Here are some ideas to show how a nursery can build up a wealth of resources to help children to learn, appreciate and have fun with the largest land animal, from Jean Evans.
Using these historic creatures to inspire games and activities can help to build curiousity and imagination, advises Marianne Sargent.
Creative 'jungle' play can help improve children's understanding of the world, says Nicole Weinstein.
Small-world play offers children the chance to explore real and imagined worlds in miniature. Early years settings put a range of small-world play equipment to the test and report back to Nicole...
Winner: Woodland House Nursery, Bristol
The work of a project helping childminders create communication-friendly spaces was put on show in a multimedia exhibition in Cardiff Bay this week.
In providing resources for playful learning we need to remember the process in which they will be used, not just the outcome at the end, says Anne O'Connor.
Sunbeams Day Nursery has embedded loose-parts play into provision across all its settings, transforming practice and inspiring children. Nicole Weinstein reports
Are you a mud-lover, a mug-hugger or somewhere in between? Annie Davy explains why being an early years practitioner today is an outdoor job.
The way a nursery is set up can profoundly influence the quality of children's experiences there.