Enabling Environments: Let's explore ... Oliver Who Was Small But Mighty

The world must sometimes seem a bewildering place to young children. Adults hold power over the rhythms and routines of the day, making decisions and taking control. But no-one can exert control over the imagination! In this fascinating place, we can all travel where we want and how we want. The timid can feel brave, the weak can seem strong and anything is possible! It is no wonder that imaginary play is so important to children in the Foundation Stage, offering opportunities to operate at a level that is beyond that possible in the real world.

The story of Oliver Who Was Small But Mighty, written by Mara Bergman and illustrated by Nick Maland (Hodder Children's Books), explores this potential to great effect, detailing the two sides of a young boy's bath time.

Although fearful of many things, Oliver's imaginary play offers him the opportunity to steer his ship through numerous adventures, returning to the reassuring arms of his parents. It's a terrific book for young children, using superb illustrations and a range of vocabulary that is imaginative and fun. The language is powerful, with repetitive refrains that will encourage children to join in. The ending is deeply satisfying, offering reassurance and comfort.

OUTDOOR AREA

The story of Oliver offers practitioners an excellent opportunity to link indoor and outdoor provision. Offer children a range of open-ended materials so they can recreate Oliver's adventures. Resources such as milk crates, cardboard boxes, ropes and large pieces of fabric will support imagination and promote the desire to build and make stories.

Children may wish to build a sailing boat to represent the one that Oliver travelled in. They might also wish to recreate some of the places that he visited, or the sailing vessel used by the pirates. Whatever they choose, be sensitive in the way that you engage in their imaginary play, and resist the temptation to ask closed questions. It is particularly important, where role play is involved, to listen first, so that you understand the context of the children's play, before considering how best to engage with it. Think about how you can support and extend the children's play, building on their ideas with sensitivity.

Learning opportunities

PSED Respond to significant experiences, showing a range of feelings where appropriate
PSED Work as part of a group or class, taking turns and sharing fairly
C&L Enjoy listening to the language of story and readily turn to it in their play and their learning
C&L Extend their vocabulary, exploring the meanings of new words
C&L Use talk to organise and clarify thinking 
M Use everyday language to describe position
PD Move with confidence and in safety
EAD Use their imagination in role play

Adult role

• Listen for the stories that the children are making.
• Think about ways that these stories could be recorded. You may wish to suggest that photographs are taken so that the story can be retold and 'published' as a book that could be kept in the book area.
• Using the words of strongly tuned, well-known picture books can support children in making their own stories. For example, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (by Eric Carle, Picture Puffin) could become:

'Oliver, Oliver what do you see?'
'I see a whale spouting at me!'
'Whale, whale, what do you see?'
'I see dolphins sailing by me!' and so on.

• Incorporating a diary into the role-play provision will inspire many children to draw, mark-make and write about their adventures.

GRAPHICS AREA

Ensure that the graphics area is stocked with supplies that will inspire children to put their adventures down on paper. You will need:

• a variety of papers in many shades of blue and grey
• scissors that cut wavy edges
• a variety of pens including gel pens and felt pens.

You may wish to prepare in advance some ready-made blank books, with wavy edges, so that the children can instantly become published authors.

Learning opportunities

C&L Make stories
L Respond in a variety of ways to songs and poems
L Attempt writing for different purposes
L Make marks and attribute meaning to them
L Begin to form simple sentences, sometimes using punctuation
L Use a pencil and hold it effectively to form recognisable letters

Adult role

Make time to celebrate and share the children's mark-making, and provide a special container so that the books written by the children can be displayed to best effect.

CONSTRUCTION AREA

Enhance the construction area so that children can create new adventures for Oliver. Gather together a few basic items:

• some large pieces of fabric in various shades of blue
• a doll's bath (a washing-up bowl would do equally well, if a doll's bath is not available)
• a doll to represent Oliver

Ensure that access to junk modelling material and masking tape is available, so that children can create other characters for the story themselves. The sea monsters could hold particular appeal! Don't worry about glue or paint. Children will feel freer to use their imaginations if they are not constrained by the need to paint their 'finished' model.

