Busy Bear Play Guide

Busy Bear Book

Please note this is a guide only! Our books are designed for open ended play the number of ways to play is only limited by your child's imagination! However, if you're ever looking for some ideas for interactive or structured games to play with your little one, here are some ways in which you could use the Busy Bear book to further your child's learning.

Numbers and Counting

Almost every page of the Busy Bear book is an opportunity to learn numbers and counting. How many beads are there on the snail shell? How many leaves on the colour matching tree? How many socks on the line? How many outfits does the dolly have in her wardrobe? How many pieces of pizza? etc. Use the number pieces throughout the book, to match.

Following Instructions/Focus and Memory

Ask your child to do an activity in a particular order. (eg. On the Sock Laundry pages you can ask your child to put the green sock in the laundry. You can then add extra instructions to increase complexity such as "put the green sock in the laundry and then put the yellow sock in the laundry". On the "Fill Em Up" Petrol Page you could ask your child to only thread through the green and orange ribbons as that is the special petrol this bus takes. Use these words in your instructions: before, after, first, then, around, on top, under and next to.

I Spy Games - Colours, Beginning Sounds

The many details on each of the pages can be used in a game of "I Spy". For example, to introduce your child to colours - "I spy something red on this page". For beginning sounds - "I spy something that starts with L"

Imaginative Play and Story Telling

Each themed page of the Busy Bear book presents an opportunity for your child to tell a story. Use the pieces as props and give them names. Speak to them and find new ways of using the pieces in stories on other pages. In our household, the snail on the front page is Turbo Ted who loves to travel so quickly (at least for a snail) that the coil on his snail shell often unravels and he needs help to thread it through before he can speed off again!

Girl/Boy Emotions Page

The Busy Bear book has a special page for children to make different faces and expressions. Talk to your child about the pieces you would need to make a particular emotion, Eg. Which mouth should we use for a sad face? Talk to your child about the particular emotion, and a time when they felt that way. What are the different ways to deal with that particular feeling?.

Age guide: 3 + due to the presence of small parts.