Room on the Broom Activities for Early Years

room on the broom early years activities
14
Jun
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Room on the Broom Early Years Activities: Five EYFS Ideas plus a Brew the Broom Spell Game

A magical little adventure for nursery

Few stories cast their spell over EYFS quite like Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Room on the Broom. A friendly witch and her cat fly across the night sky. The wind tugs at her bow, her hat and her wand. One by one a kind dog, a green bird and a frog leap up to help, asking the same gentle question every time: “Is there room on the broom for me?” When a fierce dragon swoops in, it is teamwork that brews the rescue, and a brand new magnificent broom that brings everyone home.

These five practitioner-designed activities cover every EYFS area. A witch-hat decorating bench for Expressive Arts and Design and Fine Motor, a mud kitchen potion station for Understanding the World and Maths, a broomstick balance-beam adventure for Physical Development and PSED, a story sequencing puppet retell for Literacy and Communication, and a counting cauldron spell for Mathematics. Pair them with the on-page Brew the Broom Spell game for an unforgettable witchy week.

Our Top 5 Room on the Broom Activities

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🪄 Brew the Broom Spell

Mix the magic ingredients in the cauldron and bring each new friend onto the broom

Tap Start below to begin brewing
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Room on the Broom

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How to play. Read the spell scroll, then tap the matching ingredients on the tray. Each correct one bubbles into the cauldron. Brew all five spells to fill the magnificent broom.

Keyboard play: tab to an ingredient and press Enter or Space to add it to the cauldron.

Early years children sitting at a craft table decorating black paper witch hats with stars, sequins and ribbons
Activity 1

Witch Hat Decorating Bench

Best for: Expressive Arts & Design · Physical Development · Communication & Language · PSED

What you need

  • One pre-rolled black sugar paper cone per child (a witch’s hat)
  • A black or purple card brim circle per hat
  • Self-adhesive foam stars, moons and tiny pumpkins
  • Glitter glue pens in gold, silver and red
  • Strips of wide red ribbon for the hat band
  • A wash-tape “spider” pattern for adding stripes
  • A child-safe mirror for trying on hats

How to set it up

  1. Read the page where the witch loses her hat in the wind. Pause and chat.
  2. Show your example hat. Ask “What spell shall we add to ours?”
  3. Children glue or peel-and-stick stars, moons and ribbons in their own design.
  4. Once the glitter glue is dry, try the hats on in the mirror as a parade.
  5. End with a “broomstick fly” around the room, hats firmly on heads.
💬 Adult prompts
  • “Where will your biggest star go? Right at the tip, or on the brim?”
  • “Can you make a pattern with your stars: gold, silver, gold, silver?”
  • “What spell will your hat help you cast?”
  • “How does it feel when the hat sits on your head?”
  • “Who in our nursery looks the most like the witch in our book?”
📚 EYFS links
  • Expressive Arts & Design: design choices, pattern, mixed-media decoration.
  • Physical Development: peeling stickers, fine motor pinching of small foam shapes.
  • Communication & Language: describing patterns, talking through design intent.
  • PSED: taking turns at the bench, sharing decorations, role play confidence.
  • Mathematics: repeating patterns, counting decorations.
✨ Extensions & differentiation
  • Ages 1 to 2: stick large pre-cut stars onto a flat hat shape, no cone yet.
  • Ages 3 to 4: hat plus a paper bow to stick on the back, like the witch’s bow.
  • Ages 4 to 5: add a name tag inside the hat and write a “spell word” along the brim.
  • Challenge: design a matching wand with foil and a star, then perform a tiny spell.

Inclusive tip: some children find headwear sensory tricky. Offer a flat “hat poster” alternative that they can hold up beside their face for the parade rather than wearing on the head, so every child can take part in the witchy line up.

Early years children mixing leaves, water and petals into pretend potions in metal pots in a nursery mud kitchen
Activity 2

Mud Kitchen Potion Mixing

Best for: Understanding the World · Mathematics · Physical Development · Communication & Language

What you need

  • Two or three small metal pots or saucepans (the “cauldrons”)
  • A jug of clean water and a watering can
  • Bowls of safe natural finds: petals, leaves, twigs, herbs, soil
  • A few drops of natural food colouring (green, purple) in dropper bottles
  • Wooden spoons, ladles, sieves and tongs
  • Laminated “spell recipe” cards with picture ingredients
  • Aprons and a sturdy outdoor table

