Early years drama activities (part 3)

Listed below are a few more activity ideas / games to encourage drama and socio-dramatic play in early years settings. They are taken from a document that I put together thanks to CCE funding. It is available to download as a pdf here.

Traffic Lights

Good for the memory and also nice and active. Needs a bit of space!

1. Introduce initially the three colours of the traffic lights and what they mean in this game:

Red = Freeze.

Yellow = Sit Down.

Green = Move Around.

2. Call out the colours at random. The children respond by acting accordingly

3. Once they have got used to these three, gradually add in more (these can be whatever you like)

Purple = Do a star jump.

Blue = Act like a monkey.

Pink = Touch the ground.

…and so on.

Pulse

Quiet focus activity.

1. Ask all children to sit in a circle and hold hands loosely. It’s often a good idea to also ask them to close their eyes, dependant on the group.

2. Squeeze the hand of one of the children next to you (gently). That child then squeezes the hand of the next person, and the squeeze is passed around the circle. (Like Chinese whispers with hands.)

Hey

Team-building activity.

1. Ask all the children to mirror everything you do.

2. Start a slow clapping rhythm and the change your movements fluidly, always keeping a rhythm (eg tapping head, shoulders, clapping, clicking…)

3. After a minute or two, slow the rhythm right down and slowly, slowly slide your hands down your legs. Physically start to move your body lower.

4. Gradually fade out all sound/action until there is silence.

5. Slowly, slowly start to move your body into an upright position.

6. When the moment is right, jump up and shout ‘HEY!’.

Read part 4 here 

Lindsay is a freelance creative practitioner and community artist www.lindsayjanehunter.co.uk