Patience for Kids: Bubbles and the Hushberries, a Story About Learning to Wait

A story about learning to wait

Waiting is one of the hardest things for a small child. In "Bubbles and the Hushberries", Bubbles the otter spots little green berries on Grandpa Bear's bush and wants one right now. Everyone tells her to wait for purple. She peeks, she orders the berries to grow, and then she tries one green berry. It is very, very sour.

Grandpa Bear doesn't lecture. He asks one question, and Bubbles works out the answer herself: the sun can do the watching while she plays. The berries turn pink, then purple, and the wait pays off. The episode runs about three minutes and ends with a sing-along: "We can wait, the sun will shine!"

What it teaches

• Waiting is hard, and feeling grumpy about it is normal.
• Rushing can spoil the thing you wanted (the sour berry).
• Doing something else makes waiting shorter.
• Some things can't be hurried. The sun does its work in its own time.

The story shows feelings before it names them, so you can pause and ask your child what Bubbles' face is telling you.

Three questions to talk about

1. How did Bubbles feel when she had to wait? How could you tell?
2. What did Bubbles do so the waiting felt shorter?
3. What is something you are waiting for? What could you do while you wait?

A short activity: the waiting garden

You need a cup, some soil and a few cress or bean seeds, or simply a sunny windowsill and a pot of herbs you already have.

1. Plant the seeds together and put the cup in a sunny spot.
2. Draw a green, a pink and a purple circle on a strip of paper as a "ready chart". Tick a circle, or write the date, each time you see a change.
3. When your child asks "Ready yet?", answer together: "Not yet!" Then pick a waiting game, such as singing the refrain, a bounce-and-freeze game or drawing the plant.

Always ask a grown-up before picking or eating any berry or plant.

Printable colouring page

A line-art colouring page of Bubbles and the hushberry bush is being prepared. It will be added to this page as a free download once it is ready. There is nothing to sign up for.

For parents

This page has no ads, no tracking and no forms, and collects no data from children. The video is made for kids, and the voices are AI voices.

This video is made with AI tools and reviewed by people before release. It is made for kids. This page has no ads, tracking or sign-up, and collects nothing from children. See how we make our videos.