Small world provision · Section 2
Make a woodland world that can change
An autumn tree can become the edge of a wood, a meeting place or somewhere to hide. These movable environment pieces give children a starting point for their own settings, ready to combine with animal figures, blocks, fabric and new ideas.
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Take a look inside
Browse two sample sheets and an extract from the practitioner notes. These three watermarked previews show a small selection of the illustrations and the guidance included.
On smaller screens, scroll or swipe sideways to browse the three watermarked previews. Download the file for all 15 environment pieces and the preparation notes.
What’s included in the pack?
Section 2: Woodland Environment Pieces. This separate file has eight pages: practitioner notes, six illustrated sheets containing 15 movable pieces, and an optional folded-support sheet.
Pieces for changing places
Illustrated trees and woodland features can help children suggest a setting, mark a boundary or create somewhere for a character to visit. Offer just a few at first, leaving space for children to move them and add their own materials.
Practical preparation notes
The guidance covers printing, cutting and backing the pieces, ways to use them flat or upright, and choosing suitable materials. It also explains how to keep the woodland open to children’s ideas, with no fixed match between an animal and a place.
One part of the woodland collection. This download contains the environment pieces. Animal figures, habitat invitations and story invitations are available separately, or you can use the pieces with the small-world toys you already have.
Using the pieces in your provision
The setting can grow with the story. A few printed pieces alongside familiar construction materials give children room to arrange, connect and change their woodland.
Choose a few pieces
Print the sheets that fit the children’s play. Adults back the pieces with firm card, or laminate and trim, then cut a simple outline with a generous white margin. Cutting around the whole rectangle is also an option.
Combine and arrange
Offer the pieces with animal figures, blocks, fabric and checked natural materials. Use them flat on a tray, table or floor, or support selected pieces upright. Leave enough space for children to move a tree, change a route or build somewhere new.
Follow the changing story
Notice what children make of the setting. A place can have a new visitor or become something different as the play develops. Add a piece or a short prompt when it helps their idea, and leave the next move to them.
Keep the possibilities open
There is no finished woodland to copy. Children can leave pieces out, reinterpret them or combine them with their own constructions. Moving, enclosing and connecting parts of the setting can become part of the story.
Combine pictures with construction
The printed pieces are flat illustrations. An animal can move behind a piece to suggest hiding; blocks and fabric can make an opening or shelter that children can actually build and change.
What should we print?
The file has eight pages. Choose the illustrated sheets you need from pages 2–7 and print on A4 at 100% / actual size. Page 1 contains practitioner notes, with no need to print it; page 8 is an optional folded-support sheet. The 5 cm check line on page 7 helps you check the print size.
Can the pieces stand up?
Yes, with suitable support, or you can use them flat. For a tree, leave a straight lower edge and use a wide, stable card holder, or securely attach its backed trunk to a stable block. Check it stays upright with your chosen materials. Larger trees need more support than the smaller animal figures.
How large are the pieces?
At actual-size printing, trees are approximately 15–16 cm tall and most other pieces are approximately 6–10 cm along their longest dimension. These are practical play sizes, not a true-to-life scale comparison.
What should adults check before play?
Choose pieces, holders and loose parts suitable for the children using them. Avoid small parts for children who mouth objects. Check natural materials, cut edges and joins; remove damaged pieces and keep the printed props dry. Keep printed centres and the spaces between branches intact. Use the printed fungi for play rather than collecting wild fungi.
Download the Woodland Environment Pieces
Bring a few woodland pieces into your provision and let children build the setting around their own stories.
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You might also find these useful
Bring characters, habitat ideas and stories into the woodland settings children create. Each link below opens a public page where you can explore the companion resource before visiting its downloads.
Resource and preview images © Little Owls Resources.