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Fantasy play is pretend or make believe play that often has roles and as-if relations to actions, people, or things.

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Appropriate Implementation for Typical Learner

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Appropriate Implementation for Typical Learner

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The link above is a very helpful resource when it comes to setting up a fantasy play area for your typical learners. It includes tips on how to organize the fantasy play area in a way that the preschoolers will love! This website makes it so easy for educators to create their own fantasy play area. Some steps that it includes are determining the size and location of the play area, determining a theme, picking out toys or furniture that match the theme and picking out props for the play area.

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A dramatic play learning center is an essential part of the preschool classroom. Dramatic play helps children explore different roles and situations as children play with items and tools adults use in everyday life. Role play also helps children learn about their community, their surrounding environment, and a variety of careers.

Setting up a dramatic play learning center that's just right for your space and the children in your care can be complicated, but we've come up with a few easy steps that will help you organize a dramatic play center your preschoolers will love:

1. Establish the Size and Location of Your Dramatic Play Center

The first step in setting up your dramatic play learning center is establishing its size and location. The size of the dramatic play area will be dependent on the overall size of the room, how many other learning centers are needed in the space, how many children are in your care, and how many children will be using the center at one time.

The size of your dramatic play center will also be influenced by the themes you want to incorporate in the center. If you want to include more than two or three dramatic play themes, you're going to need a larger space to hold the associated furniture and materials. You should also try to accommodate at least 3-4 children at a time in your dramatic play learning center, but space for two children is acceptable if you're working with a confined space.

Dramatic play centers usually have a loud noise level since role playing and learning to work with others are both major components of dramatic play. Be sure to set up your dramatic play center near other centers that have a loud noise level, such as the block center, music and movement center, nature and science center, or the sand and water center.

For more information about planning the layout of your classroom, check out How to Plan a Great Classroom Layout (Preschool Edition) and our MyKaplan FloorPlanner tool. Both of these are great resources for educators who are looking for a little more assistance in creating a fun and functional layout.

2. Choose the Dramatic Play Themes You Want Included in the Center

Depending on the size of your dramatic play center, you may be able to incorporate several dramatic play themes in the available space or you may only have room for one or two themes. If you have limited space, consider other storage options that will enable you to switch out dramatic play themes throughout the year.

Here are six of the most popular dramatic play themes in preschool classrooms:

Carpentry

Dress Up

Play Kitchen

Play Living Room

Play Market/Grocery Store

Puppets

Choose which themes will best serve the children in your care and then work to incorporate those themes in the space. If you only have room for one or two themes, pick the ones that have the most value and versatility. Both boys and girls would enjoy having a play kitchen or play market in the space, for example, and either of those themes would provide a variety of learning opportunities for children.

3. Select Furniture and Equipment that Complements Those Themes

Once you've finalized the themes for your dramatic play center and have an idea of how much space you have, you can start selecting furniture and equipment that complements your dramatic play themes. A carpentry workshop, play kitchen set, play living room set, play grocery store set, puppet theatre, unbreakable mirror, play mailbox, and dollhouses are a few of the larger furniture pieces you may need for your dramatic play center.

Every dramatic play area should also include a table and chairs for children to use in role play. If the play sets you want for your dramatic play center do not have adequate storage for play props and other materials, shelving units and storage containers can help you keep everything organized.

4. Pick Out Dramatic Play Props and Materials for Your Learning Center

The dramatic play props and materials you choose for your learning center will have the biggest impact on children's role playing and other dramatic play activities. Adding items that promote literacy and math skills, such as writing materials, play money, or a clock, to the center will help children also learn about other relevant topics as they role play. Here are some suggested props and materials for popular dramatic play themes:

Suggested Dramatic Play Props and Materials

Carpentry - A child-size workbench and basic play carpenter tools are needed for this part of your dramatic play center. Be sure to emphasize safety by providing an apron and goggles for each child who plays in the carpentry area.

Dolls and Doll Play Accessories - Multicultural dolls are a great addition to the dramatic play area. Other doll props should include doll clothes, doll strollers, doll cots, and doll inclusion equipment.

Dress-Up Clothes - Children can dress up and learn about a variety of careers, costumes, and cultural customs. Correlate the dress-up clothes available in the dramatic play center with what children are learning about in class.

Housekeeping Play - Housekeeping play helps children practice being an adult and encourages them to clean up after themselves. You should include a variety of cleaning and housekeeping items, such as a vacuum, broom, mop, and ironing board, in your dramatic play center.

Kitchenware and Cooking Play - Provide cooking utensils, table place settings, and a variety of other kitchenware items to go with your dramatic play center's play kitchen set. Children can socialize, practice their math skills, and increase their motor skills as they pretend to cook for each other or have a small pretend dinner party.