Learning opportunities
UW Build and construct with a wide range of materials
UW Use a range of tools appropriately
M Use the language of mathematics to solve problems
C&L Enjoy the language of story and readily turn to it in their play

Adult role

• Scribe the children's stories for them.
• Add large sheets of paper to the construction area, along with some felt-tip pens so that children can map make in association with their play.
• Incorporate some simple percussion instruments. Work alongside the children so that they can create sound effects for their narratives. The illustrations in the book show a range of stormy, tempestuous environments - perfect for musical accompaniment!
• The sea monster might also inspire a whole range of sounds. Where possible, record the music that the children have made and play it back to them.

WATER AREA

The setting's water area could clearly be enhanced in a variety of ways, depending on which aspect of Oliver's adventures have fascinated the children the most. Ensure that you have several toy boats available so that children are inspired to create their own adventures. You will also need a selection of marine small-world figures, as well as pirates.

Learning opportunities

C&L Story making
C&L Responding in a variety of ways to stories
C&L Extending vocabulary
C&L Responding in a variety of ways to what they see, think, hear and
feel
M Using the language of mathematics to solve problems

Adult role

The adult could add:

• clipboards, paper and pens for: Mark-making, drawing, recording
• a selection of small-world figures for Making stories
• other Oliver books, which include Oliver Who Travelled Far and Wide and Oliver Who Would Not Sleep, all published by Hodder Children's Books.

RESOURCES BOX

Collecting resource boxes around predictable early childhood interests ensures that practitioners are well equipped to respond when children show a fascination for a particular topic. Such resource boxes can be added to as new items become available and new interests arise. The story of Oliver encompasses several themes that would be of interest to children, from families and daily routines, through to the sea, complete with whales, pirates and monsters.

To support children's interest in Oliver and his adventures:

• Gather together a collection of rhymes, songs and poems about bath time and the sea. Type the poems and songs, print them off and laminate them. Examples might include 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat' or 'The Big Ship Sails on the Alley Alley O!' Keep one or two published anthologies in the box for additional ideas.
• If you make up songs with the children, treat them in the same way. This will give status to the children's own compositions.
• To support children's desire to make stories of their own: Put together a collection of small-world figures that reflect Oliver's adventures. These might include whales, pirates and dolphins.
• To support children's desire to investigate and discover: Search for images on the internet of some of the animals mentioned. Where possible, download and use for discussion with the children.
• To support children's desires to investigate water: have available bubble liquid, detergent, powder paint, cooking oil.

Good buys

• www.toysandlearning.co.uk sells an excellent selection of small-world figures, including a wide range of whales
• www.earlyexcellence.co.uk offers a wide selection of small-world figures, pirates and toy boats
• www.ptolemytoys.co.uk sells an excellent wooden sailing boat, perfect for re-enacting and creating all kinds of sea-related stories (£14.30 exc VAT)

BOOK BOX

Put together a collection of books about play with water. Read them to the children so that they become familiar with them. Enhancing water play both indoors and outside, to reflect the content of the stories, will prompt children to use the language of story in their play.

Remember to observe the children in the book area. Watch and listen to see which stories are popular, looking for reading-like behaviours. Where possible, obtain multiple copies of favourite texts and make a display for parents.

Time to Get out of the Bath, Shirley by John Burningham (Red Fox) - An exploration of a young girl's daydreams as she takes her bath. The voice of the mother tells one story, while the pictures tell quite another. It would be wonderful to compare Shirley's adventures with Oliver's.

Maisy's Bathtime by Lucy Cousins (Walker Books) - Everyone's favourite mouse tries to take a bath, even though her friend Tallulah has come to play.

Mr Archimedes' Bath by Pamela Allen (Picture Puffin) - Mr Archimedes takes a bath with some of his animal friends, only to find that the water overflows! This story could stimulate a multiplicity of investigations.

Brilliant Boats by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker (Kingfisher Books) - Part of the 'Amazing Machines' series, this book introduces a whole range of boats with colourful illustrations and lively rhyming text.

Big Red Bath by Julia Jarman and Adrian Reynolds (Orchard Books) - Two children set off on an exuberant adventure, with lots of wild animals in tow! The text encourages prediction and invites children to join in.

I don't want to have a bath! by Julia Sykes and Tim Warnes (Little Tiger Press) - The story of a little tiger who runs away into the jungle at bath time. He just keeps on getting dirtier and dirtier ...

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (Red Fox) - This classic picture book tells the story of a little boy who sails away in his imagination and encounters and tames a whole range of monsters. As with the story of Oliver, there are many themes in this tale that children would welcome the opportunity to discuss.