I began to write a storytelling idea at Easter about an Easter egg hunt on a picnic, but for various reasons it wasn't finished in time. However, stories can often be changed to fit different occasions and treasure hunts and picnics are fun. .I remember how much my granddaughter enjoyed the book 'We're Going on a Picnic' by Pat Hutchins. We dramatized the story for weeks, changing the animals that went on a picnic, to soft toys that we had. We put them in the doll's pram with some real food for us to eat. Sometimes we searched around the house for a place to eat and sometimes we went into the garden to have our picnic.

In Pat Hutchins story, the food in the basket disappears as other animals pop into the basket unseen by Hen Duck and Goose, and take the food. Here are some other ideas for a picnic story/game. Sing a song as you go along and talk about each place you stop at, saying why it isn't suitable for your picnic.

• hunt for different kinds of food to take on a picnic.
• hunt for different clothes to wear when the weather is cold, wet, windy, sunny, etc.
• Put pieces of fruit in several places to pick up for your basket or pram as you look for a picnic spot.
• have children hide ready to pop out to steal a piece of fruit when you stop at a likely picnic spot.
• Have hungry looking soft toys at some spots and give each one you meet a piece of fruit until there is no food left for you.
• Meet more animals along the way who ask to go with you. There won't be enough food. What will you do? Send the child back to get more? Buy some at the shop? Cut the food into pieces?

Children love acting out stories. I hope you have fun with them using some of these ideas.