Prepare kids for school through play with Bluey

Bluey and her family love inventing games, which often mirror real-life situations with Bluey and Bingo pretending to be everything from shopkeepers to astronauts. Through these playful moments they learn how to solve problems, express emotions, get along with others and deal with winning or losing.

Discover how Bluey’s playful adventures can support your child as they get ready for school.

Mum and Dad, Chilli and Bandit, join in the family fun, showing how grown-ups can support learning just by playing along. They encourage kindness, empathy and how to talk through tricky feelings. 

Bluey and her sister Bingo love to play pretend and through their games, they learn how to take turns, share, and work together. Whether they’re dressing up as grannies or running a pretend shop, children watching at home get to see how to solve little problems, show kindness, and understand how others feel. These are all important skills for making friends and joining in at school.

Set up a pretend play scenario like Bluey and Bingo, it could be a shop, a doctor’s surgery, or a tea party and take turns being different characters. Encourage your child to share the props, take turns speaking and have fun pretending together.

Find out more about pretend play and why it is one of the most important ways that children learn about themselves and the world around them.

Bluey is full of fun conversations and stories. Children hear new words, follow what’s happening, and learn how to listen carefully and join in. It’s great practice for storytime, circle time, and chatting with teachers and classmates. In Sticky Gecko, Mum tries to get Bluey and Bingo ready for a playdate, but distractions and misunderstandings slow things down. The episode highlights the importance of listening, expressing feelings, and understanding each other’s perspectives.

Take turns telling a story. You start with a sentence, then your child adds the next one, and so on. This helps with listening, turn-taking, and building vocabulary. You could also use picture books to share and retell stories, or encourage your little to recall stories about things that have happened in their own memory book with Bluey. 

In many episodes Bluey and Bingo use everyday things to build, explore, and imagine. This kind of play helps children learn to solve problems, try new ideas and to keep going even when things don’t work out the first time. That’s just the kind of thinking they’ll use in the classroom as they grow and learn.

Give your child some cushions, blankets, and boxes and challenge them to build a den or a rocket ship. Let them lead the design and problem-solve how to keep it standing or make it comfy. (Maybe not as big as Bluey and Bingo's den in Cubby)

Find even more activities to explore creativity together or try one of our Bluey jigsaw puzzles to help your little one's problem solving skills. 

Sometimes Bluey’s stories explore big feelings. In Copycat, Bluey learns about loss, and in Early Baby, the family talks about hospital visits. These gentle moments help children understand their own feelings and how others are feeling too. They learn to talk about things that might be worrying them. Feeling safe and supported makes a big difference when starting school, helping your little ones express their feeling can support their starting school journey.

Ask your child to draw what a feeling looks like such as happy, sad, excited, or worried. Talk about what makes them feel that way and what they can do when those feelings come up. 

You can also use these Bluey activity sheets to help your little one express why they love someone or try playing the Hey Duggee quiz together all about earning your Feelings Badge. 

School involves lots of waiting, waiting your turn, listening to instructions and staying calm when things get busy. Bluey shows children how to manage these moments in a fun and friendly way, like in the episode Pass the Parcel, a party game becomes a lesson in fairness and managing expectations. Bingo learns that sometimes it's okay not to win every time, and that taking turns can be fun even without constant rewards.

Play music and dance together. When the music stops, everyone freezes. This helps children practise stopping their bodies and waiting for the next cue. You can play along with Bluey and Evie from the CBeebies House. 

Bluey and Bingo love playing games with their parents, the sillier the better. The fun, unique games which Bandit and Chilli make up to keep these loveable kids entertained are brilliant. Discover 11 fun game ideas to play with the kids inspired by Bluey.

Playing charades it a classic family game, the aim of the game is to act out what you can see on the card without making any noises, but if you have small children you could include noise to make the game a little easier for them. Download the Bluey charades activity pack or make your own charades cards with drawings or words for older kids.

Let your child choose a game from the CBeebies website or CBeebies apps. CBeebies games are designed to support early learning through fun, interactive and creative play. Find even more games, puzzles and quizzes to help to learn through play.

Explore CBeebies Starting School collection to find lots of information, support and guidance on what to expect as your little one begins their journey to primary school with the help of their favourite CBeebies friends.

Tips and activities to support the skills your child needs to start school from potty training to language learning.