Editor's Letter

Sand and water provide eternally fascinating play and learning experiences for young children and for the next few months - fingers crossed - you will be able to give a new dimension to your messy play by taking everything outdoors. You may think that a sand tray is a sand tray, a paddling pool just a paddling pool but companies continue to come up with all sorts of novel ideas for increasing the potential and function of these basic pieces of equipment. Turn to page 15 to see just what we mean. Similarly, the simple playhouse has also been given added interest and functionality in all sorts of ways (see page 26). This is definitely the year of the 'pop up', and there are some fascinating designs, including a whole high street and a luxurious 'Hollywood Home'. The great thing about the pop-up construction is that it is easy to store when space is limited. Talking of which, we know that storage space can be a problem when you open an after-school club and it is essential that you keep equipment designed for older children well out of the way of the under fives. That's why we've done some thorough research and come up with all sorts of units, boxes and bags which will hopefully provide plenty of solutions.