Dramatic play for preschoolers activities

This classic dramatic play center is another favorite. Set up a hospital with a triage cot, doctor costumes and lots of props. No explanation is needed! This is one of the centers (like the grocery store and the restaurant) that the children are usually very familiar with. They love to be called “Doctor”! Click HERE for more pictures of the set-up.

Hot Drink Cafe – Dramatic Play Center

Warm up with a mug of hot chocolate and a fresh pastry at the “Star Drinks” hot drink cafe. Click HERE to see lots of photo inspiration.

Ice Cream Parlor – Dramatic Play Center

Chocolate and mint ice cream with cherries on top… coming right up! Preschoolers love to scoop and sell this summer treat to their friends. Click HERE to see more pictures.

Do your students love to reread the books that you share with them in class? Set your dramatic play area up as a Library. Allow them to “check out” books with their very own library card and return them to school the next day.

Pancake and Waffle

What’s for breakfast?! Add the pancake and waffle sets (available HERE and HERE from Melissa & Doug) to the kitchen and fire up the grill. Children will love the custom menus and all of the toppings for their delicious breakfast.

Make a brick oven from a cardboard box and a roll of “brick” wrapping paper. Preschoolers will make pizzas, and order pizzas, and deliver pizzas, and pretend to eat pizzas ALL.DAY.LONG! Click HERE to see all the photos.

Post Office – Dramatic Play Center

Invite children to write letters to the parents or grandparents, to make cards for their classmates, and to deliver the mail at the Post Office Dramatic Play Center. Click HERE to see lots of pictures.

Can we take your order? The restaurant dramatic play center is chock full of opportunities to practice reading, writing, and teamwork. Click HERE to see the menu and order forms that are perfect for emergent readers.

Sandwich Shop – Dramatic Play Center

Switch the general restaurant into a fast-food sandwich shop. With this dramatic play idea, students will follow the menu board from left to right to choose the bread, protein, vegetables, and toppings for their very own sandwich.

Would you like a taco or a burrito from this very popular Taco Stand? Preschoolers will take your order then create the taco or burrito of your choice. What a way to “spice” up the dramatic play center!

Vet Clinic – Dramatic Play Center

While you’re learning about zoo animals, pets, or even the farm, this dramatic play Vet Clinic is a great way to engage children in pretend play. They will care for the animals and become veterinarians, x-ray technicians, and nurses.

Transformed trifold science boards into a straw house, a stick house and a brick house for an adorable version of the Three Little Pigs. Preschoolers who can memorize and act out stories will have great comprehension skills when they get to school. It’s also fun act out Goldilocks and the Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Whether you’re setting up a plain restaurant, a pizza parlor, an ice cream shop, or a taco stand, here’s a surefire FUN way to spice it up. Add a drink machine! You can use a box or a bookshelf with just a few simple additions (paper cups and tissue paper) to make it extraordinary. Click HERE for more details.

If you’re looking for a quick set-up, cheap center, this is it! Get all the supplies from the dollar store and added water. It’s great for summer, too. Take those kids outside and put them to work! Sometimes the best dramatic play ideas are the simplest.

Put on paleontology hats and look for dinosaur bones and footprints at this dramatic play dig site. Click HERE to see how to use a simple ingredient from the craft store to turn the sensory table into an excavation site.

Do your kids like to pretend or role play? What is your favorite way to set it up? Whatever it is, have tons of fun playing and learning with your children today.

Be sure to follow this Dramatic Play Pinterest board for even more dramatic play ideas.

Follow Play to Learn Preschool’s board Dramatic Play Preschool on Pinterest.

All dramatic play idea printables are available HERE:

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25+ Dramatic Play Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers

You are here: Home / Dramatic Play / 25+ Dramatic Play Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers

June 9, 2018 by Sheryl Cooper

Inside: Providing dramatic play activities is a great way to engage toddlers and preschoolers in role playing. Social skills are strengthened as the children interact with one another, too!

Let’s hear it for play! These dramatic play ideas for toddlers and preschoolers are open ended and fun!

