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How does dramatic play assist with children's development?

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Each observation is held in different learning and play environment.
Observation 1 environment is a home setting that involves only Seb and this mother in the dining area. Seb was two years and 11 months when the observation was filmed, with only his mother and himself living in the home.
Observation 2 was taken place in a preschool, kindergarten environment with children aged five years old. The learning environment only showed one teacher/ educator who overlooked and engaged with children's play when necessary. Based on the clip, it seemed that children had free range of the space and had no limits in what they chose to play and resources.
Observation 3 was observed in a playroom environment in one of the young girls home with no evidence of any guidance or influence from teachers or parents. The two girls observed in the clip are of the age of three and half years along with four years old.

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Observation 1- Seb’s creating bones for his dog.

Seb took part in pretend play when he used playdough to create pretend bones for his wooden dog. Seb was sitting around the table with his mother when he come up with the idea to make his dog some bones to eat. Seb described how hungry his dog was “he could eat two bones”, “let it be in his sandwich”. He would include the wooden dog into conversations when saying “pippin wants to eat that one too” and would speak for pippin when telling his mother “He couldn’t eat that one to big”. He would verbalise what pippin was doing “that’s pippin eating his bone”, “he’s eating it and got his head down”. After the play was done Seb was able to identify that it was pretend play by reassuring his mother that “pippin not eating it, it’s been pretending.
Observation 2-   Harper, Grace, Charlotte & Rianna’s Honey shop.

Harper, Grace, Charlotte and Rianna used the resources around them along their imagination to set up and run their very own honey shop. The girls worked together to give each other roles such as the beekeeper, cashier, saleswomen and honey maker. They had open conversation with their “customers” when asking “what flavour honey would you like?” and stating that “we have any kind of honey”. The girls were also able to adapt and accommodate to their customers answers, “we can mix honey together to make different kinds of honey” and “we can mix honey and chocolate”. They were able to describe the process of how make the honey for their shop.  “We get the honey from the hives, sometimes we keep the bees as pets”, “she gives it to us we put it in there, that’s the machine and where we make the honey”.
Observation 3- Harley and Lauren playing house.

Harley and Lauren participated freely in pretend play when they played house. The girls both verbalized what role they wished to play “I’m the mummy, I’m the daddy”.  Harley preformed actions she has seen completed such as ironing, the girls then looked at all the clothes near them and would say “I think we should iron this”. They brough family members into their play when Harley told Lauren “Stop licking that ice cream, it’s for grandmother”, one child would pretend to eat the ice-cream with a spoon while the other would tell them “Stop eating it”. When the girls discovered toy baby, they took on the forms of babies “I’ll be the little baby” when pretending to be babies the girls would make baby noises and complete actions they associate with babies, they would also complete actions they as seen from a caregiver of the baby for example shaking the baby power on the toy baby.
Summary of observations-
All observations link back to the overall theme of dramatic play. The children in the observations all show the development of thinking of speaking and highlighting Lev Vygotsky theory that imaginative play is essential as it lets children try new ways of "being". Along with linking to Sara Smilansky definition of dramatic play as to how "children imitate the world around them through their roles of play".

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The connection between all observations is that the child take part and be active in pretend play. Throughout all observations children use their imagination with both other children and parents to create a pretend play environment where they create the rules and are in full control of the play outcome.  By using the resources around, them they manipulate the objects to best suit their play.

Sara Smilansky developed three stages of play from her work with Piaget which included Dramatic play. She describes dramatic play as where “children imitate the world around them through their roles of play” which is clear for me to see in my observations when they two girl’s playhouse and focus on ironing because that is most likely what they have seen at home.

Jerome Singer discovered the importance for childrens imagination to develop through dramatic play. He also highlights the different facts that can affect the development of their imagination. Which include but not limited to; exposure to stressful situations, opportunity to role play, the play environment, opportunities for different types of play and play experiences.

Based on Lev Vygotsky he taught us that imaginative play is a way for children to develop thinking and speaking. He highlights that’s imaginative play is important as it lets childrens try ways of “being” and doing that they can’t do in real life. When children feel very involved in play, they can feel what it might be like for their play to be real life.

From the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework several outcomes connect and support to the importance and benefits of pretend play, including but not limited to Outcome 1.

Outcome 1- children have a strong sense of identity highlights the importance of dramatic play as it explores different identities and points of view, along with supported to act with self-confidence and autonomy while also developing their interdependence in social groups and their place as a valued member. Based on the key developmental indicators pretend play can also help children develop social development as children distinguish themselves from others, recognise that people have different roles in the community and that children develop positive self-identity. From pretend play the children also express and represent what they observe, think, imagine, and feel through pretend play. Overall pretend play can help children build a strong sense of identity as they get to act out different situations and play different roles.

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Learning that is possible from dramatic play could include but is not limited to developing thinking and speaking. To provoke children, I would create opportunities and experiences such as a doctor, home, vet, shop, hairdresser spaces, and loose parts that can be manipulated. This allows children to gain different knowledge of themes and occupations in their community, helping children expand their vocabulary and understanding of the world around them. This is based on theorists such as Sara Smilansky studies that “children imitate the world around them through their roles of play”. Lev Vygotsky emphasises imaginative play and how it lets children try different ways of being and doing that they can’t do in real life. It would be seen when children express and expand the roles they play and think more deeply into what the roles look like and how that role acts in dramatic play.
Learning will happen when children feel involved in the play, feel what it might be like for their play to be real life, and feel safe and supported in the environment.

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Observation videos

1-    https://vu.kanopy.com/video/learning-through-play-3-4-year-old-observation-film

2-    https://vu.kanopy.com/video/play-and-learning-school-five-year-olds

3-    https://vu.kanopy.com/video/pretend-play

Centre for Learning Innovation 2006, A basic introduction to child development theories, New South Wales Department of Education and Training. Page 10, 14

Department of Education and Training, 2016, Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework, Education and training, Victoria state government, viewed 12 September 2021,

<file:///Users/oliviahogan/Downloads/veyldframework.pdf>

Yorganop 2016, Theories and theorists in early childhood: who they are and what they tell us? ideas for practice, Yorganop, Perth, WA. Page 10.