“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”Albert Einstein
When children do role plays, they naturally become someone or something else. Role play stimulates their imagination and “enhances their social development, encourag(es) friendship through cooperation, listening and turn taking”. Therefore, role play is a really vital activity for children.
children can learn many skills and attitudes during role play, and learn how to be co-operative (teamwork) and be empathetic with others. They can learn to express all their feelings. They also can learn about other cultures and improve their language and movement skills.
During role plays children can experience school activities like literacy and numeracy. In the playing shop, children can “encompass all the aspects of the curriculum”. They can learn about money, about politeness and the right way to ask questions and respond etc. Role play can help children to make sense of their world.
“Role Play in Early Years Settings provide children with the opportunity to develop their imagination”
“Imaginative play not only aids intellectual development but also improves children’s social skills and their creativity. In addition it gives children a chance to play out events that they have observed or experienced in real life.” And this means also situations they might have some problems to deal with. In fact, role plays can help to “explore moral issues and problems safely”
Also, by getting into the future or the past, the role play permits to visit or re-visit places and moments our children need to handle. They can travel anywhere, in the real world or in a very fictional one, where people have special powers or things just are not like normal…