Pretend play is an important part of children’s development. They learn by imagining and doing. If you stand back and observe children involved in pretend play, they are often mimicking what they’ve seen adults do. We take all of this into consideration when planning what to place in our dramatic play area.

• How will it be meaningful?
• What props will work best?
• How should it be organized?

The dramatic play area is also a great place to build communication skills, also. Dialogue is created as children are part of the pretend play.

In this post I’ve selected over 25 different dramatic play activities that can be done anytime of the year.

Before I begin sharing this collection, it’s important for new teachers to know that they do not need to change out their dramatic play center with each theme. It takes time to build a collection of materials (see our favorites at the end of this post). You can easily keep your dramatic play area stocked with a few staples.

Flower Market (with Printables)

The Garden Shop (Pre-Kinders)

Pumpkin Stand

Apple Stand

Honeybee Stand (Planning Playtime)

Winter Bear Cave Dramatic Play

Post Office

Movie Theater (Research Parent)

Zoo Animals (Teaching Mama)

Veterinarian Office (with Printables)

Bird’s Nest (Creekside Learning)

What’s the Weather? (Pre-K Pages)

Space (Catch a Star Ideas)

Spaghetti Shop (Where Imagination Grows)

Pizzeria

Ice Cream Shop (Learning 4 Kids)

Chinese Restaurant (Pre-K Pages)

Bakery (Pre Kinders)

The Taco Bar (The Mama Workshop)

Donut Shop (Sara J Creations)

Doll Diaper Station (Happy Hooligans)

Our Babies (Teach Preschool)

Baby Nursery (Pre-K Pages)

Making Pancakes (The Imagination Tree)

Tea Party

Hair Salon (Pre-K Pages)

Pet Grooming Salon (Sunny Day Family)

Grocery Store (Paper and Glue)

Clothing Store (Pre-K Tweets)

You can find more dramatic play activities on my Pinterest board.

• Our Favorite Toddler Learning Centers and How to Set Them Up
• How to Set Up Preschool Learning Centers

• How to Set Up Learning Centers
• How to Handle Preschoolers Not Using Certain Centers
• Tips on Managing the Toddler and Preschool Block Center
• Putting Together Table Activities During Centers Time

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Filed Under: Dramatic Play, preschool, Toddlers Tagged With: dramatic play, preschool, printables, toddlers

About Sheryl Cooper

Sheryl Cooper is the founder of Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds, a website full of activities for toddlers and preschoolers. She has been teaching this age group for over 20 years and loves to share her passion with teachers, parents, grandparents, and anyone with young children in their lives.

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Drama games in preschool | Preschool education

Author: Tomilova Olga Viktorovna

Organization: GBDOU DS No. 67 comb. type of Vyborgsky district of St. Petersburg

Settlement: St. Petersburg

Dramatic play is a spontaneous amateur activity during which the child tests, clarifies and expands knowledge about the world and about himself. As they play, children reenact places and scenes they have seen in life, imitate the actions of family members, and assume the roles of various people they have met. They reproduce the world that they understand, or one that brings confusion and fear into their minds.

From early childhood, children imitate the sounds they hear and the actions they see. While enjoying pretend activities, children react to new situations with movement and voice. That's how they play. This game, if supported, develops into dramatization: an art form, a socializing activity and a way of mastering reality.

Creative dramatization and play, especially in young children, cannot be isolated or limited to a certain place and time. In a group, at home or in a public place, creative dramatization and play help the child develop responsibility, develop new interests and, especially in a group, absorb new knowledge.

Dramatization is one of the most personal and individual ways of learning. In creative dramatization, there are no performers who memorize roles and use accessories and costumes to influence the audience. In such creative activities, children spontaneously invent, act out and interpret familiar situations and themes for themselves. For example, they act out situations based on real or imaginary roles that they have come into contact with in life, such as going to the zoo. In dramatic play, children create their own world in which they master the real world. In this imaginary world, they try to solve real life problems. They repeat, play again, and relive their experiences. In this way, dramatic play helps the child develop from a purely egocentric being into a person who is able to interact with others.

