Benefits of Dramatic Play
The list of ways that children grow and develop while engaged in rich dramatic play is infinite. Not only will children develop their imaginations by learning to be creative and think outside of the box, they will expand their vocabulary by engaging in authentic language development. They will talk, listen, and ask others questions expanding their communication skills. Children can also
practice negotiating, sharing, and taking turns, which is an important skill for kindergarten. They may also get practical experience with sorting, classification, counting and organization. Through dramatic play children will expand their attention spans while they plan activities that last increasingly longer periods of time.
When I was in kindergarten, my teacher used dramatic play as a normal part of her teaching. When we learned about Hawaii we used our imaginations to help us better understand the lessons that she taught. We had cutouts of suitcases and we drew and colored our clothes that we would pack for our trip, we decorated the classroom with palm trees and pretended to take a plane to our newly decorated Hawaiian classroom. There we made grass skirts and ate foods that they would normally eat in Hawaii. As an adult that is still one of the best lessons that I have every experienced and I try to use the same teaching methods with my students, and you can use the same method at home.
Everyday play can be fun and it can also be a great learning opportunity for your children. Here are a few simple activities you can do at home with your children.
Creating any type of store or restaurant, gives your child a chance to not only use their imagination by making their own good whether they be real or fake, they can practice counting as they exchange their goods for play money. They also practice talking to others, and how to be polite.
Another great dramatic play idea is pretending to be a doctor or a nurse at a hospital. Your kids can tell you the importance of staying healthy and what to do so that you will not get sick. This is a great way to talk about hygiene and health and all the different ways to stay healthy.
Using their imagination and suggesting purposeful ideas for you and your child to play together children will creates memories and learn lessons that will last them a lifetime.