Blogs.: Play Based Learning

Ideas, benefits & easy set-ups to try at home 🏡

When the days get shorter and the weather calls for indoor coziness, there's no better way to keep little ones learning, connecting, and engaged than with bookish play — the perfect blend of storytime and hands-on exploration.

Whether you're a parent, educator, or homeschooler, pairing books with open-ended play creates magic: it brings stories to life, builds language naturally, and sparks imagination in the most beautiful way.

📚 What is Bookish Play?

Bookish play is simply play inspired by a book. After reading, children recreate the story (or parts of it) using toys, sensory play, art, or small world set-ups. It's a fun, play-based literacy activity that deepens comprehension and builds critical skills — without feeling like "learning."

🌟 Why Bookish Play is Perfect for Winter

• ✔️ It encourages calm, focused play indoors

• ✔️ Keeps screen-free engagement going longer

• ✔️ Offers connection and comfort through shared stories

• ✔️ Adds structure to slower winter days

• ✔️ Supports literacy through meaningful repetition

🧠 The Learning Benefits of Bookish Play

1. Boosts comprehension & memory
   Retelling a story helps children absorb meaning and sequence.

2. Builds expressive language
   As kids narrate, they develop vocabulary and sentence structure.

3. Strengthens imagination & empathy
   Taking on different roles in play helps children explore feelings and perspectives.

4. Connects hands-on learning to literacy
   It turns passive listening into active doing.

🛠️ Easy Bookish Play Set-Up Ideas

Here are simple ways to bring stories to life at home this winter — using tools from our collection:

1. Wonderie Play Cloth + Figurines

🧺 Perfect for: Dreamtime stories, nature tales, or fairy tales
Pair an ocean book with the wonderie cloth to set the theme, add collectA animals and any other extras, and let your child retell the story in their own words.

Try:
Lay out a Wonderie Play Cloth as your storytelling backdrop — like the Earth, River, or Desert design — then add felt animals or natural elements to recreate scenes from books like The Rainbow Serpent or Welcome to Country. Let your child retell the story, change the ending, or invent their own.

👉 Why it works:

This type of small world play strengthens comprehension, narrative thinking, and creativity. It gives children a tactile, visual way to process the story and fosters emotional connection through hands-on exploration

2. Sensory Bin Set-Up Inspired by a Book

🌈 Perfect for: Weather, seasons, or transport books
Read a book about the seasons or water, then set up a sensory bin using Flurry base, playfoam, or Little Bricks to reflect the setting.

Try:

• “Little Cloud” by Eric Carle with Flurry snow base

• “Wombat Stew” with bark, leaves, stones and scoops

• Add letter pebbles for early literacy prompts

👉Why it works:

Sensory storytelling taps into multiple senses, helping children retain story details while calming their nervous system. It also invites them to explore textures, sequences, and characters at their own pace — a win for both literacy and emotional regulation

3. Creative Free Play After Reading

🎨 Perfect for: Unstructured, open-ended imagination
After storytime, offer a tray of simple materials and let your child freely interpret the story. They might build a tower from Jack and the Beanstalk, sculpt an animal from Possum Magic, or simply use colours to reflect how the book made them feel.

Try:

• Wooden gem blocks

• Play dough or clay

• Loose parts & nature finds

• Eco art tools

👉 Why it works:
Free play after reading allows children to process and express the story in their own way — strengthening memory, imagination and emotional expression.

4. Pretend Play Inspired by Books

🎭 Perfect for: Social learning and roleplay
Books about everyday routines (like bedtime, baking, or feelings) are great springboards for pretend play. After reading, set up a small pretend play scene — a kitchen, a doctor’s kit, or even a mini post office.

Children can act out scenes from the book or create new ones using the same characters and settings.

Pair with:

• Felt food & pretend kitchen tools

• Wooden people or dolls

• Bilibo seat for active, physical roleplay

👉 Why it works:
Pretend play builds empathy, narrative structure, and social-emotional skills — while keeping kids deeply engaged in the story.

Final Thoughts

Bookish play doesn’t need to be complicated. It’s about creating moments that matter — where children can slow down, go deep, and feel the story. Whether it’s a structured small world set-up or a spontaneous sensory bin, every retelling builds confidence, curiosity and connection.

This winter, let the books lead the play — and watch the magic unfold.

Check out our books in store - we love a good book! 📖