Developmental Influence

In dramatic play, children often spontaneously take on the role or actions of someone else (pretend to put out a fire like firemen), use objects in a substitution function (sit on a building block while pretending to ride on a truck through the streets) and play out familiar situations (going to the market or grocery store). For a rich and meaningful preschooler, this is the ideal arena for emotionally rich and meaningful learning. Dramatic play develops the child in every way. If the educator correctly organizes the activities of children, they will receive a versatile (mental and motor) experience that is adequate to their individual characteristics.

In creative dramatization and play, a preschooler performs actions that:

1) contribute to the development of the five senses;

2) develop active and passive speech;

3) help children understand human relationships and learn patterns of behavior;

4) link ideas to each other;

5) stimulate creative thought and problem solving;

6) increase self-respect;

7) develop ways of expressing emotions and feelings;

8) develop fine and general motor skills;

9) signify the joy and freedom of childhood.

While playing, children learn to concentrate, exercise their imagination, try out new ideas, practice adult behaviors, and gain a sense that they influence the world around them. In addition, children gain a growing understanding of the beauty, rhythm, and organization of their environment and their own bodies as they learn ways to communicate their thoughts, feelings, and emotions to others.

Social development

The role-playing game almost always involves the participation of several children, so it is the most important factor in the social development of the child. The game often includes elements of joint planning and cooperation. Children may argue and get upset, but they get used to dealing with the interests of others. At the same time, they begin to understand that it is interesting and pleasant to play and study with peers.

Emotional development

Children bring to play what they know about life: their knowledge and delusions, their wishes and fears.

Play reflects children's understanding of social roles and relationships. Children can also act out events they have experienced or heard about. They may act out a frightening event, such as an accident they witnessed, to help deal with difficult emotions. They may also replay pleasant events to re-experience the pleasure.

In role-play, children can dress up and become whoever they want to be. Children depict people and events not only as they would like to see them, thereby expressing their desires or fears. The game gives the child the opportunity to express negative feelings that the child cannot yet put into words.

In play, children act out life experiences by selecting and organizing roles and events in accordance with the desire to maintain emotional well-being. Through play, children increase their understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, their attachments and dislikes, their ability to lead and persuade or obey. All this contributes to the development of self-awareness.

Intellectual development

During drama play, children develop cognitive skills, learning to connect one with another, to understand patterns of behavior and to organize information. They try ideas and learn from trial and error, they plan and execute plans, and form a vision of the past, present, and future. Children use memory to reconstruct people and events. In the game, children create using materials and toys in completely new ways. Thus, dramatic play stimulates mental development not only through the support of creative manifestations, but also through the involvement of speech skills that play a key role in thinking and communication.

Literature used:

1. Filatova O. Theatrical game-dramatization // Game and children. - 2013. - № 2.

2. Silivon V. The development of creativity in children in the process of dramatization games // Preschool education. - 1983. - No. 4.

3. Makhaneva M.D. Theatrical classes in kindergarten: A guide for employees of preschool institutions. - M.: TC Sphere, 2004.

how to do it? — Logoprofy.ru

Highlights

• Creative play develops confidence, language, physical and mental abilities, imagination and emotional understanding in preschoolers.
• Drama play helps preschoolers make sense of the world.
• Arts and crafts promote self-expression and decision-making.
• Sound play, music and dance enable preschoolers to express all sorts of feelings.

Training and development through theatrical productions

Your preschooler will often use new songs and stories as the basis for a play. One moment she's a wolf, the next she's a hare!

Taking on roles and seeing the world from someone else's point of view helps your child make sense of the world and express their feelings .

Theater and storytelling also give your child the opportunity to build and develop vocabulary, use imagination and learn about story structure. Sometimes your child prefers to tell stories alone. In other cases, your child may enjoy it more if you join.

Preschoolers are often fully involved in stories. For example, when you read your preschooler's story, you may notice how they move their arms, legs, or face and mimic what happens in the story.

Sensory room: types, equipment, practice of use - video lecture!

