Small-world play offers children the chance to explore real and imagined worlds in miniature. They can travel to the North Pole, walk with dinosaurs, inhabit castles or live the life of a farmer or a train driver. Through these imaginary scenarios, children gain a deeper understanding of the world. It gives them a context in which to explore their feelings and try out possibilities.
At the same time they are creating narratives to support their play, re-enacting events and reflecting on people, situations and places.
Helen Bromley, early years consultant, says, 'Small-world play offers children the opportunity to be in control, to take charge of an environment and to make things happen how and when they choose.'
Small-world play should be an essential part of continuous provision, offering the potential for cross-curricular learning, such as extending vocabulary through storytelling, and using mathematical language in meaningful situations.
Any small-world resources should meet the interests and motivations of the children in your setting. And when planning such play, you should give real thought to:
- the small-world inhabitants
- how to create the landscape, and
- containers to 'house' the landscape.
'It's much more than merely adding dinosaurs to wet sand,' says Ms Bromley. 'How the resources are combined to create environments that develop and inspire children's imaginations will significantly heighten their learning potential.'
INHABITANTS
The main categories of 'inhabitant' for small-world play are:
- farm, zoo and domestic animals and pets
- cars and other vehicles including trucks, diggers and trains (with railway track)
- dinosaurs
- people
- minibeasts
- fantasy figures
(Remember that whatever the kind, quantity is important. A herd of cows is better than one or two.)
Principles
When buying 'inhabitants' for small-world play, consider:
Material: Durability is a key factor when deciding what play equipment to buy. Ideally, there should be a good mix of natural wooden objects and high-quality synthetic materials, with a minimal amount of brittle plastic around.
Early years consultant Anne O'Conner says, 'In the case of a garage, I would avoid plastic and opt for a simple wooden structure. But when selecting people, Playmobil has an excellent range of ethnically diverse figures made from good-quality plastic that can be used outdoors or in water.'
Size: There are no set rules when it comes to the size of small-world play equipment because, says Ms O'Connor, 'so much of what the children are doing is symbolic or narrative. It might not be an issue to the child if the sheep is bigger than the elephant.'
Representation: Tricia Carroll, early years advisory teacher at Blackpool Local Authority, says it's important to get the representations right and to ensure the range on offer presents diversity, especially of people.
She says that the younger the child, the more important it is to provide the correct realistic representations. 'When children are finding out about the world, a pig should look like a pig. But as they become more experienced at representing the world, they start to use tools and objects to become what they want them to be. For example, a block could become a pig.'
This transition from concrete to abstract thinking is a process, and is supported by the quality of the provision and the child's life experiences. Resources that are useful in supporting this transition include Community Playthings' chunky wooden vehicles (see box).
Ms Carroll says, 'The passengers are simple wooden blocks that can become policemen or parents, or whoever you want them to be.'
Julian Grenier, head of Kate Greenaway Nursery School and Children's Centre, says, 'When it comes to vehicles, some children want realistic representations of the cars their parents drive.' NES Arnold (www.nesarnold.co.uk) stocks a set of 70 Authentic Die Cast Cars for £60.
To support different stages of development, try to provide a mixture of good-quality, representational small-world people and animals and a range of open-ended, flexible resources so that the more experienced 'imaginers' can project what they want on to them.
LANDSCAPES
The 'landscapes' that inhabitants live in can be rich and varied:
- houses with furniture
- garage
- shops
- castle, palace or fort
- woodland
- farms
- gardens
- jungle
- beach
- sea
- the Arctic or Antarctic.
Ms Carroll says, 'As children's experience of the world develops through stories, TV and real life, we can support these interests by providing resources that stimulate their imaginations - for example, lunar landscapes, treasure islands and dinosaur swamps. These can be developed by using natural materials to give a genuine feel to the small-world scenarios we set up.'
A shoebox decorated and filled by the child with objects of their choosing is a great way to create a small world, but if your budget allows, it's good to provide a range of equipment.
Ms Bromley has developed storyboxes for exploring the natural and mythical worlds in association with Yellow Door (www.yellowdoor.org.uk), while a new small-world play range from Reflections on Learning (www.reflectionsonlearning.co.uk) includes an open- storey doll's house and a set of brightly coloured dinosaurs, both made from sustainable rubberwood.
Additions
Whatever the landscape, make it as stimulating as possible for children by incorporating resources such as:
- compost
- gravel, including coloured aquatic gravel
- turf or grass seed
- hay and straw
- bark chippings
- pebbles, stones and shells
- moss
- ice
- leaves
- silver foil
- jelly or gloop
- coloured sand and glitter
- shaving foam and hair gel
- 'treasure' including objects such as glass nuggets, coins, beads and
keys.
Pre-printed mats are useful for transport role play but early years experts advise not becoming too reliant on such mats because they try to represent a three-dimensional world in two dimensions.
CONTAINERS
Have at the ready a large variety of containers capable of 'housing' these miniature worlds. Make sure they are of varying sizes to encourage individuals, pairs and small groups to create their own small worlds.
Types of container
Tuff Spot or builder's trays Available from large DIY stores and early years suppliers, including TTS Group (www.tts-group.co.uk)
Sand or water trays
Large plastic boxes
Plastic trays growbag, cat litter trays (unused), potting trays, tea trays, etc
Other biscuit tins, baskets, rugs, carpet tiles, baking trays, car tyres, shoeboxes, cardboard egg trays.
BEST BUYS
Animals: Early years consultant Helen Bromley recommends Schleich products, which are made from high-quality vinyl and hand-painted with non-toxic paint. Toys r Us stocks a huge range of Schleich toys, including farm and zoo animals, wildlife, dinosaurs, sea life, pets, vehicles and knights. Prices range from £3.49 for a dolphin to £39.99 for a horse stable. Visit: www.toysrus.co.uk or www.justschleich.co.uk
People: Early years consultant Anne O'Connor recommends Playmobil's multi-ethnic families: African/African American, Mediterranean, Asian and Caucasian (www.playmobil.co.uk)
Vehicles: Early years advisory teacher Tricia Carroll recommends transportation toys from Community Playthings (www.communityplaythings.co.uk). Prices range from £16 for a Village Vehicle (11cm long) to £176 for five trucks measuring between 24 and 39 cm long (pictured). Made from solid European birch wood with industrial wheels.
Buildings: Vivien Mitchell, reception teacher at Frederick Bird Primary School, Coventry, recommends NES Arnold's Multistorey Carpark (www.nesarnold.co.uk). The wooden structure, priced £95, comes complete with ramps, circular access points and petrol pumps. Base: 60cm. Height: 35cm
MORE INFORMATION
- 50 Exciting Ways to Use a Builder's Tray and Small-world Recipe Book: 50 Exciting ideas for small-world play by Helen Bromley (Lawrence Educational)
- The Little Book of Small World Play (Featherstone Education)
