Shrek Movie: Educational Activities and Games for 2 to 5 Year Olds

Let's face it, kids love movies, but it's been proven that they should watch no more than 2 hours of TV a day. So why not combine their love of a movie and activities that will help them learn and grow? Following are suggestions for the movie Shrek released in 2001. These activities would also work well for preschool classes and party games for this age group.

Watch the movie

Let your kids watch the show while you prepare the activities for the rest of the day or attend to other responsibilities.

Craft Time

Cut a strip of paper out of green construction paper. Cut out two pieces that look like Shrek's ears. Help your child decorate the strip of paper and then glue on the ears. Staple the strip of paper so that it fits on your child's head. Have your child wear the ogre ears and pretend to be an ogre.

Gingerbread Man

Read the Gingerbread Man story with your child. Ask your child questions about the story and then explain to your child that you are going to make gingerbread. Tell them that gingerbread is a type of cookie. Make a batch of gingerbread. Have your child help mix the dough, and cut out the cookies using a cookie cutter. Help your child put frosting on the cookies and then let them add sprinkles and small candies as decorations.

Hop in the Swamp

Explain to your child that you are going to pretend that the room you are in is now a swamp like Shrek's. Put pillows on the floor and explain that they are frogs in the swamp. Show them how they need to get through the swamp without stepping on the frogs. Ask your child to get through the swamp in different ways like skipping, marching, pretending they are an airplane, crawling and so on.

Read a Story

The movie Shrek has all sorts of fairy tale creatures and your child will enjoy hearing the stories about them. Ask your child questions about the pictures; have them point out certain items. Have your child act out different parts of the story. Following are a few suggestions for books to read.

• Snow White and Rose Red: A Grimm's Fairy Tale by Brothers Grimm and Denise Marshal
• The Three Little Pigs (Reading Railroad Books) by James Marshall
• Walt Disney's Pinocchio (Little Nugget) by Diane Muldrow, Carlo Collodi, Miniature Book Collection (Library of Congress), and Walt Disney Productions