Handa's Surprise

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Based on the latest guidance for reception, this topic planning web provides a range of exciting activities for all seven Areas of Learning. These ideas will enhance your provision and help your children explore the story and extend their skills and knowledge at the same time. There are suggestions here both for adult-led sessions and for continuous provision. This book tells the story of Handa and her friend Akeyo. At the beginning of the story Handa puts seven different fruits in her basket to take to her friend Akeyo. As Handa makes her way to Akeyo’s village she tries to imagine which fruit Akeyo would like best. Every time Handa describes each of the fruits in her basket; an animal native to Handa’s part of the world takes it out of the basket. Eventually when Handa’s basket becomes empty a goat breaks free from its rope and runs in to a tangerine tree which results in the tangerines falling in to Handa’s basket. Still unaware Handa arrives at Akeyo’s village telling her that she has a surprise for her. When she takes the basket of her head Handa is the one who is surprised as her basket which originally had 7 different fruits is now full of tangerines Handa’s Surprise is beautifully illustrated book for children in nurseries and reception classes. The story is set in a village in Africa, and the pictures are bold, traditional and bright coloured to capture the imaginations of little ones. This book can be used to cover a range of subjects across the early years curriculum e.g. numeracy (counting animals, fruits), art (drawing fruits, make displays), geography (discussed exotic fruits, wild animals, Africa), knowledge and understanding of the world (habitats, traditional clothes, culture), science (taste fruits, healthy eating). Here are a few resources you can use to whip up some educational activities based around the story:

Draw a map showing Handa’s route to see Akeyo and add pictures which shows the events which took place along the way. The book uses relatively simple language and could probably be read independently by a six or seven year old. This said, it uses a variety of punctuation marks which could possibly used as a platform for a more advanced lesson. Explore Eileen Browne's sequel with Handa's Hen Activities for Early Years Children. What is Handa's Surprise? One day, Handa takes a basket of seven yummy fruits to her friend, Akeyo, who lives in a neighbouring village. She is sure this will be a lovely surprise for her friend and, on her walk to the village, she imagines which fruit Akeyo would like best. You will also be able to explore the important concept of subitising with your children using these Handa's Surprise Fruit Number Cards. Can your children instantly recognise small sets without counting (perceptual subitising)? Can they also spot smaller groups within bigger sets (conceptual subitising? This will be a fun way to investigate these important mathematical ideas.

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This activity is based on the popular book by Eileen Browne, Handa’s Surprise. This colourful book tells the story of a young girl, Handa, who wants to take a basket of delicious fruits to her friend. Read the story, then have a look at this fun fruit printing activity. Handa puts seven different delicious fruits in a basket to take to her friend Akeyo as a surprise. But Handa’s walk takes her past a variety of animals, and the fruits do look very inviting...” Collect some fruit and vegetable into a basket and draw it. What colours / textures will you need to show? Are you looking for activities to support reading ‘Handa’s Surprise’ with your children? We have so many for you to try! We’ve teamed up with Walker Books to bring you a wealth of learning resources that will enhance their understanding of the story. You could combine all these resources together and plan an entire cross-curricular topic all based on this lovely story. What is the story of Handa’s Surprise about? However, along the way, the fruits in her basket are eaten one by one by some cheeky animals – a monkey, an ostrich, a zebra, an elephant, a giraffe, an antelope and a parrot.

Created in collaboration with the book’s publisher, Walker Books, this EYFS Reception Topic Planning Web: Handa’s Surprise is a perfect resource for practitioners who are planning work around this wonderful book.This book encapsulates the idea that ‘less is more’. The simple text and the descriptive pictures, are what I believe are the key features that lend to the brilliance of this book. As she carries the basket on her head to her friends house, various animals steal the fruits, piece by piece but an accident results in her arriving with a basket full of tangerines which are incidentally Akeyo's favourite fruit.

The story is based in south-west Kenya. Can you find this on a map? Can you find out more about the country? How is it similar / different to where you live? Watch this travel guide about Kenya for some ideas: In the story Handa’s Surprise, written by Eileen Browne, we follow a little girl named Handa, who belongs to the Luo tribe in south-west Kenya. It has lovely illustrations and could be used to introduce children to different types of fruit or animals as part of an art or geography lesson. Handa is carrying a basket of fruit to her friend Akeyo. She is carrying it on her head and doesn’t notice that animals she is passing are taking fruit out of the basket. Eventually the basket becomes empty but an antelope chasing her runs in to a tree as Handa walks beneath it and fills the basket with tangerines. When Handa reaches Akeyo with her surprise she is surprised herself.Retell the story in the form of a storyboard with captions and speech bubbles for each character / animal. Are you looking for activities to support reading ‘Handa’s Surprise’ with your children? We’ve teamed up with Walker Books to bring you a wealth of learning resources. You could combine these resources together and plan a whole topic based on this lovely story. Here are just a few to get you started:

Handa carries seven delicious fruits to her friend Akeyo as a surprise But thanks to some hungry animals she meets along the way it's Handa who's in for a surprise! --cover Rewrite the story from Handa’s point of view. What does she think happened to the original fruit in her basket? For more resources on the topic of healthy eating, have a look at our Healthy Eating: Food Word Search, which will help children expand their vocabulary and improve their spellings, and this Healthy Eating Sorting Activity. Fantastic facts about Fruit: The story is full of questions. Look at the use of question marks in the story. Can you write your own questions and put a question mark in the correct place?

What surprises have people organised for you? Can you think of a nice surprise that you could arrange for somebody else?