Hello! I have introduced myself to most
of you, but for those who I may have missed I am Ms. Blevins. I am one of the
interns working with your child on Fridays this semester in Ms. Kurtjian’s
classroom. From the first day of working with the children I became the
“dramatic play” lady. The children were drawn to me in this aspect and I began
to notice a definite interest in this area.
Our
investigation into dramatic play started with an exploration of a veterinarian
prop-box. The children enjoyed using all of the materials on their animals. I
noticed however that the children were focused more on the items in the prop box
than in the dramatic play and the social interaction with their peers that I
had hoped to increase. I did however notice that there were more social
interactions when the children took the animals over to the stage area. They
were pretending to play with the animals, even making a home for them out of
some boxes that had been previously brought into the classroom.
For the next lesson, I decided to bring
back the animals. This time however I brought in items needed to take care of
the animals. The children really enjoyed feeding their pet, taking them to the
vet, and the most favorite taking their pet for a walk. This is where I noticed
a common interest from the last lesson repeating itself in this one. The
children had 2 leashes. When they were being used, the children wanted to come
up with other things that could be used to make a leash. They used various
scarves and dress up clothes for their leashes. Some of the children used large
foam blocks to create cages and houses for their pets. The children then
started to use the dress up clothes and their play evolved. They were
pretending to go to the beach so they needed their swim suits. 
For my next lesson with dramatic play I
wanted to see how having a variety of items to choose from would promote the
children's imagination. The children really enjoyed rummaging through the tub
of clothes. “I'm Strawberry Shortcake” and “I'm a princess” were some of the
words said. I discovered that the children were very passionate about having
just the right pieces for their costumes. The children continued to look for
just the right items all the way until clean up time. This encouraged my next
lesson. I will be researching with the children their favorite things to
pretend and what they may need to portray that role. I am excited to see
where this investigation goes in the weeks to come!
Dramatic
play increases a child’s social skills, language development, perspective
taking skills and their imagination! These skills can also be built at home. I
welcome you to spend some time with dramatic play with your child at
home!
~Ms.
Blevins
