The Importance of Role Play in the Early Years
Role play is a magical part of the early years foundation stage and beyond. Most EYFS practitioners will be familiar with the magic of a role play corner, but why exactly is it so important in the EYFS, and how can it be used to best promote the development of our little ones? Read on to find out.
The benefits
There are heaps of benefits to role play in developing children’s core and complementary skills. These are just some of the examples, but we’re sure you’ll be able to spot more.
Communication and Language
Getting stuck into a fun home corner or immersing themselves in a magical fairy land is great fun, but it also offers a huge opportunity for developing communication skills.
When little ones play collaboratively in role play scenarios, they quickly pick up new language and phrases from those around them. Think of the conversations that could pop up when a child is making a pretend dinner for their friends, for example!
When we add exciting and playful resources to role play, vocabulary development comes into play, too. A castle, for example, will promote all sorts of new phrases that children might not otherwise come across. Children are also likely to pick up new words from children around them coming from other experiences, cultures and backgrounds, such as varied names for particular items or different methods of using tools.
Children are also likely to benefit in their literacy development in role play areas - especially when retelling familiar stories.
We can work to support communication and language development by providing exciting and varied resources. Deconstructed role play kits can be a brilliant help to encourage children to work collaboratively to create the lands they’ve dreamed of. Open ended bowls and baskets work great in a play kitchen, while a wooden grocery set is bound to add value to your play supermarket.
Personal, social and emotional development (PSED)
PSED skills abound in role play. Children often play out particular scenarios they have experienced at home in role play environments, in order to externally process their experiences. A new baby at home may just pop up in your home corner with the addition of some dolls, or a picky eater might just pretend they don’t like what their friend cooked them to observe their reaction. Acting out their lived experiences in this way can often help children try out new approaches to interacting with others, or assess how their friends might have reacted to something they have experienced themselves.
Not only do children reenact things they’ve experienced in the home corner, but they’re likely to practice new forms of expression in role play. A child keen to start coming out of their shell might do this first when dressed as a superhero - or a child struggling with settling into their new group might more easily make friends with other similarly dressed fairies!
Understanding the World
It is also a great avenue to support children’s understanding of the world around them. A police station or doctor’s surgery, for example, helps children immerse themselves in topics like ‘people who help us’. Being able to get stuck right into the scenario they’re learning about is a great way to support vocabulary development in an otherwise quiet little one. We stock a range of ready prepared role play room sets to help out.
Equally, a role play area covering unfamiliar topics or scenarios can be really beneficial for helping children recognise the value of cultures, settings or landscapes unlike the ones they see every day. A role play rainforest, for example, could help children recognise the value of preserving natural resources.
Looking beyond the EYFS
Role play areas are a common site in nursery and reception classrooms - but the learning potential doesn’t stop in the EYFS. Key Stage 1 and even Key Stage 2 children can benefit from the magic that role play can bring - you just might need bigger equipment!
Adding a role play area to a key stage 1 or 2 classroom, for example, can not only benefit all the areas outlined above, but incorporate further learning in science, literacy and numeracy. Build a ‘science lab’ indoor or outdoors to support current teaching and encourage lots of recording experiments with test tubes and more, or add numeracy resources and play money to a play shop to encourage mathematical calculations.
We love role play at Cosy, so we’d love to see what you do in your setting. Tag us on Instagram, TikTok or Facebook - or head to our Pinterest for more role play ideas.
