Dramatic Play

Dramatic play is especially important for preschool children in learning how the world works. This type of play allows preschoolers to act out things they see in everyday life or on tv. It enhances their understanding of the roles we each play in our communities, families, and the world.

Each of our classrooms at St. Aemilian Preschool has a dramatic play center especially designed to foster this type of learning. As teachers we take opportunties to become involved to extend the learning when appropriate and take a step back to just observe children's interactions during this crucial play time.

Ann Barbour, PhD. has more to say about why dramatic play is key in your child's development.

“When children use their imaginations or pretend, we call that dramatic play and that’s the main type of play for 3-to7-year-olds. What they’re doing in dramatic play is representing in their own way their understanding of their experiences, rather than simply imitating what they see others do. They use objects and actions and storylines to symbolize the things that concern them. And in the process, they’re building thinking skills and developing social, emotional and language skills. Dramatic play is a very important context for learning.

Most preschool children love dressing up for a reason. It’s their way of learning. It’s a way for them to walk in another person’s shoes, so they understand what someone else is going through. So when your child is at home playing house, she’s not only imitating the actions of the people around her, she’s actually coming to understand at a deeper level what it’s like to be a parent. Also, when kids are engaging in dramatic play, there’s vocabulary development going on. Encouraging dramatic play encourages social and emotional development as well as helps with skills for academic learning.

Dramatic play promotes abstract thinking. When children use a prop (like a block) to stand for something else (a phone for instance), they are learning to think using symbols. The block symbolizes the phone. And that kind of thinking is the basis for just about everything children learn in school. After all, letters and words and numbers are really symbols for real objects or quantities. Dramatic play also encourages problem solving, and if children are playing with others, it builds social and emotional skills: learning about other peoples’ feelings and perspectives, negotiating, cooperating, etc. They also learn how to respond appropriately to others. In dramatic play kids can be anything they want just by pretending and that’s emotionally satisfying and builds self-esteem.

Pretend play also builds language skills. Kids often use words and phrases in play that you never knew they knew. They use language to plan their play with others and language usually supports the roles they adopt. At the same time, they can experiment with language and learn to use it appropriately. After all, doctors say different things than storekeepers do. Dramatic play also helps kids concentrate, be attentive and control their own behavior – all skills that will help them do well in school and in life. "

Ann Barbour, Ph.D.
Early Childhood Education Professor

Constructive Play Pictures

Students from Wee Learners 3 build houses from small wooden blocks.



Girls from the 4-K classroom build a zoo from wooden blocks in the construction center.



Students work together to create a bus for the pigeon to drive in the 4-K construction center.



Boys from the Wee Learners 1 classroom work together to create a structure from wooden blocks.



Boys from 4-K make a plan before building.



A child from Wee Start builds a tower from big blocks in the playroom.



Children in Wee Learners 3 build together with alphabet blocks.



A child from Wee Start builds a tower from colorful blocks.

Constructive Play

At St. Aemilian preschool we provide opportunities for our students to engage in constructive play everyday. This important, developmentally appropriate play provides an unlimited amount of learning experiences that are fun for the children at our school.

Stevanne Auerbach, PhD defines constructive play as

“Constructive play is when children manipulate their environment to create things. This type of play occurs when children build towers and cities with blocks, play in the sand, construct contraptions on the woodworking bench, and draw murals with chalk on the sidewalk. Constructive play allows children to experiment with objects; find out combinations that work and don't work; and learn basic knowledge about stacking, building, drawing, making music and constructing. It also gives children a sense of accomplishment and empowers them with control of their environment. Children who are comfortable manipulating objects and materials also become good at manipulating words, ideas and concepts.”

Wondering what your child is learning through constructive play? Throught the week we will have information about this valuable play in the office. Stop in and play whenever you get the chance. Want to know more? Check out the following link for more information: Why Use Constructive Play?

Week of the Young Child 2010!

Each April the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) holds a week long celebration to raise awareness about the importance of early childhood education. This celebration, Week of the Young Child, is an opportunity for us to highlight the tremendous growth and learning that occurs during the early childhood years, showcase the developmentally appropriate practices that take place at St. Aemilian each day, and acknowledge the effort our staff puts into creating and maintaining positive learning experiences for the children at St. Aemilian.

The theme of this year’s event is Play: Where Learning Begins! As I’m sure you’ve seen in your child’s classroom, we are strong believers in the use of play as the primary learning tool for young children. Every experience your preschooler participates in at St. Aemilian is designed to be both fun and educational. Everything from group activities to independent play is an opportunity for growth.

April 12th- 16th, we will put a spotlight on play in the hopes that our families will gain a better understanding of play as an avenue for learning. In the office you will find a constructive play center set up featuring a different manipulative each day. In this center parents will have the opportunity to create a structure with their children, then label and display their creations in the office. Please take a moment to stop by and play with your child at drop off or pick up.

On the blog you will find updates on how we play to learn everyday at St. A’s, links to articles about the importance of play, and ideas for easy, meaningful play you can use at home. Please check back!