Doctors and nurses

Three year old Alice has recently been for a doctors appointment. She plays a game of Drs and nurses with her friend Bobby.

Good for looking at

• Pretend play
• Friendship
• Socialising
• Communication
• Understanding the world

 

Three year old Alice has recently been for a doctors appointment. She plays a game of Drs and nurses with her friend Bobby.

Notice

• What are the children are interested in? (Look out for non-verbal and body language as well as spoken language)
• How are the children learning? Which areas of development, engagement and characteristics of learning can you observe?
• What is valuable about the materials provided?

Reflect

What are your thoughts about:

• What the children are exploring?
•  Alice says – ‘Are you pretending to be a Doctor?’  What does this tell you about What the children understand about their play?
• The areas of learning and development being supported?
• The adult’s role – how did she support the girls?
• The importance of the environment and the materials?

Respond

What would you do to:

• Encourage the children’s interest in role play?
• Support Alice after her trip to the doctors?
• Help the children work through fears they may have?

What next:

• Do you engage in play with the children in your setting? How do you know when to interact and when to stand back?
• Could you suggest a way of encouraging this kind of role play in your own setting?
• How can you encourage the use of pretend play to support children in working through fears and worries they may have?