Mindful Moments with Miss Harrison

S8 E4 Play It Out – Role-playing and acting to explore scenarios and emotions

St Stephen's CE Primary, Bradford, UK Season 8 Episode 4

Play It Out – Exploring Emotions Through Role-Play

Helping children use imagination, role-play and storytelling to express and understand their emotions.

In this imaginative episode of Mindful Moments with Miss Harrison, children explore how playing out emotions through acting and role-play can help them understand feelings in a safe, creative way. Whether pretending to be a superhero, chef, explorer or magical creature, play allows children to experience and explore a wide range of emotions—from pride and frustration to courage and kindness.

Through the story of Toby, who turns a disappointing race into a brave adventure through pretend play, children learn that it’s not always about winning—it’s about trying your best, helping others, and learning through experience.

What children will learn in this episode:

  • How role-play can help express emotions safely and creatively
  • Why imaginative play supports emotional awareness
  • How to create characters and adventures based on real feelings
  • Strategies for using pretend play to process tricky situations

Emotional Learning Tips from Miss Harrison:

  • Pick a feeling: Choose an emotion you’ve felt recently—proud, nervous, frustrated, excited.
  • Create a character: Pretend to be someone who can explore that feeling—a superhero, scientist, explorer, or magical creature.
  • Act it out: Use toys, costumes, drawings or your imagination to create a story where your character learns something helpful about that emotion.

Play is a powerful emotional tool. It helps children explore real situations through the lens of creativity, building emotional confidence and problem-solving skills.

Mindful Moment Challenge:

This week, act out a short story based on how you felt today. It could be a tale of bravery, kindness, patience or pride. Use your imagination to discover new ways of understanding and managing your feelings.

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