By BEST Childcare Consulting
Achieving an Exceeding Rating with Roald Dahl Day Activities
Roald Dahl Day (13 September) can be celebrated in early childhood settings in ways that nurture imagination, play, and early literacy. With thoughtful planning, these activities can provide rich evidence for Exceeding practice across the National Quality Standard (NQS).
Top Tip, best Roald Dahl book for younger children
The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me is widely recognised as the most suitable Roald Dahl story for very young children. It is light, humorous, non-scary, and filled with opportunities for role play and imaginative storytelling. For video of the book reading https://youtu.be/GcreZG8urJ4?si=GxHcLdYYFHCUSo61
Why Roald Dahl?
Roald Dahl’s books are a wonderful way to combine fun with learning in the early years.
The playful language, rhymes, and repetition found in Dahl’s writing introduce children to the sounds and patterns of language. Listening to these stories helps toddlers and preschoolers develop vocabulary, comprehension, and a love for books from a young age.
Dahl’s characters are imaginative, exaggerated, and often funny. This sparks creativity in children, encouraging role play, storytelling, and symbolic thinking—all important foundations for problem-solving and future literacy.
Social and emotional learning also shines through Dahl’s stories. Themes of fairness, kindness, and resilience are presented in ways that are easy for young children to understand, while humour helps them explore emotions like surprise, joy, and even gentle suspense.
Finally, Dahl’s books are widely loved by families, making them perfect for shared reading at home and at the service. Celebrating Roald Dahl Day together builds strong links between families, children, and educators, creating a culture of reading for pleasure.
Activities for The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
1. Storytelling & Dramatic Play
- Window Washing Play: Set up a role play area with spray bottles (water only), cloths, and step ladders or chairs to pretend to “wash windows” like the giraffe, pelican, and monkey.
- Puppet Show: Use puppets or soft toys to retell the story. Children can take turns being the giraffe, pelican, or monkey. https://www.scribd.com/document/838621283/GIRAFFE-PELLY-AND-ME-ACTIVITIES
2. Art & Creativity
- Animal Collage: Children create giraffe spots, pelican beaks, and monkey tails from cut-out shapes and assemble them onto big posters.
- Bucket Painting: Provide buckets with brushes and water to “paint” fences or outdoor walls, linking to the window-cleaning theme.
3. Music & Movement
- Action Song: Create a fun song where children “stretch like a giraffe,” “flap like a pelican,” and “swing like a monkey.”
The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me (Action Song)
🎵 (To the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” — easy, repetitive, and familiar) 🎵
Stretch, stretch, stretch up high,
Like a tall giraffe!
Reach your arms up to the sky,
Let’s all have a laugh!
Flap, flap, flap your wings,
Like a pelican, whee!
Flap them fast and flap them slow,
Flying wild and free!
Swing, swing, swing along,
Like a cheeky monkey!
Swing your arms and sing this song,
Clap your hands with me!
- Parade Play: Organise a mini parade where children move around the playground as one of the animal characters.
4. Sensory & STEM Play
- Foam Window Cleaning: Provide shaving cream or soap foam on windows/glass easels for children to “clean” with squeegees.
- Measuring Tall & Small: Compare the giraffe’s height to children using blocks or ribbons. Invite children to build tall towers. https://www.science-sparks.com
5. Language & Literacy
- Story Sequencing: Provide picture cards of the giraffe, pelican, monkey, and Duke’s house to help children retell the story in order.
- Silly Rhymes: Encourage children to make up rhymes about animals just like Dahl did in his rhyming books. https://au.pinterest.com/ideas/rhyme-on-animals/948838048506/
6. Family & Community Engagement
- Family Storytime: Invite families to read or act out the story with children during pick-up or drop-off.
- Community Helpers Link: Connect the story to local cleaners or caretakers and invite them in to show how they care for buildings and spaces.
Extending Exceeding Practice Throughout the Year: The Ethos Behind Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl’s ethos is built around imagination, humour, curiosity, fairness, and the joy of storytelling. By embedding these values into your program across the year, your service can move beyond one-off celebrations and show a sustained culture of quality—key evidence for achieving an Exceeding rating.
1. Embed Imagination in Everyday Practice
Dahl’s stories remind us that imagination is at the heart of children’s learning. Services can extend this by providing open-ended play spaces, story baskets, and provocations that encourage children to “invent” new worlds, just like Dahl’s characters. For example, a “storytelling jar” with silly prompts can be revisited throughout the year, fostering creativity daily.
2. Use Humour and Joy to Strengthen Relationships
Humour is central to Dahl’s writing and is a powerful relationship-builder in early childhood. Educators can reflect on how humour, silliness, and shared laughter contribute to trust and belonging (QA5). Capturing these moments in documentation shows that relationships are not only respectful but joyful, supporting children’s wellbeing.
3. Promote Fairness, Kindness, and Resilience
Many of Dahl’s books highlight fairness, standing up for others, and bouncing back from challenges. Services can extend this ethos by embedding values education into daily practice—using social stories, circle times, and role play to discuss fairness, kindness, and problem-solving across the year. This links directly to Protective Behaviours and the NQF Child Safe Standards.
4. Strengthen Literacy Partnerships with Families
Exceeding practice is shown when families are meaningfully engaged. Services can invite families to share their favourite childhood stories, run “family storytime afternoons,” or contribute to a community book swap. This extends Roald Dahl’s storytelling ethos into a culture of shared literacy all year, strengthening QA6 evidence.
