The Gruffalo song
You’ll need
Before you begin
- Decide where you’ll have your campfire – it doesn’t matter if it’s part of a residential event or just during a regular meeting.
- If you’re building your own campfire (rather than joining in with someone else’s) make sure you leave enough time – building and lighting a campfire can take a while. Always follow the correct safety procedures. For more information and tips, check out The perfect campfire.
- Print enough sheets to hand out – people don’t need one each, as long as there’s enough for everyone to see. Run through the words and tune so you’re prepared; this video with Julia Donaldson (the author of the book) may help you learn the tune.
Time to sing
- The person leading the activity should give out the ‘Gruffalo song’ sheets so everyone can see one. This is a great chance for everyone to practice sharing.
- The person leading the activity should introduce the song by calling out ‘What’s a Gruffalo?’.
- Everyone should reply by saying ‘A Gruffalo! Why, didn’t you know?’.
It might be helpful for some other adults (or older young people) to show everyone what to do at first. Have as many practices as you need.
- Everyone should learn the song. It’s up to the person leading the activity how they do this – they could listen to the whole song first, or break it down into chunks.
- Everyone should sing the song together.
Reflection
This activity was a chance for everyone to try something new and boost their self-esteem. Singing around a campfire can be a real mood lifter, and it’s a great chance to feel closer to your friends too. Did anyone feel a little nervous (or even a bit silly) to begin with? Perhaps people could put their hands up and then look around and see that lots of people felt the same (including some of the grown ups). It’s normal for people to feel anxious when they do something new, but the nerves go away when they get used to it. Everyone should put their hands up if, once they got used to it, they enjoyed themselves? Again, lots of people probably felt the same.
Give everyone a final thought to take away: when you try something new, it’s OK to feel a bit wobbly – lots of other people probably feel the same way. It’s worth pushing through, though: focus on the fun of exploring and discovering new skills, talents, and hobbies.
Safety
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
- Outdoor activities
You must have permission to use the location. Always check the weather forecast, and inform parents and carers of any change in venue.
- Fires and stoves
Make sure anyone using fires and stoves is doing so safely. Check that the equipment and area are suitable and have plenty of ventilation. Follow the gas safety guidance. Have a safe way to extinguish the fire in an emergency.
Why not add some actions in? You could make up your own, or use some Makaton signs. You could also add another verse or two of your own.
It’s OK for people to join in differently. Some people may want to sing, do actions, both, or neither. This video shows the Makaton signs for the song, which may work best for some people.
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
Why not write your own campfire song? Everyone could use their imaginations to create a story about the Gruffalo – maybe they could think about an adventure he’s been on or a silly dance he does before going to bed.
If everyone’s enjoying the song, it doesn’t have to end so soon. People could make up their own lyrics to add some extra verses.