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I was asked to assist a teacher in finding furniture for a dramatic
play area that was less gender specific to "girl play". Though
caring & nurturing a family has, in the past, primarily been a female
function, children do not see furniture, dolls, materials, toys, etc.,
as stereotypical until an adult introduces the idea. Rather than
embracing our differences, we as adults are encouraging to judge them.
Who says that only girls can play with kitchen sets and dolls while
boys can only play with blocks and dump trucks?
When we see children playing they are doing much more than cooking,
building houses out of blocks, or caring for a pretend family:
Discovery of Self and Others
Social-dramatic play is a higher level of play that incorporates
verbal interactions with at least one other person. When in the
dramatic play area a child can learn more about themselves, their
families, their environment and society. Children are also able to use
the pretend play as an opportunity to safely reenact actual events in
their lives that might be fearful as a means to deal with the
situation at hand. For instance if a child has an up coming doctor's
visit that they are fearful of, acting out the situation might help
them realize that the visit is not going to be as bad as their brain
is allowing them to believe. Through social-dramatic play interactions
children begin to ask and answer questions and in turn discover more
about their peers and the differences within family cultures.
Intellectual Development
By asking questions children are able determine "the next action
needed" to solve and/or work through problems. With this input
of personal ideas the children learn how to stay on tasks for longer
periods of time,
which in turn increases the child's ability to concentrate. Engaging
in dramatic play, children are able to collect
and draw upon their previous experiences. They learn to judge and
select relevant information in order to enact play. This is an
essential skill for intellectual develop.
A young boy cooking, cleaning or holding a doll is building on his
social-emotional skills so that later in life
he will be as comfortable making decisions at home as he would be in a
Fortune 500 company. As well as, a young girl who hammers wooden
blocks, plays with trucks or digs in the dirt, is preparing herself to
build strong family relationships or design engineering marvels which
will change how we live. Our children should be permitted to learn
about life without limiting their development, vision or imagination.
For more articles or to shop for preschool furniture & supplies please
visit us at:
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