Ideas for role play at home

Here are some role play ideas we thought would be fun at home. For all of the ideas you could encourage your children to make signs, draw pictures to sick around the area, research what they might need, and dress up.

Restaurant

This is a great way to get the kids to do dinner for you! Children can make a menu and play restaurants with chefs and waiters. This can include taking the table booking, taking your order from their menu, cooking/chopping (or helping you cook), laying the table, serving the food, writing up the bill and counting the money.

Vet

You can create a vet surgery at your home. Get children to research what they will need for a vet's surgery. For example, a waiting room, pretend medicine, table, prescription paper for them to write up on.

Doctors and nurses

See if you can get some pretend doctors and nurses kits, have a look at what each of them do and use them appropriately, write prescriptions, and wrap the patients up in bandages!

Shops

Pretend shops can be grocery stores, ice cream parlours, garden nurseries, newsagents or many other kinds of shops. Children can put prices on items and this can be a great way to learn about the value of money and counting. See if you can get a pretend till and money....

Birthday Party

Planning a party is always fun. Think about some kids party theme ideas together. Help them design their own party invites, choose a favourite toy to have a birthday and bake a birthday cake together. Help them research some kids birthday party ideas online.

Schools

Look at what your child has recently been learning and set up a classroom. Either you or your child can be the teacher and you can re-enact what they do at school. Children especially love pretending to be the teacher and taking the register. Your child can write out a register of their class and pretend to tick the children in as present or absent.