Teaching with Role Play

Inquisitive children will come
up with all sorts of stories.

Why role play?

We know that role play is an important part of a child growing up and developing. Creative play can teach children so many things about the world and about each other. These advantages are now acknowledged in the National Curriculum.

So it makes sense to include role play as a part of your children's learning and playing experience. But how can you incorporate role play into your teaching schedule?

Let children direct their learning.

Every teacher knows there's a fine line between fun and chaos when it comes to teaching with play - the trick to successful role-play is to control the teaching environment without getting in the way of children's ability to express themselves.

Children will play by themselves - give them any tools and they'll be away creating worlds and stories in their heads. This imaginative play is crucial to learning, and it's important to let children play out the fantasies they come up with.

Get involved.

Our Play Stage is the perfect space
for creative play.

But that's not to say you shouldn't get involved. Try suggesting ideas that complement their role playing - if they are playing house for example, are they playing in the countryside? In the city? How many people are in their imaginary family?

Asking open-ended questions is a great way to fire up their imaginations while still letting them control the direction of play. With questions like these, you can start introducing important themes - things like empathy, cooperation, and teamwork. Get them thinking, and then let them figure it out for themselves!

Why not become a part of their story yourself? Play along with them, dress up with them, let them direct you in their story. You'll find it much easier to direct their play when you're a part of it yourself, so don't be afraid to get involved!

A bit of help from Red Monkey Play.

Of course, having the right props makes imaginative play all the easier, and Red Monkey is here to help. We have a great range of role play products, from simple play blocks to get their minds working to huge pirate ship play units for a swashbuckling pirate adventure! Why not visit us online to see how we can help.

But when it comes down to it, role play is all about the children; their stories, their imaginations, their learning. Let them take control of their playtime, and you'll be surprised what they can learn outside of the classroom!

Written by Tom for Red Monkey Play. For more play ideas and great play products, visit www.redmonkeyplay.co.uk.