Pretend Food - Pretend food can also teach children about nutrition and what children in other countries may eat. Whether they open up a pretend pizza and sandwich shop or pack a pretend picnic, children will love role playing with pretend food.

Puppets and Accessories - Offer a variety of puppets - pets, wild animals, families, sea life animals, dinosaurs, and more - to help children create wonderful stories with their imagination and perform puppet shows for the rest of the class. Try to include a puppet theatre in your dramatic play center to help make puppet shows even more fun and exciting for kids.

Shopping Play - Children can role play realistic shopping experiences with shopping play props and materials. Handbags, wallets, shopping carts, a play cash register, play money, and a variety of supermarket items will help make this part of your dramatic play center a hit with the kids!

No matter which themes and materials you choose to include, your dramatic play learning center is sure to be entertaining and educational for the children in your care. For more dramatic play ideas and additional play props and materials, be sure to check out our Dramatic Play section.

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How to Set Up Your Preschool Dramatic Play Learning Center

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A dramatic play learning center is an essential part of the preschool classroom. Dramatic play helps children explore different roles and situations as children play with items and tools adults use in everyday life. Role play also helps children learn about their community, their surrounding environment, and a variety of careers.

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Appropriate Implementation for Students with Special Needs

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Appropriate Implementation for Students with Special Needs

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This amazing website includes many different tips on how to adapt your classroom's fantasy play center for students with special needs. It is important to consider what type of special needs your students have so you know how to appropriately adapt to their needs. Adaptations can be simple and inexpensive; they will be worth it for these students. Assessing your students for what cognitive and physical delays could be happening is crucial for setting up the fantasy play station. Depending on the specific needs of the student, the dramatic play area may need to be relatively large. For example, a student is in a wheelchair will need room to get around the different stations of the dramatic play area. The tips provided are organized and will allow these students to benefit greatly from fantasy play.

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From changing a diaper to your daughter’s first date, How to Adult provides expert tips to help answer all your most pressing parenting questions.

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Social-Emotional- Children develop these skills when it comes to negotiating roles, resolving conflicts, and getting along with one another based on the scenario. They are also growing their emotional development by acting out different roles in their scenario. Students who participate in fantasy play show more empathy towards others in real life because they have put themselves in others' shoes during play.
Physical- Children develop small muscles by playing with small props. They also develop their hand-eye coordination and visual skills by playing with the small props and putting them away.
Language/Literacy- Children develop their literacy skills because they change the way they speak to others based on the roles that they take on. They also develop their reading/writing skills when they have a role that requires this.
Cognitive- Children participate in "abstract thinking" when they relate their play to a past experience or situation. They develop math skills during different settings of fantasy play as well. The child and their peers learn to problem solve and communicate together.

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This helpful website describes how much fantasy matters when it comes to a child's growth. It may seem that this type of play would not benefit children that much, but a child develops greatly in the cognitive area from just a small period of time completing this play. Children often use fantasy play to portray their emotions or feelings, which provides them with that emotional outlet. Fantasy play can also provide students with knowledge on conflict and resolving conflict. Students also benefit from self-regulation during fantasy play because they often have rules that they follow during their play. Fantasy play may be overlooked when it comes to factors that develop a child, but this is one of the biggest factors!

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We have the scoop on what dramatic play entails, why it matters and how you can encourage this activity with your kids.

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https://www.kaplanco.com/ii/preschool-dramatic-play-learning-center

https://howtoadult.com/make-own-detective-kit-5934844.html

https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/why-dramatic-play-matters/

https://ladybugcc.com/childcarecenter/resources/dramatic-play/

https://extension.psu.edu/programs/betterkidcare/knowledge-areas/environment-curriculum/activities/all-activities/dramatic-play-beyond-housekeeping-corner

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Advice for Caregivers- Importance of Fantasy Play and Encouragement 

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Advice for Caregivers- Importance of Fantasy Play and Encouragement 

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This article is great for caregivers and expanding their knowledge on fantasy play. Although children do get to have fantasy play at school, they should also be having it at home. Fantasy play at home is very simple, inexpensive, and only requires a few props. The child's imagination is the most important thing! Fantasy play can be done at home while in the bath with play boats or playing dress up with some clothing. The article provides further information on fantasy play and how it grows their literacy, math, science, social studies, art, and technology skills. A question that a parent asked in a Q&A in this article was what to do if their child's play is inappropriate. The correct way to respond to this is to take on a pretend role to redirect them and encourage them to play in a different way.

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Child Care in Chaska, Shakopee & Waconia | Ladybug Child Care Centers

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Download the Ladybug Dramatic Play PDF
The Importance of Dramatic Play at Ladybug

In the Dramatic Play area, children take on different roles and enact real-life experiences. They use props and make-believe to deepen their understandings about the world.

