Five ways to develop
drama skills

The benefits of drama for young children are clear. So how do you go about introducing drama to young children? Come along to a Pyjama Drama class to find out!  And in the meantime, try these tips:

1. Tell a story, dramatically!

You don’t have to be a trained performer or skilled actor to tell stories dramatically – anyone can do it and it’s a fantastic way to bring characters and stories to life in a child’s imagination and to encourage them to become more expressive readers. When reading a story to your child, try putting on different voices for each character and model the character’s tone of voice and their facial expressions.  Try pausing the story to ask key questions about the characters to encourage your child to use their facial expressions and body language, e.g:  ‘What do you think his face would look like when he fell down the stairs?’ Children learn firstly by observing and then by doing so don’t be afraid to lose yourself in a story and model these dramatic skills for your child.

2. Sing together

Music is the expression of emotions, so singing with your child is the most natural way to explore the world with each other. In the car, in the bath, walking to school; sing wherever and whenever you can to introduce your child to the joys of music and to develop their dramatic skills. It doesn’t matter what you sing, all songs express basic human emotions, but to get you started, why not listen to Chatterbox (click to play the song, click again to stop) – a simple Pyjama Drama song designed to get you singing (and chatting!) together.

3. Play! 

All children love playing games, never more when playing with Mum, Dad or someone they care about. Drama games which encourage the players to take on a role or deliver a simple script are best for developing drama skills and are also great fun. We’ve loads of drama games for children for you to play at home so why not give it a go?

4. Role play 

Many young children have an innate imagination whilst in some it can need a little gentle nurturing. Setting up opportunities for children to role play can be extremely beneficial for fostering drama skills, specifically for developing the imagination, and doesn’t necessarily require the use of expensive equipment or costume. With a little imagination a blanket over the kitchen table can be a spaceship, the bedroom floor a place for a teddy bears picnic and a tea towel makes a perfect nurses hat!

5. Live theatre 

Exposing children to live performance from an early age can go a long way to develop their own drama skills and doesn’t have to be a costly experience; local amateur dramatic groups often produce theatre of a very high standard for example as do local schools. The experiential nature of live theatre engages children in a way that television cannot hope to do and is a shared experience for families to enjoy together.