Personalised nursery story about making friends: your child and the Playdough Table

What happens in your child and the Playdough Table

1. Your child arrives and sees the playdough table.
2. Your child chooses green playdough to squash and roll.
3. Another child brings a yellow lump to the table.
4. Together they make picnic food for their pretend game.
5. Your child tells their grown-up about the new friend at home time.

How the first page could read

Your child held a grown-up’s hand at the nursery door. Inside, there were little chairs, picture books and a table covered with playdough. One soft green lump waited on a tray. Your child gave it a careful poke. Squish. It felt cool and smooth beneath their fingers.

Your child’s name, look and little details replace these words, and the whole story is written for their age.

Why this story works

For a child aged two to four, joining a large new room can begin with one small activity rather than a big group game. This story gives your child a clear, familiar action to follow: choosing playdough, squeezing it, rolling it and noticing another child nearby. The friendship develops through shared making, with no need for either child to know what to say first. It also gently shows the nursery rhythm of arriving, playing, spending time with a key adult and coming home again. Seeing their own face in the illustrations can make the playdough table feel like a recognisable place to try.

Reading it together

• Read the story before a nursery session, then ask your child which colour of playdough they would choose.
• While reading, practise a simple joining-in phrase such as “Can I make one too?” without expecting your child to use it.
• After nursery, use the playdough pages to ask about something your child made, touched or noticed that day.

Suggested art style: Storybook watercolour

Soft watercolour keeps the nursery room warm and calm while making the colourful playdough easy for young children to spot. A sidekick idea: a friendly child with a yellow playdough ball. You can pick any of the four styles and change the details in the form.