Preschool Teacher Maureen Ostroff describes her intentional utilization of the classroom dramatic play center. She begins by learning what children know about a topic and shares how she helps them increase their understanding. Strategies that are used to support children’s social skills and self-regulation are demonstrated. Teachers ensure children’s success and provide enough time and support to enable them to practice and master skills.
Segments: 0:03 Benefits of play 0:28 Prior experiences 1:18 Introduce the center 1:34 Self-Regulation 2:04 Social Relationships 3:04 Effective approaches to learning 3:53 Symbolic Representation 4:25 Connections to ELDS
Copyright 2015 by the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood. This video was developed by the Center for Early Childhood Education at Eastern Connecticut State University to support implementation of the Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards (CT ELDS). This video may only be used for educational purposes. It may not be used for commercial purposes and may not be edited or adapted without written permission from the Center for Early Childhood Education. For more information, visit https://www.easternct.edu/center-for-early-childhood-education/about-us/contact-the-cece.html
Play just does so many things for children. When children are playing, they learn social skills,
they learn language, they exercise their large muscles,
they create and they imagine, they acquire abilities to kind of regulate their emotions.
When children pretend, they tend to play out things that they already know about.
And so one thing that's very helpful to children is to provide prior
experiences to actually give children some background knowledge that they can base their pretend play on.
We read a nonfiction book about baking.
When I asked them what they knew about baking, they kept on telling me, you cook, you cook, you cook.
What are you making, Nia?
Soup.
Soup? In the bakery?
No.
I thought you were making cookies.
We talked about cooking is sometimes done on top of the stove. Baking is usually done in the oven.
That's the difference between the two. So by the end of the week,
they realize a baker bakes items like breads and cookies, where a cook might make soup.
Our dramatic play was a bakery this time. They needed a lot of guidance and
focus and we tried it with just pictures on the wall to help them understand these concepts of
cooking and working together and whose job is what. The teacher really needed to be there during this week to support their
self-regulation because they were having a hard time taking turns seeing someone else's perspective on something.
Remember, she shared with you and now you're sharing with Nia.
Alright Nia, put those in the oven.
And then she's going to share with you.
Tiffany, go down.
Well say, Tiffany, excuse me please.
Tiffany, excuse me please.
I have to put my cookies in the oven.
See, she moved for you. Go ahead.
One important role that teachers can play when they're interacting with children in play is to help peers to interact with one another,
to help them to kind of have conversations, to share their ideas, to collaborate on various play themes.
Some children need support in that area.
If they're using this when they're done with this particular cookie cutter,
then they're going to give it to you or we'll use a timer.
Here, let's set it three minutes.
Alright, I'm going to set the timer.
It says how many minutes?
Five.
It says three.
Three.
Alright.
After the first day of the teacher in there, we were hoping that teacher could kind of come out a little bit into the rest of the classroom
and they just weren't able to.
Why don't you ask her some questions?
Can I please use the microwave for me?
No.
Why not, Tiffany?
You're using them, so why don't you say, can I please use them when you're finished?
And I know this was an area that they all wanted to be at, and I wanted it to be successful for them
because there's so much they can learn.
It really needed all week long a teacher to be there to facilitate that kind of play.
Well, he can put it on the bottom shelf. Look, there's two shelves.
See, put your cookies on the bottom shelf, Maddie.
Oh, you had to hop it on.
Alright, set your timer.
Next week it'll be out again.
We're hoping that it won't need so much teacher direction.
Everyone, you gotta come.
Cookies!
So come on, we have to chase the sun.
Cookies!
They're ready?
Yeah.
Cookies!
Everyone, come to play.
They were using a lot of symbolic imaginary play.
They were asking for money.
And they were pretending to go in their pocket and pull out the money.
I mean, even though everything else was very realistic,
those were one of the parts that was very symbolic that they can use their imagination,
which is so important for them to use their brain and that higher level thinking.
