Acting out scenes where firefighters rescue cats from trees or police officers chase baddies on motorbikes is appealing to young children, particularly those who enjoy action and adventure. Equally, role-playing doctors, nurses, vets or dentists gives children the chance to make sense of situations that may or may not be familiar to them.
Practitioners can help to broaden children's interest in and understanding of 'people who help us' by enabling them to meet local community workers - a visit to a fire station or an in-house visit from a police officer - backed up with plenty of resources for role play at the nursery. For example, children may want to turn the home corner into a police station or create a fire station outdoors where they can have access to water. Books and DVD footage of real people at work and role-play materials for creating workplace scenarios are vital to support children's learning.
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