1. Guiding Play and Puppetry Experiences

2. Types of Play
Dramatic play is a form of play in which a child imitates another person or acts a situation
Socio-dramatic play involves several children imitating others and acting out situations together
Most complex form of play in early childhood settings

3. Types of Play, cont’d
Puppetry is another type of play that allows a child to imitate others
Child places feelings and emotions he or she feels onto the puppet, which is known as projection

4. Stages of Play
Solitary play, or independent play, is exploratory in nature
Typical of infants
Parallel play is when children play beside each other but not with each other
Typical of two-year-olds
Cooperative play is play between two or more children
As kids grow socially and emotionally, they begin playing with peers for short periods of time

5. Observing Dramatic Play
Have you ever observed children playing and witnessed them talking to dolls or puppets?
This is called personification giving human traits to nonliving objects
Ex. While speaking to a doll, a child might say, “Mommy is going to feed you now.”

6. Stages of Material Use in Play
Children move through three stages of material use in their play; not all reach second or third stage
Stage 1: Manipulative Stage
Child handles props
Stage 2: Functional Stage
Child will use prop as is intended, i.e. bottle for feeding
Stage 3: Imaginative Stage
Child does not need real prop; can think of a substitute

7. Role-playing
Role-playing allows children to try out a variety of roles
Children engaged in role-playing often give specific instructions for roles
Examples:
“You be the doctor and I’ll be the little girl”
“I’ll play, but I have to be the bus driver.”

8. Benefits of Dramatic Play
Increases cognitive (intellectual) development – imagination let them act out what they cannot be in real life
Increases problem-solving skills – kids make decisions and choices as they play
Increases language concepts – learn new names for equipment and new ideas from other kids

9. Benefits of Dramatic Play, cont’d
Increases physical development – sweeping floors, dressing skills, building structures
Increases social and emotional development – kids try out different social roles, learn how to get along, and act out repressed emotions

10. Play Themes
Themes vary; often focus on everyday situations kids experience
May imitate fixing cars, cooking dinner, painting a house

11. Teacher’s Role
Acts as a resource person who provides materials and space
Need to coach, model, reinforce
Need to schedule play periods that are long enough for children to carry out ideas

12. Equipment & Set-up
Quality of dramatic play is promoted through plenty of age-appropriate materials stored in accessible areas
Classrooms often have costume corners, housekeeping areas, outdoor play areas, and prop boxes
Prop boxes – contain materials and equipment that encourage children to explore various roles; props often complement unit of study