’t having any fun. 

So he fl ew away and then there were none. 

Come for a ride 

Witches will be coming soon (Tune: London Bridge is falling down) 

Witches will be coming soon, coming soon, coming soon. 

Witches will be coming soon, 

Swish, swish, swish! 

Some black cats are with them, with them, with them. 

Some black cats are with them, 

Hiss, hiss, hiss! 

They are fl ying broomsticks, broomsticks, broomsticks. 

They are fl ying broomsticks, 

So watch out! 

Witch, witch 

Old witch, old witch, what do you see? 

I see a black cat looking at me. 

Black cat, black cat, what do you see? 

I see a little bat looking at me. 

Little bat, little bat, what do you see? 

I see a toad looking at me. 

Toad, toad, what do you see? 

I see a spider looking at me. 

Spider, spider, what do you see? 

I see a cauldron waiting for me. 

Run, run, run! 

Spells in pots (Tune: Frere Jacques) 

Witches are stirring, 

Witches are stirring, 

Spells in pots, 

Spells in pots. 

They can change you into a frog, 

Or make you bark like a dog. 

So take care! 

So take care! 

‘Can you come for a ride 

Across the night sky?’ 

Said the witch on her broomstick. 

‘Hop on, we’ll fl y.’ 

‘Take me’, said the mouse. 

‘Take me’, said the frog. 

‘Take me’, said the cat. 

‘Take me’, said the dog. 

So high on her broomstick, 

All of them fl ew 

Across the town ‘til morning 

When the sky turned blue. 


Literature resources – 2 

Songs, action rhymes, fingerplays and poems 

Stir the pot (Tune: Row, row, row your boat) 

Stir the pot, stir the pot, 

Make your wicked brew. 

Say the words, say the words, 

Or I’ll put a spell on you! 

Little witches (Tune: Ten little Indians) 

One little, two little, three little witches 

Four little, fi ve little, six little witches 

Seven little, eight little, nine little witches 

Ten little witches, looking for me. 

This is how the witches fly (Tune: London Bridge is falling down) 

This is how the witches fl y, witches fl y, witches fl y. 

This is how the witches fl y, 

Zoom, zoom, zoom! 

This is how the black cats cry, black cats cry, black cats cry. 

This is how the black cats cry, 

Yowl, yowl, yowl! 

This is how the ravens call, ravens call, ravens call. 

This is how the ravens call, 

Caw, caw, caw! 

This how the black bats move, black bats move, black bats move. 

This how the black bats move, 

Flap, fl ap, fl ap! 

This how the witches laugh, witches laugh, witches laugh. 

This is how the witches laugh, 

Cackle, cackle, cackle! 

Toad, toad 

Toad, toad, you’re croaking 

and jumping all around. 

What an awful noise you make 

When you’re on the ground! 

I am flying 

(Tune: Frere Jacques) 

I am fl ying, 

I am fl ying, 

On my broom, 

On my broom. 

All around the night sky, 

All around the night sky. 



Wicked witch 

(Tune: I’m a little teapot) 

I’m a really wicked witch, 

Just watch me fl y. 

Riding on my broomstick 

Across the sky. 

I can cast a spell on you 

As I fl y high. 

I can change you into a toad 

If I try. 

Notes:

RIC-20950 Early years Fantasy - Witches

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