Do your kids role play?
“You come to a door.”
“I knock on the door.”
“No one is answering.”
“I see if the door is unlocked.”
“The handle turns and the door swings open.”
“I peer inside.”
My children absolutely love to role play; everywhere, everyday.
The way they often go about role play is playing without manuals, charts or rules (except everyone having fun).
One of the key ways to role play with a child is making open ended scenarios. Allowing each player to craft the world by what they see and experience is key for BOTH participants to have a good time. This isn’t something read from a book, but made up with imagination on the spot.
Think about the way you ask about an activity you didn’t attend. Where did you go? What did you eat? Who was there? Much like we can ask investigating questions into a day for our kid, we can ask these questions for them to make up the answers for a role play session.
A session can last as long as you have time for, like a car ride or a hike. Role play can take place in any session, like a movie franchise, video game world or discovered as you go. All the specifics can vary for the participants and is one of the beauties of role playing this open ended way.
Having the flexibility to have an activity with no set-up, no materials, and no limits, role playing with a child can be an expressive way to spend time together. Next time you have some time together to fill, think about how you’ll creep down a dimly lit hallway to discover the witches crating their potions.
