Dramatic Play = Tons of Learning!

The dramatic play area is a particularly good place for children to act out their developing awareness of the people around them. They need more than a pretend kitchen, however. They also need time, tools, clothes and spaces. Providing such materials will allow for experimenting with living and working experiences both inside and outside the home. Children delight not only in playing in dress-up clothes, but playing with puppets for acting out dramatic scene.

Dramatic play spaces provide opportunities for children to:

•       Overcome sexual stereotypes

•       Let children experiment with life in different cultures

•       Help children better understand people with special needs

•       Help children learn about themselves

Dramatic play is even more important than teaching children letters or numbers!

Children benefit in many ways from participating in dramatic play. From this type of play, children grow cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally. As children engage in dramatic play, they mimic adult roles. They may play at being a wife, husband, mommy, daddy, doctor, or police officer. This is called role-playing. Role-playing allows children to try out a variety of roles. While one child plays the role of a hairstylist, the other plays the role of the customer. Each role follows social rules determined by the group of children.




Related Training:
Creativity in Dramatic Play
The Empowerment of Play for the School-Age Child