ABSTRACT
I will always remember one warm Monday morning in Hackney when Darren’s mum rushed in and said, ‘Darren writted his name. You didn’t teach him, I didn’t teach him!’ I took this as a compliment. Darren and his friend Jason played almost exclusively in the garden, but used the indoors when they needed resources for their outdoor play. Darren had used the outdoor area in the way described in this book and he managed to ‘writ’ his name at four and a half years of age. His Mum had seen me play and work with Darren in a learning and teaching environment, so she did not consider I had formally taught him.