Learning and development through arts and crafts

Preschoolers love to express themselves and their ideas with crayons, paints, toys, clay, scissors, glue and paper. Your child may need help using thin pencils, scissors, or sticky tape.

Your child will begin to create basic shapes and may enjoy experimenting with texture, space and color in art. For example, preschoolers often draw houses with the rays of the sun above the roof. This is because this kind of painting is made up of basic shapes such as squares, triangles, and circles.

Craft activities also allow your child to make decisions for themselves. For example, should the roof be red or blue?

Musical learning and development

Preschoolers use musical instruments - including their own voices - to express feelings and ideas.

Your child will enjoy singing just for the sake of singing. He will love songs with repetition and simple melodies. He can make up his own words to familiar songs, and the words often come from events and people around him.

Your preschooler can usually recognize and name favorite songs and sing more of them . Singing helps children understand the difference between fast and slow, long and short, loud and soft.

Learning and development through dance

Music and movement help your child develop physical and concentration skills. Your preschooler can move fast or slow, or perform actions and dance moves to go move with the music.

Your child may also express feelings of sadness, happiness, joy or excitement through movement. For example, your child may jump for joy or stomp in anger.

You may find that your child is flying like a butterfly, crawling like a caterpillar or jumping like a frog. These playful movements help her better understand the world. You can encourage this activity by giving it props. For example, your child may wave around the scarf, pretending to fly.

• Encourage your preschooler's creativity by giving your child enough time, materials and space to play.
• Follow your child's directions and build their confidence with descriptive praise about their creativity.
• Use household items, recycled items and natural materials to spark your child's creative play.

Encouraging your preschooler's creative play

For your preschooler, time, materials and space for creativity are very important.

Preschoolers love to be spontaneous in their creative play, so it's good to follow your child's wishes. But there will also be times when your child wants you to be more involved in his creative activities. By being actively involved, you can develop your child's skills and understanding.

It's good to show your child that there are several ways to do something . For example, there are several ways to draw a person, build a sand castle, or play a drum. This lets children know that they can develop their own ideas.

You do not need to give your child new or expensive play materials. Homemade, recycled, and natural materials are inexpensive ways to stimulate play and imagination.

And whatever works of art your child offers, actively praise him, emphasizing the merits of his work. For example, “I like the picture you drew. You know how to choose the right color. This boosts confidence and encourages your child to continue imaginative play.

Creative activities: arts and crafts

Everyday and recycled items can stimulate your child's creative development. For example:

• Give your child an empty cardboard box to make a house, a robot, a truck, an animal - whatever interests your child. Your child can color the box or decorate it with craft materials.
• Use empty dishes or toilet paper rolls or small plastic juice bottles to make people. Draw on faces, stick paper clothes on them and use cotton wool for hair. Your child can use these new toys to make up stories.
• Go on a nature walk to find natural materials for your art. For example, in the fall, collect fallen leaves for drawing, pasting on paper, or coloring.
• Use small plastic caps, buttons and thread to make jewelry.
• Keep a "busy box" of things like string, wrapping paper, paper candy coasters, stickers and straws that your child can use to do whatever they want.
• Find apps or games your preschooler can use to create digital art. For example, there are free drawing or photo collage apps. Here are a few ideas to help you and your child get started:
  • Don't throw away your old clothes, they can be used as props for home productions. You can also find cheap and fancy clothes and props in stores.
  • Use puppets for show. Easy to make simple puppets. You can use a cardboard box to create a puppet show.
  • Use songs and movements to act out things from everyday life. It can be doctors, moms, dads, shopkeepers, firefighters - whatever your child wants.
  • During the story, encourage your child to role-play the story with movements or sounds. For example, your child can pretend to be one of the 9 cartoon dragons.0090
  • Video of your preschooler playing. Help him use the movie maker app to turn it into a special video to share with family and friends.
  • Creative activities: music, movement and dancing

  Music, movement and dancing can often be part of simple, everyday play with your child:

  • Give your child a saucepan, a saucepan lid and a wooden spoon - your child can use her as a drum set.

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