Ngā Whakaari ā-whānau Family/ Dramatic Play
Family & Dramatic Play | Ngā Whakaari ā-whānau
Whether it’s looking after a baby, making dinner for the family, or fixing a problem in the house – when children are pretending do anything they have observed in their daily lives, they are practicing dramatic or family play.
Learning and Development
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Dramatic play helps children connect daily experiences, build social skills and learn cooperation.
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Core skills like language, social interaction and thinking are developed through play.
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Children process and re-enact experiences, building understanding and confidence.
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Play fosters creativity as children create stories, with support from teachers as they guide their ideas through questions.
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Dramatic play teaches cooperation and helps children appreciate differing perspectives.
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An awareness and understanding of signs and symbols are realised through dramatic play – e.g., shopping lists, road signs, counting items.
How family/dramatic play relates to the primary school curriculum
Continuing Learning at Home
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Dress ups:
Provide a dress up box with outfits representing different family members or professions. This can spark imaginative play and provide plenty of laughs. -
Extending play
Offering materials like cardboard boxes, fabric pieces and scarves as flexible props give opportunity for children to extend their play and ideas, creating what they imagine. -
Recreate Book or TV Scenes:
Encourage children to act out scenes or stories they’ve encountered in books or on TV. -
Create a Play Road:
Draw a road with chalk outside or on a large piece of paper. Add cars, trucks, and toy figures. You can even make your own road signs and symbols for more interactive play.
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