It is a warm morning in late April and most of the children are out in the nursery school's extensive outdoor area. A wide range of activities is going on, including a story-reading session by a parent in the grass amphitheatre, a dramatic enactment of the story of 'The Three Little Pigs' and a game of skill involving hitting balls suspended from the classroom verandahs.
My attention is caught by some energetic and purposeful journeys being made to and fro across the length of the hard-surfaced area by a girl pushing a toy buggy fully loaded with dolls and assorted luggage.
Her progress is somewhat hampered as she is also clutching a very large road map book. The child, Chloe (three years seven months), senses my interest and starts to begin and end her treks at the bench I am sitting on. Gaining confidence, she pushes her large-scale map book under my nose and tells me she has to drive 'There'. She points to an area at the top of the page and tells me, 'You're here', pointing to the lower area of the page.
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