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How StoryChild works: your subscriber journey

StoryChild is your weekly how-to guide for raising a confident, independent child – through practical tips, playful rhythms, and the unfolding lives of the children of Elmwood.

Drawing without a pencil: arranging materials for early writing success

How do you learn to write? Does it start with drawing? No, it starts long before, with placing and arranging.

Through a child’s eyes: A tour of Elmwood

Welcome to Elmwood: the fictional neighbourhood at the heart of our stories. It’s a place where your child can grow up alongside a cast of companion characters, each navigating her own path through friendship, play, and growing independence. This guide introduces the physical world of Elmwood - the real

Spring to School: An introduction

What is Spring to School? Start your journey through the preschool years with this handy overview.

Meet Sam

This is Sam, our preschool hero. Follow along as he prepares for the most exciting year of his life - getting ready for school.

Oh! The Places You'll Go! From Ben to Daisy, birth to eleven and beyond

Match your child's developmental journey from infancy through middle childhood to the paths taken by the Children of Elmwood

Meet the children of Elmwood

Who are the Children of Elmwood? And which ones should you follow? This guide will help you choose.

Elmwood, the town you grew up in

Elmwood is the town you grew up in. You may never have walked its streets. But you know the feel of the pavement, the smell of the school hall, the hush of the house on a Saturday morning. It’s fictional – but not fantasy. There’s no magic here, no

The trajectory schema: Which way will you go?

Here is a girl. She launches a paper aeroplane across the living room and it is fun. It dips, it swerves, it flies. It cuts through the air. Delighted, the girl chases along behind. At last, it lands gently on the rug. But the game doesn't stop there.

Unlock your child's hidden play patterns: Chris Athey's breakthrough schemas

Lines, circles, and boundaries in play become letters on the page. Discover how Chris Athey's schema patterns transform your child's physical explorations into the spatial understanding and motor control she'll need for writing.

Montessori trays: the silent teacher in your playroom

Sometimes an activity fails and you can't work out why. The problem isn't the activity - it's how you present it. Discover how Montessori trays act as silent teachers, gently guiding your child toward focus, order, and deep engagement.

Banish boredom with pocket play kits

You're in a public place. The children are cranky. And you have an impending sense of doom. Things are about to fall apart. Pocket Play Kits to the rescue!

Make every game more fun with a dash of chance

Fill your pockets with coins and dice and add the thrill of randomness to your favourite games.

Loss aversion: encourage more play with FOMO

We all have a fear of missing out. Who wants to miss the party when there's fun to be had? It's a powerful motivator, so why not use it to movitate play?