How to set it up

  1. Re-read the cauldron page in the book. Listen for the spell rhyme together.
  2. Lay out the cauldrons and the bowls of natural ingredients on the table.
  3. Hand out a recipe card. “This spell needs three petals, two leaves, one twig.”
  4. Children measure with spoons or tongs, count aloud, and stir in their cauldron.
  5. Add a single drop of colour to finish. Pour through a sieve to “strain the magic”.
💬 Adult prompts
  • “How many petals does your recipe need? Can we count them in?”
  • “What does your potion smell like? Earthy, leafy, sweet?”
  • “What spell will your potion cast? A flying spell or a sleepy spell?”
  • “How much water shall we add? Just one ladle or two?”
  • “What happens when we sieve it? Where do the petals go?”
📚 EYFS links
  • Understanding the World: textures, smells and changes in natural materials.
  • Mathematics: one-to-one counting, comparing quantities, capacity language.
  • Physical Development: pouring, scooping, careful tongs and spoon use.
  • Communication & Language: sensory vocabulary, recipe reading, narrating.
  • Expressive Arts & Design: imaginative role play, inventing new spells.
✨ Extensions & differentiation
  • Ages 1 to 2: water and large pebbles only, in a single shallow pan.
  • Ages 3 to 4: two-ingredient recipe cards (e.g. “two leaves and one petal”).
  • Ages 4 to 5: invent your own recipe and dictate it to a grown-up to write down.
  • Challenge: a “spell rhyme” challenge where children chant in time as they stir.

Safety tip: use only safe garden plants and herbs (mint, lavender, rose petals) and remind children that potion play stays in the cauldron and never goes near mouths. Wash hands after every session and check the area for stones or sharp twigs before play begins.

Early years children balancing along laid down broomsticks on the nursery floor as if flying
Activity 3

Broomstick Balance Adventure

Best for: Physical Development · PSED · Communication & Language · Mathematics

What you need

  • Two or three sturdy soft-headed brooms (or wrapped wooden dowels)
  • A long rope or chalk line for an extra balance path
  • A few small stuffed creatures: cat, dog, bird, frog, dragon
  • Picture cards of the witch’s items (bow, hat, wand)
  • A soft mat at each end as “landing zones”
  • Cones or bean bags for stepping over obstacles
  • A broomstick “ride-on” idea: a broom held between two children

How to set it up

  1. Lay the brooms in a long line on the floor as a balance beam.
  2. Place the cat, dog and other creatures along the line as “passengers” to greet.
  3. Children walk slowly along, picking up a creature each time.
  4. Pause at the end. “How many friends came on your broomstick?”
  5. Try the partner version with two children carrying one broom together gently.
💬 Adult prompts
  • “Who will you invite onto your broomstick first?”
  • “Can you step over the cone like the witch jumping over a tree?”
  • “Is there room on the broom for one more friend?”
  • “How will you balance carefully so nobody falls off?”
  • “What sound does the wind make when you fly along?”
📚 EYFS links
  • Physical Development: gross motor balance, control, coordination.
  • PSED: turn taking, gentle cooperation, including others.
  • Communication & Language: story-led role play, repeating the rhyme.
  • Mathematics: counting passengers, ordering creatures, positional language.
  • Understanding the World: imaginative weather and wind talk.
✨ Extensions & differentiation
  • Ages 1 to 2: walk between two parallel ropes laid on the floor, no broom.
  • Ages 3 to 4: broom on the floor as a single line, no obstacles.
  • Ages 4 to 5: add cones to step over and a creature to pick up at each.
  • Challenge: partner walk holding one broom together, mirroring each other.

Safety tip: brooms stay flat on the floor for balance walking, never raised or carried over shoulders. Keep one adult close by. For the partner version, choose a soft, lightweight broom and only pair children who already know each other well, to keep the play relaxed and safe.

Early years children sitting in a circle retelling Room on the Broom with stick puppets and props
Activity 4

Story Sequencing and Puppet Retell

Best for: Literacy · Communication & Language · PSED · Expressive Arts & Design

What you need

  • A copy of Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
  • Lolly stick puppets: witch, cat, dog, bird, frog, dragon
  • Six laminated picture cards showing key story moments
  • A small basket of props: paper bow, paper hat, paper wand
  • A “first, next, then, last” sequencing strip on card
  • A blue strip of fabric for the river, a black strip for the night
  • A floor mat or storytelling rug

How to set it up

  1. Read Room on the Broom together with lots of pause and pointing.
  2. Lay the picture cards in a muddle on the rug. “Oh dear, the story has fallen apart!”
  3. Children take turns to pick up a card and place it on the strip in order.
  4. Hand out the puppets. As you retell, each child walks their puppet across the rug.
  5. End with the whole group chanting “Is there room on the broom for me?”
💬 Adult prompts
  • “What happened first? What flew off in the wind?”
  • “Who found the bow? Was it the dog or the bird?”
  • “How did the witch feel when the dragon arrived?”
  • “What did the friends brew in the cauldron at the end?”
  • “Which creature would you most like to ride on the broom with?”
📚 EYFS links
  • Literacy: story structure, sequencing, beginning to middle to end.
  • Communication & Language: retelling in order, repeating story phrases.
  • PSED: empathising with the witch’s worry and her friends’ kindness.
  • Expressive Arts & Design: using puppets and props to bring story to life.
  • Mathematics: ordinal language (first, second, third).
✨ Extensions & differentiation
  • Ages 1 to 2: share the book and a single soft cat puppet only.
  • Ages 3 to 4: sequence three cards (start, middle, end) only.
  • Ages 4 to 5: sequence all six cards and retell with a partner.
  • Challenge: invent a “new chapter” where one more creature joins the broom.

