Children of all ages are fascinated by the world around them. A small-world area can echo and represent the children’s real world only in miniature. It can also include favourite fantasy figures to promote imaginative play. To make the area engaging it can be developed with natural materials to promote children’s curiosity and offer a wealth of mathematical experiences.
A basic small-world kit should be regularly enhanced to stimulate the children’s interests with, for example, small people, wooden train sets, cars and building bricks. Most importantly, small-world play does not need to come from a box of pre-set resources or kits.
Small-world resources provide plenty of opportunities for sorting, matching and counting. Children are able to consolidate their understanding of everyday experiences further, as they recreate situations and scenes that they have encountered first-hand or have been introduced to via storybooks, television or other means.
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