Enabling Environments: Outdoors - Step into the story

When picture-book author Julia Donaldson was recently appointed as Children's Laureate, one of the first plans she announced was her intention to promote projects that will link books with drama and music.

It's easy to see books only as a passive indoor activity, with the adult reading and the children sitting still and listening, but many stories are suitable for a little dramatic interpretation, so they can be 'acted out', either inside or out in the fresh air.

With the aid of a few simple props and a little imagination, children can move around, join in with the actions and words, and feel that they are really there, inside the story. This can help to encourage reluctant readers, particularly boys, to understand and enjoy stories in a new, exciting and much more physical way.

When I led an outdoor story walk in Barra Hall Park in Hayes, Middlesex, I wanted to make the activity a fun learning experience for the whole family so, as well as a group of children from the nearby Barra Hall Children's Centre, their parents, grandparents, and younger siblings were all invited along too. The intention was not only to share the story, but to include plenty of physical exercise and, as part of the National Year of Communication, to encourage the use of language, and to give parents an idea of the sort of similar activities they could try at home.

CHOOSING THE STORY

I chose We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury (Walker Books) as the focus of the walk for several reasons:

• The story is simple, with a sequence of actions that are easy to copy.

• The pictures and actions alone can tell the story, so, in a mixed ethnic group, a good knowledge of English was not essential.

• It is easy to identify with the characters - an adult, a group of children and a dog.

• The action moves between different settings which are fun to recreate - long grass, water, mud, a forest, snow, the bear's cave and the safety of 'home'.

• There is a chorus which the children could learn before we set off and then recite repeatedly as we moved between settings.

• Each action in the book is described using imaginative vocabulary.

• There are opportunities to explore a wide range of physical movements.

• The quest to track down the bear in his cave gives the walk a definite purpose and the children a sense of achievement.

THE WALK IN ACTION

Before the walk took place, the children's centre staff and our local speech and language therapist helped me to assemble suitable props which could be used to recreate the scenes in the book. It was important to encourage imagination, so there was no need for anything too realistic or expensive, and I wanted to find and use areas of a local park that could not immediately be seen at the start, so that each one encountered would come as a surprise.

The story began in the traditional way as we sat down to read the first page, familiarise ourselves with the characters, talk about our mission to find the bear, and practise saying the chorus together. Then off we went!

The long grass in the story was created using strips of green crepe paper hung at low level between two large trees, so the children could 'swish' their way over, under or through it. A large sheet of blue fabric made a pretend river to wade through, with a tray of water available so the children could engage in some splashing, too.

Mud was harder to deliver as the weather had been dry for several days, but I did locate an area where the earth looked very brown and bare, and we managed to 'squelch' through it using our imaginations and some exaggerated high-stepping movements. Setting up a 'mud-pie factory' back at the children's centre gave the children the chance to remember this part of the story later, and to make some mess using garden soil, watering cans and buckets.

A line of low trees growing close together was selected as our forest, where we stumbled and tripped over imaginary roots; meanwhile, some ripped net-curtain strips swaying from overhead branches with white sheets laid on the ground underneath made a very satisfying snowstorm.

An area of dense bushes provided the dark and creepy cave needed to hide our toy bear, and the children loved tiptoeing in to find him. They all seemed keen to cuddle him, so perhaps the bear I had chosen was not quite scary enough!

The run back to the safety of the garden and the slamming of the gate behind us finished the story off nicely, and it was gratifying in the days that followed to hear that several of the children had asked to come back to the park to see if the bear was still there. Many had talked animatedly about the story to family members who had not been present, and one family visited the local library especially to borrow the book and read it again. I also received many requests to organise another story walk soon!

OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR STORY WALKS

Goldilocks and the Three Bears - Easy to set up indoors or in the garden. You need three separate 'rooms' for children to explore, with bowls, spoons, chairs and beds (floor mats with blankets) for them to try out, all in three sizes. You can include the song 'When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears', and then go to the kitchen for some porridge-making as an extension activity.

Peace at Last by Jill Murphy (Walker Books) - Ideal for indoor play. Children can pretend to be Daddy bear, moving from room to room, looking for somewhere to sleep. Recreate some of the noises that keep him awake, for example, the alarm clock, dripping tap and owl, and recite the repeated chorus together.

The Three Little Pigs - Combine this story with some outdoor construction activities as you build three houses, using straw, sticks and (pretend) bricks, and all run between them in search of safety. You can then get all the children huffing and puffing to try to blow the houses down!