5. Link Leadership and Governance to Continuous Improvement
To sustain exceeding practice, leadership must embed story-rich, creative programming into service philosophy and planning cycles (QA7). Annual literacy calendars can be developed that highlight authors beyond Dahl, using his ethos as a starting point. Linking this to your QIP demonstrates governance, reflection, and a commitment to innovation.
Example Resources for Year-Round Practice
- Official Roald Dahl Create & Learn https://roalddahl.com
- World Book Day Resources – Early Years https://www.worldbookday.com/educators/resources/early-years/
- CBCA – Book Week Literacy Events https://cbca.org.au/childrens-book-week/
- Twinkl EYLF Storytelling Resources https://www.twinkl.com.au/resource/the-giraffe-and-the-pelly-and-me-book-review
QA1 – Educational Program and Practice
Embedded Practice
Educators consistently embedded the story into daily routines, offering role play experiences such as “window washing” with water sprays, puppet storytelling, and sequencing picture cards. Literacy learning was naturally integrated through rhymes and character play, building vocabulary and imagination.
Critical Reflection
The team reflected on how the story supports symbolic play and language development in under-fives. Educators considered pacing and story length to suit toddlers, adjusting experiences to short, engaging bursts. Reflection also highlighted the value of open-ended props that allow all children to participate.
Meaningful Engagement
Children were encouraged to choose which character they wanted to role play (giraffe, pelican, or monkey). Families received learning stories and were invited to share home photos of “helping jobs,” linking Dahl’s story to everyday experiences.
QA2 – Children’s Health and Safety
Embedded Practice
Hands-on activities like foam window washing and bucket painting were offered safely with age-appropriate materials. Active movement experiences (stretching like a giraffe, flapping like a pelican) promoted gross motor skills while reinforcing safety in climbing and balancing.
Critical Reflection
Educators reflected on how the story’s theme of “helping others” connected to safe, cooperative play. The team discussed risk assessment for messy play and water use, ensuring children explored confidently while maintaining wellbeing.
Meaningful Engagement
Families were informed about how health and safety were embedded into experiences. Children shared their “helping jobs” at home, creating consistent messages between the service and family environments.
QA3 – Physical Environment
Embedded Practice
The reading corner was transformed into a playful “window cleaning station” with recycled buckets, cloths, and large windows for pretend washing. Children had access to open-ended props to recreate parts of the story.
Critical Reflection
Educators reflected on how to make environments sustainable by reusing materials (cloth offcuts, cardboard “windows”). Reflection also addressed inclusivity, ensuring all children could access play areas regardless of ability.
Meaningful Engagement
Children decorated the area with drawings of the giraffe, pelican, and monkey. Families were invited to view displays and contribute recycled materials for props, strengthening community ownership of the environment.
QA4 – Staffing Arrangements
Embedded Practice
Educators worked collaboratively to run small-group storytelling using puppets and action songs, ensuring consistency across rooms. Staffing arrangements allowed for both one-on-one reading and group dramatic play.
Critical Reflection
The team reflected on how different teaching strategies supported engagement for toddlers versus older preschoolers. Staff identified strengths—such as singing, storytelling, or dramatic play—and used these to enrich the program.
Meaningful Engagement
Educators shared their own favourite animal stories with children, showing authenticity and passion. Families observed teamwork during events like the “story parade,” demonstrating a culture of collaboration.
QA5 – Relationships with Children
Embedded Practice
Relationships were strengthened through shared joy in storytelling. Dress-ups, rhymes, and puppet shows allowed children to connect with each other and educators in playful, imaginative ways.
Critical Reflection
Educators reflected on how humour and role play supported belonging and confidence. Observations were shared at team meetings, considering how these interactions built stronger emotional connections.
Meaningful Engagement
Children’s voices were central: they co-created silly rhymes, acted out their favourite characters, and shared their creations with peers. These experiences were documented as evidence of strong, reciprocal relationships.
QA6 – Collaborative Partnerships with Families and Community
Embedded Practice
Families were engaged through take-home story cards, invitations to participate in storytime, and contributions to the “family story basket.” Links were made to community helpers, extending the story’s theme of helping others.
Critical Reflection
The team reflected on how to include families who may not know Dahl, focusing on universal themes of kindness and helping. Adjustments were made to ensure all families could contribute meaningfully.
Meaningful Engagement
The local library partnered with the service to provide displays and books. Families sent in photos of children doing “helping jobs” at home, which were added to a service display.
QA7 – Governance and Leadership
Embedded Practice
The literacy focus was linked to the service philosophy, embedding storytelling as a priority. Documentation was added to the QIP as evidence of continuous improvement in literacy and engagement practices.
Critical Reflection
Leadership guided professional dialogue about how stories can support belonging, being, and becoming. Staff reflected on the success of Dahl-inspired activities and identified next steps for literacy planning.
Meaningful Engagement
Families were updated in newsletters on how The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me celebrations demonstrated exceeding practice. Management invited family feedback for future literacy-based events, embedding shared decision-making.
BEST Childcare Consultancy
At BEST Childcare Consulting, we believe every story is an opportunity to inspire, connect, and grow. Roald Dahl Day is more than a celebration—it’s a chance to embed imagination, creativity, and joy into everyday practice. Let us help your service turn these magical moments into evidence of exceeding quality all year round.
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