Mrs Mopple's Washing Line by Anita Hewett (Red Fox Books, 4.99) is a delightful story and good stimulus for exploring materials, farms and the weather with Foundation Stage children.
In the story, Mrs Mopple hangs out her washing and commands the wind to blow. But the gusts become stronger than she expected, her washing flies off the line and some of the farm animals end up dressed in various clothing.
The illustrations are humorous, showing the expressions on the animals' faces brilliantly, and their old-fashioned style appeals to both children and adults.
The book, which contains plenty of repetition, allows children to use their imagination to predict events to come.
Storytime
* Share the story, emphasising the names of the animals and encouraging children to join in with the repeated phrase, 'blow wind, blow'. After the first item has blown off the line they will want to predict what may happen next. Ask 'Who do you think the petticoat/socks belong to?' to help them to think about the human characters in the story.
* Ask about the details in the pictures. 'What is the cat doing?' 'What are crawling on the cabbages?' and 'Why?'
* Discuss the descriptions of the clothing. Do the children wear these sorts of clothes? Suggest alternatives such as 'a blue stripy handkerchief' as opposed to the 'red spotted handkerchief' featured in the story.
* Discuss the effects of the wind on other things such as leaves and straw.
* Ensure children know the animals' names and recognise their characteristics, such as 'gobbly red turkey'.
* Look for other animals which appear in the illustrations but are not mentioned in the text. What might they be thinking?
* Discuss the sounds that might be heard in the farmyard, from both the wind and the animals, especially when they find themselves in human clothing.
* Look at features of the farmyard that may be familiar to the children and think about their possible uses - for example, different machinery, buildings and tools.
* Talk about the work of the farmer and his wife. What do they eat in the story? What would the animals eat?
* Do the children think this story is true? Why or why not?
Cutting and sticking area
* Make picture cards of the animals and the clothes for a matching game.
* Let the children cut out pictures of the clothes to fit on the animals. Can they cut out a petticoat to fit the pig?
* Sequence the events in the story using a zig-zag book format.
Role play
* Re-enact the story using toys and dressing-up clothes in the home corner.
* Encourage the children to create facial and verbal expressions for the animals and copy those of the farmer and wife.
Small world play
* Make farm animals and buildings available and give the children small pieces of material to represent clothes. How could they create wind in this small world? Is a hairdryer too fierce? How about the children blowing themselves?
* Find suitable homes for each animal.
Water play
* Provide a variety of materials and doll's clothes to wash and peg on the line. Find out which materials take longest to dry.
* Investigate the changes that take place in materials when they are wet.
* Talk about how the drying process could be speeded up.
Outdoors
* Experience the weather first hand. Encourage the children to describe its effects on them and features of their environment. In which season do you think this story took place? Why?
* Record the weather for about three weeks on a simple chart, using pictures of the different weather types. What kind of weather would not dry clothes?
* Observe the strength of the wind over a period of time by fixing a flag outdoors.
Extension ideas
* Use materials to try to dress toys. How much material do we need? How can we join it together?
* Look through catalogues to find similar clothes to those in the story.
* Use information books to find out about farms and farm animals. What are their young called?
Related stories and rhymes
* Mrs Lather's Laundry by Allan Ahlberg and Andre Amstutz (Puffin, Pounds 3.99)
* Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins (Puffin, 4.99)
* "Quack!" Said the Billy-goat by Charles Causley and Barbara Frith (Walker, 9.99)
* 'Cows in the kitchen, moo moo moo', 'I went to visit a farm one day', from This Little Puffin (Puffin, 6.99).
