Role Play Games that Teach Essential Skills

Please welcome Corinne Jacob today as she shares three fun role play games that secretly teach kids essential skills.

Children love role-play games as they give them an opportunity to get into the skin of characters and develop their knowledge of a topic and explore. For example, when a child plays the role of a fish in a role-play game and she acts like she’s having fun on land, her friends and partners will soon point out that fish cannot survive on land and therefore she must continue to act like a fish in water. Thus role-play teaches her a new fact – that fish die as soon they’re taken out of water.

Here are a few kid’s games that will help children develop a multitude of essential skills.

Kid’s game #1 – Being a chef

Skill developed – Interest in cooking, communication, and counting

How to play

Get the kids to make dinner for you with this role-play game! Have them make a menu, take table bookings over the phone, take down orders from diners (parents/teachers/friends), cook/chop, lay the table, serve the food, write up the bill, and receive and the money from diners. This will not only help them develop an affinity for cooking but also help them develop communication skills and practice counting with the sneaked-in counting exercise!

Kid’s game #2 – Being a teacher

Skill developed – Handwriting and communication

How to play

Observe which subject your child is keenly taking an interest in, at school, and set up a classroom thatís conducive to the subject. If itís literature (stories and rhymes) that she likes, set up a classroom thatís dotted with story books, newspapers, and posters of characters from popular stories that she knows or likes. You can play the student and have her teach you a rhyme or a story. Allow her to illustrate on the board to explain anything specific. You can pretend to not understand a certain part and ask her to repeat or re-teach that part. Give her a register, chalks, markers, etc. to make the role-play look more real than it actually is!

Kid’s game #3 – Being a shopkeeper

Skill developed – Counting and communication

How to play

Choose which pretend shop to set up, grocery stores, ice cream parlors, garden nurseries, newsagents or something else. Allow your child to be the shopkeeper and you can play the role of a buyer. Include real money in the game so that kids take the role-playing seriously. You can set up the shop by placing related items, like packets of flour, biscuits, butter, etc. if youíre playing a grocery store or place real pots of plants if you’re playing a nursery. Remember the setup of any role-play game contributes significantly to how serious the childís going to play the game. Have her place price tags on each item and count the change while handing it over to the buyer.

About Corinne

Corinne Jacob is a wannabe writer who is convinced that kids learn best when they are having fun. She is constantly on the lookout for new and exciting ways to make learning an enjoyable experience. Corinne loves all things that scream out un-schooling, alternative education and holistic learning. She can be reached on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.