Let's Play Dress Up: Step by Step Visuals for Students Who Struggle at Pretend Play

I am excited to introduce a new tool to use in your pretend play center!  You might remember a few years ago, I shared a social narrative to support students in making various meals at the pretend play center. 

Well, now I have created a similar social narrative to support students in trying on dress up clothes. 

As I have mentioned before, the pretend play center can be pretty abstract and uncomfortable for students who don't understand how to play pretend.  By having social narratives like the two examples above, students can see how to play dress up, step by step!

For example, in this book you can turn each page and have students try on various articles of clothing.  The beauty is that an aided language board is attached to the last page and can be folded out for students who need support in communicating their opinion about each article of clothing they tried on.

Do you want to use this social narrative in the classroom?  Go to my Teachers Pay Teachers store to purchase it, as well as an updated version of the Food Making Visual with choice for students to pretend eat their creations or serve them.  Just one more way to encourage students to interact with one another. 

Also in this Teachers Pay Teachers file you will have access to labels to sort food by food groups and clothing by person!

Until Next Time... Happy Pretending,
Lindy

Teaching Roles at the Play Center

During each thematic unit in our classroom, we transform the pretend play center into a related place to play.  For example, earlier this year when we did a pizza a unit, it became a Pizza Hut.  

Last month we did a pet unit so the center was transformed into a Vet Clinic.  I made some modifications that I am excited to share, as we noticed our students were having a difficult time playing pretend and participating in the center appropriately.  To support their play, I added name tags for the different vet clinic jobs and roles.  On the front of the tag, there is a picture of my son playing the role and then on back it gives various tips for being that role.  

For instance, on the name tag that says "I am a vet.", I added play prompts like "I check the animals heart.", "I give them shots." and "I check the pets' ears and throats." On the name tag for the customer, I put prompts like "I bring in my cat or dog.", "I listen to the vet.", "I pay the receptionist.".  The receptionist's name tag says "I listen to the veterinarian.", "I answer the phone.", "I take money.", and "I book appointments.".

Front:  Photo of my son playing the role.

Back:  Prompts of the activities the role may perform.

These name tags are almost like functional power cards the students can use to support their play.  They have been very helpful to both students and staff because it helps them know the different roles in the center.  Each role also has a defined place to play as you can see in the pictures below.
 


   

The Veterinarian's Area

The Receptionist's Area: I use
toddler locks to make the
pretend kitchen items off limits

A basket of materials and
 pets for the customers to use. 

To support the children in learning how to play at the center initially, I had them sit in the center and watch some video modeling clips of my son and his friend playing in the center.

Also to support the children in keeping their vet play (or any other play) in the Pretend Play area, we have a peg board divider that serves as door on one side and place to hang costumes on the other.

The Back of Our Pretend Door

Our Pretend Door- it has a hook
to switch the "Stop! We're Closed"
 to "Yes, We're Open"

Valentine's Pretend Play for Pre-K Classrooms

It is an annual tradition in our classroom to transform the pretend play center into a post office a few weeks before Valentine's Day.  

We add individual mailboxes that were created and given to me by a well-respected mentor and dear friend, Louise Younger.  I believe she got the idea from Mailbox Magazine several years back.  

We add a wooden mailbox made by Melisa and Doug and a small free standing plasticmailbox made by step 2  In the play center, there are a small scale, cash register, a few boxes and small packages, as well as envelopes programmed to work on specific skills.   

The children pretend to be mail carriers and customers getting their mail.  We incorporate academic concepts by having the students place mail in the correct boxes.  Some children work on matching the pictures of friends to the correct mailboxes, while others work on matching the correct address number or reading & matching their friends' names.    

Number Recognition:  Matching envelopes to the correct mailbox number.

Face Recognition: Matching envelopes to it's corresponding photo.

Name Recognition:  Matching envelopes to the correct name.

To make the center even more fun, the students have the opportunity to dress up as mail carriers.  They wear postal hats, button down shirts and a mailbag.

Extra Credit: We have also incorporated a field trip to the post office in recent years.  It allows the children to see what real mail carriers and postal workers do. Rework:  Another option is to plan a trip to the school's office to hand-deliver our parent valentines to our school mail carrier and watch him leave in the mail truck.  The students then see how the process works a few days later when their parents valentines arrive at home.  

Christmas Pretend Play in an ECSE Classroom

In our pretend play center during the Christmas season, we create a space where the kids can decorate and prepare for Christmas.  In the wardrobe at the center, I put a small Christmas tree, ornaments to decorate the tree, Christmas cookie cutters and cookie sheets, a CD player and Christmas Cd's, Christmas cards, a wreath, stockings and stocking hooks that sit on the shelf, and Christmas clothes for the baby dolls and students (that I purchased for a dollar during a after-season sale).  

Then I have the children get into the holiday spirit during pretend play by having them prepare for Christmas using this class-made story. 

Each page in the story is read to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb".  
For example:

Christmas time is coming, coming, coming,
Christmas time is coming,
Let’s decorate the tree. 

Another versus is: 

Let’s hang the stockings, Let’s bake Christmas Cookies, Let’s Play Christmas Music, Let’s write Christmas cards, Let’s hang the wreath, Let’s dress up real nice. 

This activity gives our students an opportunity to take on ownership of decorating and celebrating the season. 

I am going to try and add an element this year.  On the last day of school before Winter Break, we always have a Christmas fun day.  On that day this year, the students will use the decorations and items they used in the pretend play center to decorate the classroom for our party.  

Thanksgiving Pretend Play

Here's a creative pretend play idea for Thanksgiving. During the month of November, we transform our dramatic play center into a Thanksgiving Feast.  We remove all pretend food from the center except those that would be found at the first Thanksgiving like vegetables, breads, and turkey. 

I also replace our regular dress up clothing with homemade pilgrim and Native American costumes.  The costumes are made from bath towels.  To make the pilgrim costumes, I purchase black bath towels and white hand towels. I fold the towels in half and hot glue the white towel to the middle of the black towel.  I cut a half circle on the crease of the fold so that when you open the towels they have a circular opening for the children’s head.  The students wear them like a poncho.  

My son, EJ, playing a happy pilgrim.

To make the Native American costumes, I purchase tan bath towels. Fold them in half and cut a triangle on the fold to make a diamond opening for the children’s head to go through. Then, I paint Native American designs on them with fabric paint.  

 EJ portraying a Native American boy
who is fed up with his mother!  

Each year the children make Pilgrim hats and bonnets, as well as Native American headbands during art small groups to use in the dramatic play Thanksgiving center and then double as their hats for our Thanksgiving feast.  

Payton, my youngest son, demoing the Native American headband. 

To encourage purposeful play in the dramatic play Thanksgiving Feast Center, I share books like “Thanksgiving Day” by Anne Rockwell so the students can see images of the first Thanksgiving.  

Instructor's Insight:  Some years, my students do not have the skills to pretend play on their own. On those occasions, I create a video model of how to play at the play center. My son and a friend come in after school to play in the center naturally. I record their play on my iPad and narrate what they are doing so my students can understand how to play pretend. 

(For more research on video modeling, check out this site:  http://www.socialskillbuilder.com/articles/video-modeling-research.html)