Learning Through Play: The Importance of Roleplay
Learning Through Play: The Importance of Roleplay
You need not look any further than your playrooms, local parks, playgrounds, school yards, libraries or wherever it is that children convene and you will see that children are in a constant state of examination, study and discovery of the world around them. Study and discovery of the world by children is derived just as much from traditional instruction as it is from play. It is the latter that I will be discussing heretofore, specifically imaginative play and role play.
Children observe us the adults who surround and care for them as we act out all of the intricacies of adult living. Through observing and then re-enacting indeed through role play children learn about the macrocosmic world of adults through the microcosmic world of play.
Children are drawn to imaginative pretend play so that they can engage in the act of adult copy, whether it is pretend cooking through pretend food and kitchen toys or engaging in the creative play of Dress Up where they can mimic adult careers and roles. Through this kind of play children learn many important social, familial and civic lessons.
Through something as simple as the pretend play of caring for a baby doll, children learn a great deal about nurturing and tenderness. In fact, it is often recommended to get a child on the cusp of becoming a big brother or big sister a baby doll in order to aptly prepare them for the arrival of a new baby and the tenderness needed to be used when playing with the new sibling. This technique also helps to curb jealousy towards the new baby. The new big sibling can take care of their own baby doll while parents attend to their baby sibling, this can make them feel much more involved in the process of welcoming and caring for a new addition to the family. A recommendation for this kind of play would be dependent on the age of the child in question, a soft body doll for younger children and a hard body doll for older children. Preferably you would want something with a number of accessories such as diapers, feeding accessories and so on to add to the play.
Another face to imaginative pretend play is dress up. As children engage in Dress Up and the imaginative play act of roleplay, they also learn the virtues, rules and etiquettes of society and community. Children become citizens through play. When play acting roles such as teacher, police officer, fire fighter, doctor, and so on, children learn through play how to be active members of society. Even fantastical roleplay (be it knights, princes/princesses, fairies, wizards, etc.) provides a vehicle through which children can practice morality and ethics.
Another wonderful aspect to the world of imaginative pretend play (or role play) is the opening for skill development in multiple levels. For example, as already said the drive to copy the actions of adult often pushes children towards pretend food toys; so, a child at a Thanksgiving Feast may crave having their own turkey to carve which can lead them to a toy such as Voila's Chop Chop Chicken. This cut-through wooden pretend food toy will satisfy the desire to copy inherent in roleplay. However, the nature of this play lends itself to many different kinds of learning. As the child separates the wooden pieces by "cutting" through the velcro that holds the toy together using the included wooden knife, they are also developing hand-eye coordination as well as fine motor skills. Furthermore, separating the pieces establishes the early mathematic understanding of basic fractions (the child gains the understanding of whole vs. piece). As well, this kind of toy lends itself to lessons of sharing as everyone playing partakes of the pretend feast.
As much of a child's early learning is developed through play, the importance of roleplay becomes paramount. Not only do children learn about the world of adults through mimicry, but the very nature and act of roleplay open the way for many different kinds of skill development including: motor skills development, speech/language development, cognitive development, and social/emotional development. As such imaginative pretend play or roleplay is to be encouraged and recognized as an important aspect of not only play but also in developmental growth.
The Toy Space Inc. is a family run independent business. Our family is one of parents and teachers that saw a need for high quality, unlicensed, environmentally friendly, and educational products in our own homes and playrooms. It is from this need that the idea of The Toy Space Inc. was born. We source all of our products as parents and teachers first and foremost, looking for safe, high quality toys that will inspire creativity, inquisitiveness, and a life-long love of learning in both your children and our own. All of our products are handpicked and thoughtfully chosen for the purpose of Inspiring the Future!
Please join us in our stores and online at www.thetoyspace.com so that our team of experts can help you find the best educational toys to inspire your children and spur their development.
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