Understanding of the world: Have bear, will travel

Our travelling teddies have given the children a first-person perspective on the world, says Tina Hendy of Westwood Nursery, University of Bath

Over the past year our nursery has had three new members join us - Baby Bear, Nursery Bear and Pre-school Bear, otherwise known as the Travelling Bears. We have a bear for each room, and when a child goes on holiday they get to take the bear named after their room with them. While they are away they take pictures of themselves and the bear in front of a famous place or landmark.

Their picture is then displayed on our board with the world map.

It was Mark Baker, one of our nursery nurses, who came up with the idea to help develop the children's knowledge and understanding of the world. The idea has taught the children a great deal about the world we live in and has been fun for them at the same time.

The display has really developed over the past few months. We have photos from the Millennium Dome in London, Tiannemen Square in Peking, China, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy and Robben Island in South Africa, just to name a few.

In all, I think we have about 40 pictures on the board. We have a map of the world and also a map of the British Isles so children who have not been abroad do not feel left out.

Having the bears is a great idea because it gives the children a better awareness of where other children come from. It's hard to teach children about the world they live in, but this actually gives us some evidence so it's easier for the children to understand. They can actually see where the other children have been; they can put pictures to the places.

With our nursery based at the University of Bath, we have a lot of families from around the world, so they are encouraging and supportive of this idea. The bears are a way of bringing the cultural learning together.

As an extension of the activity the children send postcards and bring back souvenirs, which we then talk about. We also discuss how the children travelled to their destination, where they stayed and the weather. Once children start talking, they don't stop! The children get very excited about taking the bears on holiday.

They can't wait to look after them and they like the idea of taking something from the nursery away with them. The parents are always telling us how well they treat the bears, dragging them everywhere they go. It's nice for the children who come from abroad to take a piece of their nursery with them to show their relatives.

The only problem we have faced is that there can be a huge demand for the bears, especially in summer when most people go away. The only way we can solve this is by handing them out on a first-come, first-served basis. We haven't had any tears yet, but that's because the parents are good at persuading children to take their own teddies instead. Most of the children have taken one of the bears at least once.

There has only been one occasion when one of the bears hasn't come back in the tender loving care of a child. One of our children went on holiday to Germany, but the family decided to stay there permanently, so the bear had to come back by post.

All in all, this idea has been a success. It has taught the children about the world they live in, where other children come from and what things are like in different parts of the world. It has also taught them to share.

Tina Hendy spoke to Mahrukh Choughtai