Nursery World - Surprise, surprise

An element of spontaneity is essential for creative play. Philip Waters demonstrates how to support children's creativity in the latest article in his series on play types Eighteen months ago when clearing away after a hectic session, and when all but a few children had gone home, a nine-year-old girl approached me saying, 'Let's make up a story'. 'OK,' I said, and she started with an introduction which went something along the lines of it was a dark and stormy night, and I added the occasional filler when cued to do so.

Eighteen months ago when clearing away after a hectic session, and when all but a few children had gone home, a nine-year-old girl approached me saying, 'Let's make up a story'. 'OK,' I said, and she started with an introduction which went something along the lines of it was a dark and stormy night, and I added the occasional filler when cued to do so.

While this may not sound particularly creative, this story-telling situation continued for almost 30 minutes. Each teller added something exciting to the plot which maintained its momentum and ensured that onlookers were as excited by the plight of the characters as we were.

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