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At Kids Cottage, children act out imaginary situations and stories, become different characters, pretend they are in different locations and times. When imaginative/dramatic play is shared with others, this becomes sociodramatic play.
This type of play is fluid and dynamic according to the interests and ideas of children. It can sometimes involve the use of props, costumes, and scenery, but this isn’t a requirement as can be solely imagination based.
Studies show that sociodramatic play is a way for children to develop social and language skills, by creating imaginary worlds, characters, and scenarios, which relate to the real world (Smilansky, 1968).
In one study (Nicolopoulou, Cortina, Ilgaz, Cates, & de Sá, 2015), the researchers found that children who participated in a storytelling and sociodramatic play program had improved language, emergent literacy, play, and self-regulation abilities.
Children use play to re-create [the] world and model the social behaviour they see in it. In this way they can experience the world without risking the consequences. – (Toye & Prendiville 2013)
- Developing roles
- Creating their own storylines
- Making up their own spoken lines (dialogue)
- Interacting with each other
- Directing each other in play.
Children use play to practice important language and social skills, including:
- Joining in
- Sharing and taking turns
- Ways of interacting through different relationships (parent/child, brother/sister, doctor/patient, student/teacher)
- Negotiating with each other about how the play will go.
At Kids Cottage we support this dynamic play by providing ever changing simulated real world environments. At our centre you may see from time to time a hairdressing salons, doctors surgery, domestic kitchen and living rooms, grocery shop and veterinarian clinic. In our construction area, children build cities and homes, whilst another child plays at living in one of the houses and another child may pretending to be the architect. Felt character cut outs and boards are utilised to re-tell stories, as are dress ups and the sandpit, which can be used for all sort of dramatic play including making cakes for others.
Our Educators embrace opportunities to embed higher order learning in dramatic play. We encourage exploration of literacy including language use, social conversations, new terminology, writing and checking shopping lists.
Numeracy is frequently embedded in sociodramatic play. For example in shopping scenarios children role playing shop keepers count the number of items on shelves and being purchased, tell each other how much items cost and currency needed. Children use catalogues to plan and count out how many items need to be purchase.
There are countless benefits to children participating in dramatic play, emotional wellbeing, numeracy, literacy, communication, imagination, social skills and a lot of fun.
If you would like to stop by and have a chat with one of our KC Educators we would love to meet with you and show you around. Simply call us on 9683 2770 or book online, click here