Toby’s Pond Splash: A Water Safety Story

Having a Paddle

A gentle early years story about water safety, featuring characters from the world of Andrew the Pen Maker

🧠 For Educators and Parents

This short story introduces basic water safety for children aged 3–7 through a familiar woodland setting and recognisable characters. It encourages safe behaviour near natural water while highlighting the importance of supervision and swimming lessons.

Use this post alongside water-themed activities, outdoor play, or summer swimming topics. A printable colouring sheet and an optional maze are available below for extended learning.

📖 The Story

It was a bright summer morning, and the woodland pond sparkled in the sun. Toby had taken off his little boots, rolled up his trousers, and was already paddling at the edge, stamping and splashing with delight.

Water sprayed everywhere.

Wilee stood on the bank, tail stiff, letting out a sharp bark.

Ella stepped carefully to the edge with a towel over her arm.
“Not too far, Toby,” she said gently. “The ground gets slippery, and ponds can be deeper than they look.”

Toby stopped and took one careful step back.
“I’m being a fish,” he said proudly.

Wilee gave another little bark — more satisfied this time — and sat beside Ella.

Just along the edge, Pip the squirrel flicked her tail through a puddle. Fergus, bone-dry as usual, raised an eyebrow.
“I once dipped a paw in a stream,” he muttered. “Didn’t like it. Never again.”

Toby splashed again — just once — then wobbled slightly. Ella reached out to steady him.

“Time to come out,” she said, wrapping the towel around him. “You can always splash with your boots on.”

Just then, Andrew appeared along the woodland path, carrying a jug of lemon water and another old towel.

“Well done, Toby,” he smiled. “That looked like fun — but water can surprise us. When I was little, I learned to swim in a river… but that was before we knew how risky that can be. These days, it’s much safer to learn at the swimming baths, where lifeguards are there to keep watch.”

Toby looked up, eyes wide.
“Do they have floaty rings?”

“They do,” said Ella. “And pool noodles. And warm showers after.”

Toby grinned. “Maybe next time.”

Wilee gave one final approving woof as the group settled on a sunny patch of grass — towel-wrapped, water-safe, and ready for lemon drinks.

🖍️ Optional Activity Download

A printable colouring sheet is available to support this story. This can be used in classrooms, summer clubs, or home settings to encourage safe water play conversations.

⬇️ Download Toby's Pond Splash Colouring Page – A4 Portrait

🌿 More From Feather’s Forest News

We publish gentle, story-led blog posts and printable activities to support educators, parents, and storytellers working with early years children. All our materials are based on the characters and themes from Andrew the Pen Maker.

🟢 Follow along or subscribe to keep up with new releases and resources throughout the year.

Wilee's Summer Splash

A Woodland Lesson in Water Fun and Safety

For Educators & Grown-ups
Theme: Enjoying summer safely
Lesson Focus: Exercise, cooling down, and water safety awareness
Character: Wilee the Cocker Spaniel
Suggested Use: Circle time, outdoor discussion, or post-video group talk

Talk about:

• Why dogs (and people) love water on hot days
• How to tell if water is safe
• How animals stay cool in nature
• What we should always do before going near water

🐾 Read Along with Wilee

(in gentle nursery rhyme form)

Wilee wagged his tail so wide,
The pond looked cool, and deep, and wide.
He dipped a paw, then took the leap —
A splash! A shake! A muddy sweep!

He swam a bit, then trotted out,
And shook so hard he scared a trout.
But not all ponds are safe to try —
Ask first, then jump, before you dry.

🖍️ Printable Activity

Download the colouring sheet below for a creative follow-up.
Let little ones colour Wilee as he dries off under the summer sun!

⬇️ Download Wilee’s Summer Splash Colouring Page – A4 Landscape

📚 Teaching Tip

Encourage children to draw their own safe splash zone beside Wilee.
Ask: What makes it safe? Who’s nearby? How can we tell it’s okay to play there?

The Solstice Picnic

🧺 A Feather’s Forest News special from deep in the woods

📆 Saturday 21st June | 🕓 3:41 AM
✍️ Written by Feather the Robin

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🌄 When the birds sang the sun awake…

Before even the first golden ray touched the ancient stones of Stonehenge, the birds began.

Chirping softly at first, their dawn chorus rose with the sun — a song so old it echoed through the ages. From misty hills to sleepy rooftops, across cities and fields and hedgerows, the song flew.

And when it reached the trees above our woodland glade… we knew.

☀️ It’s Solstice.
Time for the picnic.

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🌿 A Forest Wakes

By the time the sun peeked above the tree line, our picnic was well underway.
I, Feather the Robin, arrived early with my camera and notebook (never one to miss a headline).
Wilee, the cheerful cocker spaniel pup, gobbled a carrot cake crumb before anyone could stop him.
Andrew the Pen Maker, who lives in a cosy workshop deep in the woods, poured nettle tea from a wooden flask and handed out honey-dipped berries with a smile.

Fergus the Fox, full of imagination, tried to convince us that fairies invented flapjacks. Typical.
Barney the Badger hummed a soft tune from his collection of forest lullabies.
Bunny the Rabbit bounced over with her half-finished burrow map — she’s learning that sometimes slowing down helps you finish what you start.
Doh the Deer, our gentle dreamer, simply smiled and began sketching the sunrise in the dew.

