Phones are a great addition to any role play, while encouraging language and communication skills. Many nurseries use old 'real' phones and discarded mobiles, but it may also be worth investing in a 'toy' phone.
The Phone and Answering Machine from the Early Learning Centre (15, 08705 352352) has a brightly coloured chunky base unit and handset with big buttons, lots of functions and sound.
The base unit acts as the answerphone facility with fast forward, rewind and stop buttons. Children can hold down the record button to record a message up to six seconds in length, which they listen to by pressing the play button. Recorded messages are surprisingly clear.
Encourage children to leave messages for each other, or use it in shop role play to leave recorded orders for delivery. Do children have an answerphone at home? What sort of recorded message do they have on it? Encourage them to record their own 'I'm sorry I'm not available...' messages.
Turning the handset on greets children with a 'Hi' message and plays tunes while the animated, graphic screen indicates signal levels and battery life. Children can ring friends and invite them for tea by pressing the appropriate number keys (all in the usual 12-keypad position) followed by the green call button. They can also dial 999 to hear emergency services messages and watch the graphic responses on screen. Also listen out for the random incoming calls that children can answer or cancel. A dialled-number display and two-number memory are additional features with this model.
Thoughtful extras include batteries, battery safety guidelines, a stand-by mode if not attended for two minutes and a volume control.