Engagement tip: some children will know the rhymes off by heart and others will be hearing them for the first time. Pair confident retellers with newer listeners as a low pressure paired chat, with the puppets as a shared focus, so every child can join in at their own level.

Early years children adding counted ingredients to small cauldrons on a tuff tray with numeral cards
Activity 5

Cauldron Counting Spells

Best for: Mathematics · Fine Motor · Communication & Language · Understanding the World

What you need

  • Three or four small toy or paper-mache cauldrons
  • Bowls of countable “ingredients”: pom poms, conkers, glass pebbles, foam stars
  • Numeral cards 0 to 10 and ten-frame mats
  • A handful of “spell scrolls” with picture-and-number recipes
  • Wooden tongs and small spoons
  • A laminated “tally chart” of how many spells we brewed today
  • A tuff tray to keep ingredients corralled

How to set it up

  1. Lay out cauldrons across the tuff tray with a numeral card in front of each.
  2. Read a spell scroll: “This spell needs four pom poms and two stars.”
  3. Child counts and adds with tongs, then matches the number to the ten-frame.
  4. Compare cauldrons: “Which has more? Which has fewer? How do we know?”
  5. Add a tally mark for each spell brewed and read the tally at tidy-up time.
💬 Adult prompts
  • “Let’s count together: one, two, three. Plop, plop, plop!”
  • “Which cauldron has more pom poms? How can we be sure?”
  • “What if we take one away? How many would be left?”
  • “Can you make a pattern: star, pom pom, star, pom pom?”
  • “How many spells have we brewed altogether today?”
📚 EYFS links
  • Mathematics (Number): subitising, one-to-one counting, numeral recognition.
  • Mathematics (Numerical Patterns): adding, taking away, comparing.
  • Mathematics (Shape, Space & Measure): capacity language, “more” and “fewer”.
  • Physical Development: tongs and tweezers for careful pincer transfer.
  • Communication & Language: mathematical vocabulary in playful context.
✨ Extensions & differentiation
  • Ages 1 to 2: post pom poms into the cauldron with a slot, focus on filling.
  • Ages 3 to 4: match each numeral card to the correct count of pebbles.
  • Ages 4 to 5: simple addition with two ingredient piles (“3 and 2 makes…”).
  • Challenge: invent and write down a spell recipe on a tiny scroll.

Resource tip: add seasonal natural finds for variety: small pine cones, conker halves, dry oak leaves. Always check small items are safe for your youngest children, and swap in larger pebbles or wooden discs for under-threes to keep the activity inclusive across the whole nursery.

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers for running Room on the Broom activities in early years

What age range are these Room on the Broom activities suitable for?
All five activities cover the full EYFS range from 1 to 5. The mud kitchen and balance broomsticks suit younger toddlers with close support. The witch hat decorating, story puppet retell and cauldron counting are ideal for three, four and five-year-olds. The Brew the Broom Spell game can be played by nursery-age children with an adult sitting alongside, talking through each ingredient together.
How do Room on the Broom activities link to the EYFS framework?
Together these activities cover all seven EYFS areas. Communication and Language through retelling and spell rhymes, Personal, Social and Emotional Development through inclusion (“Is there room on the broom for me?”), Physical Development through balance walks and fine motor decoration, Literacy through story sequencing, Mathematics through counting cauldron ingredients, Understanding the World through natural materials and weather, and Expressive Arts and Design through hat making and imaginative potion play.
Is Room on the Broom too spooky for nursery aged children?
The book is gentle and warm. The witch is friendly, the cat is cuddly and the dragon is more silly than scary, finishing the story with a hot cup of tea on the new broom. Frame the topic around kindness, teamwork and “making room for everyone” rather than Halloween scares. Avoid sharp witchy faces in your displays and lean into bright purples, golds and greens to keep the mood cosy.
What if some children do not have the book at home?
The activities are designed to work whether or not the family knows the book. The mud kitchen, balance walk and counting spells stand alone as rich nursery experiences. For the story-led activities, your one nursery copy is enough. Many libraries lend the book and Julia Donaldson’s official website offers a sing-along version. Sharing the rhythm of the story aloud is the heart of the experience.
How do we keep mud kitchen potion play safe in the setting?
Use only safe garden plants and herbs such as mint, lavender, rose petals and bay. Avoid berries and unknown leaves. Keep food colouring well diluted, and use natural food-grade colouring only. Children wear aprons, never taste the potion, and wash hands afterwards. An adult always supervises, and the area is cleared of stones, sharp twigs and standing water before play begins.
How can we involve families in the Room on the Broom topic?
Send home a “spell pass” inviting families to gather one or two safe natural finds (a fallen leaf, a smooth pebble) on their next walk. Invite parents in for a “witchy parade” where children show off their decorated hats. Share photos of the cauldron play and the on-page game via your parent app. Offer a “Make Room on the Broom” picnic at the end of the topic, with a giant paper broom for everyone to add their friends to.
What other Julia Donaldson books pair well with Room on the Broom?

If your children love Room on the Broom, the following Julia Donaldson titles share the same warm rhythm and rhyme. Each pairs nicely with one or two of the activities above.

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