What is a Playful Parable?

Our Playful Parables are here!

We have officially launched our Playful Parables! Playful Parables are short, read-along video picture books designed by a teacher librarian for real classrooms and real families. Each story runs for about three minutes. The words light up as they are read, the pictures and soundscape match the action, and the narration stays in third person so children learn from another child’s experience rather than feeling like they are being told off. It is a story first, with strong literacy practice built in.

These stories work because they give a fresh voice to the messages teachers and parents repeat every day. For parents who try to avoid screens at home, they are device-light and intentional making them a healthier option that can be limited to a few minutes.

How do Playful Parables help children?

Playful Parables blend two powerful ideas: children need joyful encounters with whole texts, and they also need explicit instruction in how print works. The read-along design draws attention to the exact word as it is spoken, which helps map sounds to letters. Repeated viewings build fluency and confidence. After watching, a teacher or parent can add a tiny follow-up with one of our printable activities so the story becomes a bridge between whole-text enjoyment and fully internalising the message contained within each story.

What does the 'Being a Friend to Have a Friend' story teach?

This video, which can be viewed for free, is based on the premise that every child wants friends, but the social moves that make friendships work are not always obvious. This parable follows Maya as she learns that friends are made through kind actions, kind words and sharing with others. We watch characters share equipment, invite someone new into a game, wait for a turn, and help those in need. Because the words highlight as they are read, children can see and hear the exact phrasing, and makes these social scripts easier to remember and to use. 

In literacy terms, the story carries high-value language for beginning readers. Friend, share, kind, together, please and thank you appear in repeated frames so children can notice the patterning in print. Teachers can pause and direct a quick hunt for 'sh' in share or the cluster 'fr' in friend, then read the line again in chorus. Parents can replay the story once, then ask a simple question. What kind words did you hear? What could you say at the playground tomorrow? That small talk turns viewing into learning.

How do I use Playful Parables at school?

Playful Parables are perfect for fruit break, the five minutes before the bell, or a calm reset after lunch. Press play. Pause once to predict, or to echo a helpful line. After the video, run a two-minute routine that links literacy to behaviour. Rebuild one sentence with a capital and full stop, circle words that show kindness, or use one of our printable activities to sort between things friends do and do not do to each other. 

You may choose to use the same story for two or three days so the message sticks or cycle through them all and regularly revisit each one to ensure the messages are retained by your students.

How do I use Playful Parables at home?

Watch together on the couch. It is short by design, so you can keep screens limited and purposeful. After the story, set one tiny challenge for the afternoon. Use a kind invitation with a sibling. Offer a turn on a favourite toy. Help pack away together and use the words you heard. You are building a shared language for getting along, without a lecture.

What makes Playful Parables kind and inclusive?

The characters are school children, the settings are familiar, and the voice is friendly. Because the narration is in third person, no child is singled out. The parable shows what ‘good‘ looks like and trusts the viewer to try it. This is especially important for reluctant learners who switch off the moment they feel blamed.

Why not watch a Playful Parables today?

'Being a Friend to Have a Friend' is one of three new Playful Parables on Learn From Play, alongside 'Washing Away the Ninja Germs' and 'Sharing Kindness Does Not Include Sharing Food'. Together they cover the routines most classes and families need right now – safe, kind play and healthy habits.

Playful Parables live in our original stories section of the website. If you are not yet a paid member, joining unlocks the stories and supports Paddy and I so we can keep making resources you can use every day. If you would like a quick teacher guide with 2–5 minute follow-ups for this story, just say the word and I will send it through.

Here’s to joyful learning,

Rachel

Founder, Learn From Play