Nursery World - Enabling Environments: Role play

If boys use the home corner less than girls, it may be wise to broaden your resources, says Anne O'Connor.

Help! Our girls are monopolising the home corner! We think it's an important resource for all our children, so how do we get our boys to want to use it more and our girls to be happy to share it with them?

You're right, the home corner is an important resource for all children, so it's worth spending some time observing who plays in there and the kind of play they engage in. The girls are clearly enjoying it - and perhaps they are also making the most of the one space in the setting that boys aren't monopolising.

Look at the whole of your setting from the point of view of both girls and boys and see what the children are telling you about all of your continuous provision. Now might also be the time to look more closely at your preconceptions about gender and how this impacts on children and their choices.

Both boys and girls are subject to gender bias from an early age. Even when we think we are completely unbiased, we still respond to certain norms in our society - would you put a pink bonnet on a baby boy? So, not surprisingly, children are quick to pick up on what is 'acceptable' for boys to play with and what is not. And yet we know that all babies love to play with pots and pans and little boys like dressing up and playing mummies and daddies with pretend tea sets. This makes a supportive and encouraging environment important in allowing boys to feel comfortable and confident playing in a home corner. But we also know that boys and girls are different, and that there are some generalisations we can make that are more than just stereotypes.

Research seems to suggest that boys have a tendency to use all the space in a setting more confidently than girls, who appear to contain their role play within the bounds of a defined home corner area (Rogers and Evans 2008). If there are lots of girls using a relatively small home corner, or they are using a lot of energy in keeping the boys out, perhaps you need to make the space bigger and increase the 'domestic' play resources available. This will reassure the girls that there is enough for their needs and increase the likelihood that they will feel able to share them.

Encouraging and supporting the girls to explore and use more of the space in the setting will free up the home corner area for the boys who may not need much encouragement to play there, once the space opens up and incorporates activities and resources that interest them.

AROUND THE SETTING

Your observations of the kinds of play that the boys engage in elsewhere in the setting should give you some ideas for encouraging boys into 'domestic role play' both in the home corner and elsewhere around the place. These will involve characters and role play linked to their current interests as well as vigorous, physical activity and opportunities for them to experiment with tools and domestic equipment.

If space allows, include hollow blocks as part of your indoor home role play. They are versatile, not only for building walls and enclosures, but also for creating hollow spaces to act as cupboards, shelves or even ovens.

Putting things in and out of spaces like these makes links with children's schemas and the opportunity for physical activity may motivate boys to make more use of the home corner area. Brushes and brooms for sweeping and heavy boxes and crates for lifting all encourage vigorous activity. Trucks and trolleys for transporting are also useful alongside prams and buggies in the home corner.

Have a 'travelling 'set of cups, plates, pots and pans, etc for pretend cooking and eating outside, or in other parts of the setting. Consider always having at least two role-play areas, one that is specifically a 'home', with the usual furniture and resources, as well as another that matches the children's current interests - for example, a deep-sea cave, space station, hospital or travel agents.

Involve the children in small group discussions about what they want. By listening to their ideas, you are more likely to provide the kinds of role play that boys are most interested in. Even with a prescribed theme, there is still room for open-ended play that allows domestic role play to thrive as part of it. Tea parties still take place at the bottom of the sea and babies are put to bed in space stations if the resources are available and children feel they have ownership of the space.

Sue Rogers and Julie Evans remind us of the importance of home corner play in their book Inside Role Play in Early Childhood Education - Researching young children's perspectives: 'Domestic play is more important to young children than we sometimes recognise in our efforts to make role play more interesting and more relevant to the curriculum. Within apparently mundane domestic scenarios, the complexities of relationships, daily routines and events are played out, varied and embellished, social dynamics are tested and rehearsed and social bonds are established and terminated.'

This is as important for boys as it is for girls. They don't always play out scenarios that are identical to their experiences at home, however. 'Children interpret and rework familiar scripts to fit their immediate play needs. In this way, whatever the theme or role adopted in the play, it is always a creative, imaginative and interpretive process.'

OUTDOORS

Of course, the home corner needn't always be indoors, and this is an obvious way to encourage the involvement of boys. Building dens and constructing enclosures and defined home spaces with big blocks, crates and planks, or clothes horses and blankets allows both boys and girls to engage in 'home building' as well as home keeping. Willow structures work well, as does a natural gap in the bushes for creating a home space furnished with a few cups and bowls and a pretend fire.

Dressing-up clothes can bring boys into the home corner. There are lots available now that are likely to appeal to boys, although sometimes an old jacket and a tie or cap will do just as well. It is common for boys of this age to also want to play with girls' dressing-up clothes. This is normal and should never be discouraged, although some parents and practitioners might struggle with it.

Help them to appreciate that it is a healthy form of experimentation and support them as they find positive ways of talking with children about it. Cloaks and capes are non-prescriptive and perfect for open-ended play for both boys and girls.

Think about the role models your boys spend time with. Look out for good storybooks that show men and boys involved in domestic activities and caring roles and display them by the home corner. Write group stories about Superman minding the baby or Batman saving the day when he cooked the nursery dinner. Make sure that male members of staff engage in lots of domestic role play and always invite visitors to take tea in the home corner with the boys!

MORE INFORMATION

Inside Role Play in Early Childhood Education: Researching young children's perspectives by Sue Rogers and Julie Evans (Routledge 2008)

The Cleverness of Boys: Understanding what boys do well and helping them to succeed by Sally Featherstone and Ros Bayley (Featherstone 2010)

COMMUNITY PLAYTHINGS: HOME FROM HOME

Flexible and robust home corner units to fit any size or shape of setting is available from Community Playthings.

Among the sets on offer is the PlayWorks Cornwall Kit (£731), which includes a fridge, stove, sink, low cabinet and drawer. The units can be stacked and the tops are reversible and interchangeable.

A solid hardwood ironing board, cradle, bed and pushcart - perfect for transporting home corner resources around the nursery - are available as a Playsize Set of Four (£473). And if children want to construct their own spaces, then there's Community Playthings range of hollow blocks, with sets starting at £175.