Nursery World - Use your imagination (2)

Role play brings children the same benefits outdoors as when it is done indoors, says Penny Tassoni. Show parents its value with this cut-out-and-photocopy guide Think home corner. Think farm animals. The chances are that most of us will immediately imagine an indoor backdrop, but role play belongs just as much outdoors.

Think home corner. Think farm animals. The chances are that most of us will immediately imagine an indoor backdrop, but role play belongs just as much outdoors.

This is not really a new idea. Historically children have always played outdoors with materials that were to hand. Cooking mud pies, stirring rose petal perfume and hiding under the washing hanging on the line were commonplace activities for children. Today, many children do not have access to an outdoor area at home, and playing out in the street is considered by most parents to be too risky. For practitioners, this means thinking about ways in which we can offer similar opportunities for imaginative play outdoors that will encourage children to take control of their play.

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