Little Stories.
Big Discoveries.
Discover children’s wellbeing and rights through knitted characters, imaginative stories, free songs and play.
Welcome to Start at the Beginning, where CAL the Wellbeing Octopus, BUTTER the Caterpillar and their friends help children explore friendship, kindness, confidence, belonging and their rights.
Created with children, families, nurseries and primary schools in mind.
Growing through stories, play and connection
Simple, creative ways to help children discover themselves and understand others.
Imagination & Creativity
Characters and stories invite children to imagine, ask questions and express their feelings in their own way.
Learning Through Play
Books, activities and songs turn big ideas about wellbeing and rights into everyday conversations.
Confidence & Belonging
Children explore what it means to feel safe, heard, respected, included and valued.
Come along on a Journey of Discovery!
Meet BUTTER the colourful knitted caterpillar and a growing family of friends, including Active Ant, Friendly Fox, Protective Polar Bear, Cultural Chimp and Performing Parrot.
Each character has something special to share about friendship, feelings, kindness, physical activity and the rights we all share.
Explore the book together, ask questions, imagine and discover.
Discover the full collection of books, wellbeing journals and resources on our dedicated Books & Resources page.
Sing, dance, play & discover!
Our knitted characters have found their voices. Enjoy short, cheerful songs to sing, move and learn along with, at home, in nurseries or in primary school.
More character songs are joining the Journey of Discovery.
Replace this search link with your own channel or playlist address when ready.
Meet CAL, the Wellbeing Octopus
CAL stands for Care And Love. Each of CAL’s eight legs represents a SHANARRI wellbeing indicator: Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included.
Through CAL’s Wellbeing Game, books, conversations and creative activities, children can explore how they feel and celebrate what makes them unique.
When wellbeing becomes a big adventure
BIG CAL and BIG CAL Junior bring a colourful, hands-on approach to wellbeing conversations, storytelling and play. Through #KnitWellbeing, volunteers have created knitted characters to share with children, families and learning settings.
Children can hold a character, create stories, ask questions and explore what wellbeing means to them.
Discover CAL
Wellbeing starts at the beginning of life.
Children begin learning about themselves and the world through relationships, stories, everyday conversations and play.
We believe every child deserves to feel safe, listened to, respected and included. Our child-centred resources make big ideas about wellbeing and children’s rights friendly, creative and accessible.
Our approach draws on Scotland’s GIRFEC framework, the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Children learning, exploring and having fun
The best part of the journey is seeing children bring the characters to life through their own play and imagination.
Little conversations. Lasting discoveries.
“The new book – BUTTER’s Journey of Discovery – with the knitted characters is exactly what we are looking for to teach the Rights of the Child across all age groups.”— Bracoden Primary School
Help us explore the journey!
We’re inviting a small group of nurseries and primary schools in Scotland to help pilot our new BUTTER & Friends songs.
We’d love to learn which songs children enjoy, what they remember, and how practitioners use the characters in storytelling, learning and play.
Every journey starts somewhere.
From CAL’s first wellbeing adventures to BUTTER’s Journey of Discovery, join us in helping children discover themselves, understand others and celebrate the world around them.
View all books & resources Book order form ↗Questions? hello@startatthebeginning.co.uk