Three year old Alice has recently been for a doctors appointment. She plays a game of Drs and nurses with her friend Bobby.
Good for looking at
- Pretend play
- Friendship
- Socialising
- Communication
- Understanding the world
Three year old Alice has recently been for a doctors appointment. She plays a game of Drs and nurses with her friend Bobby.
Notice
- What are the children are interested in? (Look out for non-verbal and body language as well as spoken language)
- How are the children learning? Which areas of development, engagement and characteristics of learning can you observe?
- What is valuable about the materials provided?
Reflect
What are your thoughts about:
- What the children are exploring?
- Alice says – ‘Are you pretending to be a Doctor?’ What does this tell you about What the children understand about their play?
- The areas of learning and development being supported?
- The adult’s role – how did she support the girls?
- The importance of the environment and the materials?
Respond
What would you do to:
- Encourage the children’s interest in role play?
- Support Alice after her trip to the doctors?
- Help the children work through fears they may have?
What next:
- Do you engage in play with the children in your setting? How do you know when to interact and when to stand back?
- Could you suggest a way of encouraging this kind of role play in your own setting?
- How can you encourage the use of pretend play to support children in working through fears and worries they may have?
