Drama training, without making anyone feel silly. Possible? Yes! It's a fine balancing act for sure, but we know that early years teachers often have a reticence (sometimes a downright fear!) about the idea of using drama in their practice. So how on earth do we teach EYPs to have the confidence to use drama and imaginative play with confidence?

Early Years settings put a lot of faith into resources such as toys, costumes, and role play areas, to engage children in imaginative play – but this could actually be limiting children’s imaginations and therefore limiting potential learning outcomes (not to mention wasting time/money). Let me illlustrate...

I know Halloween is some way off yet, but yesterday was a bit spooky...

My sister and I owe a lot to a plane journey back in 2017 when we were heading over to the Netherlands to visit our Pyjama Drama colleague. An hour ahead of us, a glass of fizz in hand, and we started to discuss the very thing that had been coming up time and again since I joined the company two years earlier...

This is me. Someone who was shy as a child, someone who hates having their photograph taken, and someone who almost gave up teaching due to extreme anxiety brought on by the fear of being observed by other adults. 

This is Amelie. Don’t be fooled by the bashful smile, Amelie is bold and brave and at the centre of every Pyjama Drama adventure.

We've all heard the phrase, 'Do as I say, not as I do' but children actually do both. They imitate behaviours they see AND hear, and that's why drama is the perfect preschool learning tool. When they take on different roles and communicate with different characters, children get a unique opportunity to observe the world around them in the safe and supportive environment of the drama.

This week we delivered our drama and imaginative play training for nearly 50 teachers as part of the Collective Learning Conference in Cardiff. Before we started, we asked everyone to consider how they felt about using drama and imaginative play and give themselves a score - 1, 2, or 3.

Drama and imaginative play transport children to places where they can experience things that will probably never happen (like swimming with the mermaids or dancing on the moon) and experience the probable - like starting school, going to the dentist, or watching Wales win the World Cup!