It was a calm, joyful start to the longest day of the year.

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✨ Why the Solstice Picnic Matters

Our stories — twelve in the series — from Pip’s Letter to Granny to Bunny and the Burrow Map — are more than woodland tales.

They’re crafted for growing minds aged 3 to 7, and moments like this are quietly powerful:

• 🧠 Literacy & Language
  Solstice is a new word, a curious shape in the mouth. Our readers discover the joy of naming the world and sharing what they find.
• 🫶 Social-Emotional Learning
  Taking time together helps children reflect, connect, and wonder — just like our characters do in each gentle tale.
• 🌍 Nature-Based Curiosity
  Our picnic ties in with the rhythm of the seasons, ideal for Forest School learning or home-based circle time.
• 📚 Cross-Curricular Potential
  Pair our stories with weather charts, simple astronomy, sunrise paintings, or map-making — just like Bunny does with her underground trails. The possibilities are endless.

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🌞 Try This With Your Little Ones

Whether you’re a teacher, a parent, or just a curious grown-up — you can have your own Solstice Picnic!

🧺 Set up a small picnic, inside or out.
🎨 Ask: What would you bring? Who would you invite?
🖋️ Draw it. Write about it. Or simply imagine.

Let the magic unfold quietly — just like the sunrise.

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🎶 Watch & Listen

We’ve created a simple animated Solstice Picnic video on YouTube — a calming moment with bird song, morning light, and familiar woodland friends.

📺 Watch it here » (Link will go live soon)

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🎧 Listen closely…

We encourage you — just for a moment — to pause and truly listen.
To the birds in your garden.
To the ones you pass on your walk.
To the ones who sang the sun awake this morning.

They’ve been singing for thousands of years.
And today… they’re singing for you.

💛
With forest love,
Feather 🪶
Editor-in-Beak, Forest News HQ

The King's Medal for Kindness

Feather’s Forest Report – Episode 2

Greetings from the branch with the best view!
It’s me, Feather the Robin, here with a very special report from the clearing — and what a weekend it’s been!

It all began early Saturday morning when Wilee the spaniel came strutting out of the workshop wearing a crown made of leaves and moss. “Today,” he announced with great importance, “I am King of the Clearing!” (One must, he says, “do these things properly.”)

He even declared there would be a proper royal parade that afternoon — complete with leafy crowns, flower sashes, and “official forest music” (mostly humming and drumming on logs).

Wilee spent the rest of the morning trotting around giving out royal instructions like “no splashing in the puddles until after breakfast” and “everyone must wag their tails or tails-of-similar-function at passers-by.”

But then — and this is where it gets interesting — he gathered us all together and said: “A proper king gives out medals. And I’ve made one. A very special one. Not for the fastest runner or the best tree climber… but for the kindest heart.”

He looked at Fergus the fox. “No, not you. You tried to crown yourself with an onion yesterday.”

He looked at Pip. “No, not this time — although your acorn juggling is majestic.”

And then he turned… and walked up to Andrew. Our pen maker. Our quiet helper. Wilee sat, looked up, and gently placed the golden medallion he had carved around Andrew’s neck.

We all went silent.

Andrew chuckled softly, gave Wilee a pat, and said something I scribbled down straight away: “Thank you, my boy. But kindness isn’t something you earn. It’s something you share, even when no one’s looking.”

And just like that, the royal parade turned into something unforgettable. We had cake. We had hugs. Pip may have cried a bit (don’t tell her I told you).

And I took photos of it all, of course — I never miss a moment.

Feather’s Thought of the Day 🪶

A true leader lifts others before lifting himself.

Until next time,
Feather the Robin
Your forest correspondent

The Day of the Great Chase!

Feather’s Forest Report – Episode 1

Hello from the edge of the clearing!
It’s me, Feather the Robin, here with the very first edition of Feather’s Forest Report — and oh, what a day it’s been!

This morning started like any other. I was perched on my favourite garden spade, warming my feathers in the sunlight, when a sudden blur of fur zipped past! It was Pip the squirrel, giggling to herself, tail flicking like a banner in the wind. Right behind her came Wilee, Andrew’s cheerful spaniel, tongue out, ears flapping, having the time of his life!

I grabbed my camera (I never leave the perch without it) and followed them as they darted through the trees. Pip was up the trunk in a flash, poking her nose around the side to tease poor Wilee, who barked and wagged his tail below. I could just about hear her say:
“You’ll have to grow wings if you want to catch me!”

But the fun didn’t stop there!
Moments later, the two of them were back in the meadow, chasing a golden ball. Pip batted it with her tiny paws and Wilee gave it a good nudge with his nose. Back and forth it rolled — giggles, barks, pounces, and laughter filled the air. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such joy.

And you know what?
They weren’t trying to win.
They weren’t keeping score.
They were simply playing — the best kind of playing, the kind that makes your heart feel light and your cheeks ache from smiling.

Feather’s Thought of the Day 🪶

Stay curious. Follow the fun. You never know where a good game of chase might lead.

Until next time,
Feather the Robin
Your forest correspondent