3y–4y8 minStory timeReadingQuiet time
Make Up Play Stories
Your child plays freely with familiar toys or safe household objects as characters and invents what happens to them.
What you'll need
Essentials
- Toy figures, animals, or vehicles, or safe household objects used as characters
Movement level: low
What you'll do
The 4-step guide, with what to look for at each step, is for signed-in parents.
What this develops
What it practices
- Create simple representations of events, people and objects.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Initiates new combinations of movement and gesture in order to express and respond to feelings, ideas and experiences.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Chooses particular colours to use for a purpose.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Introduces a storyline or narrative into their play.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Plays alongside other children who are engaged in the same theme.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Plays cooperatively as part of a group to develop and act out a narrative.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
Where it comes from
- Source
- Development Matters in the EYFS (DfE, 2012)
- Original guidance
- “Create imaginary words to describe, for example, monsters or other strong characters in stories and poems.”
- License
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Crown Copyright 2012 (Development Matters in the EYFS, DfE)