Bookish Play with Forever… by Emma Dodd

This book has been one of my daughter’s favorite books for a long time.

It’s a sweet story about the love a polar bear has for their cub. The polar bear comforts the small cub and lets them know that through life’s ups and downs they will always be there by their side and will love them… forever.

I paired it with white playdough and bear and cub figurines. My daughter loved making footprints on the playdough as we read the book. We flattened the dough a few times and did it all over again.

Bookish play is such a lovely way to bring books to life for children and helps instill a love of reading and learning from a young age. And you can’t go wrong pairing it with play dough!

Playdough is a great pre-writing activity. Squishing, rolling, pressing, molding and all other play dough movements strengthen the finger muscles that will be used for fine motor movements, such as holding a pencil and using scissors. It also allows the child to use imagination and express creativity, while fostering language development as the child is exposed to the different elements on the tray.

Cleaning up is part of the learning process, so make sure to encourage your child to tidy up after they finish playing. Model how to do it until your child feels confident enough to initiate the tidying up process independently.

“And as through all the years to come

We journey on together,

Deep within my heart,

I know

I will love you… forever.”