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December 11, 2024

“My First Day at Doodle Bugs!” a Story to Celebrate Our Learning Community, Is Making Its Debut

Jennifer Horner, Director of Education Development

Our first Doodle Bugs! children’s picture book is finally out in the world greeting children, parents, teachers, and hopefully lots of extended family, neighbors, and future customers!

Children can join Doodle Bug on his very first day and be a part of the natural waves of excitement and apprehension that come with many first-time experiences.

Gorgeously illustrated, the visuals paint a picture of a true Doodle Bugs! classroom, complete with a child-sized kitchen set, art filled bulletin boards and plenty of interesting toys to pique children’s curiosity and spark reflective conversations about their Doodle days. The story is told from Doodle Bug’s child perspective in first-person, which activates lots of opportunity to turn his adorable quotes into positive daily mantras.

My First Day at Doodle Bugs! is also a really fun read! With a sing-songy rhyming scheme and only ten page turns, this book is great for quick routine bedtime or naptime story that isn’t a chore to read when requested over and over again. If you love stories with interactive elements, this one has a few questions built in for children to chime in on when a purposeful pause is added. The inside front and back covers also feature an assortment of images from the story which could invite a game of search and find.

Ways to use the story as a parent support tool and teacher’s aide:
  • Reading about a typical day prior to a child’s first day or in preparation of a move-up helps ease fears about the unknown. The beautiful illustrations closely mimic the materials, activities, and spaces in a typical classroom and give visual reassurance of what to expect.
  • Repeated readings positively reinforce the classroom schedule, routines and procedures. Knowing what’s going to happen next in the flow of the day creates feelings of safety and security, the foundation for learning.
  • The highlight of the family board in the story reminds children that this is a reliable feature in their classroom and a place they can visit at any time to seek comfort and be reassured that they’ll see their family at pick up time.
  • Children can empathize with Doodle Bug as he tries new things, connecting with the character by reflecting on similar moments in their lives. Whether it be a new food, a song, or a cleanup routine, the story depicts these experiences as always having a supportive classroom community alongside them.

The experience of helping to create our first Doodle Bugs! book with our friends at Luminus and our illustrator Bryan Free was a true honor and a project we will look back on and cherish for a lifetime. From the initial ideation sessions to scrutinizing every classroom detail and character emotion in the review stages to slowly watching it all come to life on the page drafts- we are grateful for the journey and elated to share it with current and future Doodle families.

We’re looking forward to our center-wide book release event Tuesday December 17th and Wednesday December 18th from 9-11am and 3-5pm where our families can pick up their own copy signed by Doodle Bug himself! You can also grab a copy by visiting us for a tour! Hop over to doodlebugs.com to book a tour and learn more about The Doodle Difference.