Enabling Environments: Birth to Threes - String along

WHAT YOU NEED

- Gather together a wide range of shoelaces, ribbons and cords. Large stationers', gift shops and the haberdashery section of department stores are good sources.

- Place them in a variety of textured bags such as a wash mitt, toilet bag and fabric pocket.

- For safety reasons, be particularly vigilant when using these resources with the very young.

Benefits of using this resource

Supports children's line schemas

Develops fine motor skills

Encourages exploration

Develops vocabulary

Develops understanding of length and measure

Playing the game

- Place the bags of resources in the sitting area near to the children.

- Invite the children to explore them. Do not feel that you need to engage with and talk to the children immediately. Allow them time to explore the resources for themselves.

- When you feel it is appropriate - which may not even be the first time a child uses the resources - talk and use lots of encouraging words such as, 'Oh, what lovely laces you've chosen', or 'Can you find some more bright ribbons?'

- Toddlers often enjoy lining out the resources, straightening them and exploring their length. As the toddler plays with the resource of their choice, describe its colour, texture and length, using words such as smooth, soft, long, wide or thin.

- Select another resource to explore yourself. Describe what you are doing along the way - for example, 'I love this shoelace. I think I'll try to find another one and lay it next to this one.'

- As the baby or toddler explores further, mirror what they do and praise their engagement by saying, for example, 'Oh, I like the one you're holding. I think I'll do that too!'

- Allow the baby or toddler to lead the experience, but balance their lead by suggesting or showing other ways in which to explore the resources.

- Use appropriate language such as long, longer, longest or the beginning, middle and the end of the 'line'.

- Challenge the child to find a similar or different 'line' to the one that you have chosen.

- Have fun placing the 'lines' in hair, round fingers, over shoulders, under cushions and so on. You could even try hanging them from your ears or nose!

- Introduce another bag of 'lines', such as grass, twigs, cinnamon sticks, straws, wool, string or tinsel. Let the child express how different they are. Remember to allow them time for fresh explorations before suggesting ideas on how to engage with the new resources.

Extension ideas

- Provide a bag of crayons (pencils, pens or cinnamon sticks) and paper in various sizes, shapes and colours to further support children's line schemas. Place the bag on the floor and allow the toddlers to select a crayon and make a mark. Praise their attempts, provide help if needed and take some lines 'for a walk' yourself.

- Suggest you go for a walk to find some 'lines' and point them out along the way - for example, fences, the edges of paving stones and bricks, washing lines, yellow lines on the road.

- Chalk a variety of 'snake lines' on the floor or paving stones and encourage the baby or toddler to walk, crawl, skip or jump along them.

- Place a few of the original ribbons, cords and laces in a pile on the floor and suggest that the toddlers set them out in straight lines or divide them into small piles.

Alice Sharp is managing director of training centre Experiential Play (www.experientialplay.com) and director of resource company Wonderbox, specialising in interactive products for children under three (www.wonderbox.co.uk; e-mail: info@wonderbox.co.uk).