Pretending is very important to your child's development. Children who know how to make believe develop good vocabularies, which are important for reading. They learn to cooperate with others, to solve problems, and to think abstractly. All of those skills are important for success in school. When children pretend, they recall and re-create experiences. To do this, they need to form mental images. For example, to play the role of a doctor, children have to remember what tools a doctor uses, how a doctor examines a patient. And what a doctor says. In playing a doctor or other roles, children learn to cooperate with others and to share their ideas.

When children make believe, we talk with them and participate in their play to extend their thinking. We might ask,

"Is your baby sick? What are you going to do?"

"Are you the storekeeper here? I need to buy some food."

"What are you cooking for dinner tonight? It smells very good!"

What You Can Do at Home

You can encourage the same kind of pretend play at home as we do at school simply by playing with your child and providing some simple props. Draping a sheet over a table creates a house or a hideout. A large empty cardboard box can become almost anything: a pirate ship, a doghouse, a castle, or a train. The nice thing about dramatic play is that it requires only your imagination. Here are some simple ways to encourage your child's learning through dramatic play:

During baths, offer plastic boats, cups, and rubber dolls and pretend together.

Save empty food cartons, make some play money, and play store with your child.

Read stories together and involve your child in acting out different parts.

Collect some old clothes for your child to use to dress up and make believe.

Say to your child, "Let's pretend we're going on a train ride. What do we need? Tickets? Suitcases? Do you want to collect the tickets?"

When you engage in pretend play with your child, you are teaching important skills and strengthening the relationships that are the foundation for all learning.

What Children Learn in the Dramatic Play Area

Literacy

Promote vocabulary and language by introducing and teaching your child the names of props. Ask questions and read stories about topics that your child uses in their dramatic play, such as buying new shoes or going to the clinic.

Encourage your child to explore print, letters and words by placing writing tools and paper in the Dramatic Play area. Participate in your child's play by demonstrating the uses of writing. Encourage your child to use writing tools and paper as part of their play. Offer props such as telephone books or empty food boxes with labels.

Promote understanding of books and other texts by including story books, phone books, calendars, cookbooks, newspapers, magazines, and other print materials in the Dramatic Play area. Encourage your child to use these props in their play.

Mathematics

Guide problem solving by helping your child find solutions to problems they encounter.

Promote understanding of number concepts by asking number questions. Offer props such as play money, scales, measuring tapes, cash registers, and calculators.

Encourage your child's interest in measurement by providing props such as a foot measurer for a shoe store, sand timers, height charts, and a bathroom scale.

Science

Encourage your child to explore physical science by providing balance scales, eggbeaters, kitchen magnets, timers, and fishing rods (without hooks).

Expand your child's knowledge of life science by including a plant in the area. Talk about what kinds of foods are good to eat. Have your child name fruits and vegetables as they pretend.

Social Studies

Encourage learning about spaces and geography by including maps.

Explore concepts related to people and how they live by providing props that encourage them to role-play family life and different kinds of jobs. Display photographs of families and community helpers.

The Arts

Encourage your child to explore drama by teaching them the skills they need to pretend. Read and reread stories that children can act out.

Promote the visual arts by providing materials your child needs to make their own props for dramatic play, such as cardboard boxes, collage materials, construction paper, scissors, etc.

Technology

Raise your child's awareness of technology by including old cameras, calculators, different types of phones, typewriters, and computers in the area. Talk with your child about how these objects are used.

How Dramatic Play Promotes Development and Learning

Social-emotional

When your child engages in dramatic play with other children, they have to negotiate roles, agree on a topic, and cooperate to portray different situations. They recreate life experiences and try to cope with their emotions by acting out roles and situations that interest them. For example, a child who anticipates going to the hospital for an operation can pretend to be the doctor. By assuming this role, the child can switch from feeling out of control to being in charge. Research shows that children who engage in dramatic play tend to demonstrate more empathy toward others because they have tried out being someone else for a while. They have the skills to cooperate with peers, control impulses, and are less aggressive than children who do not engage in this type of play.

Physical

Children develop small-muscle skills when they button and snap dress-up clothes and dress dolls. They practice eye-hand coordination and visual discrimination skills when they put away props and materials.

Language and Literacy

To engage with others in dramatic play, children use language to explain what they are doing and to ask and answer questions. They choose the language that fits the roles they have selected. They use reading and writing skills when literacy props are included in the Dramatic Play area.

Cognitive

When they pretend, children create pictures in their minds about past experiences and the situations they imagine. These images are a form of abstract thinking. When children set the table for a meal for two, or use play money to purchase food at their grocery store, they explore math concepts. They also learn from one another as they share ideas and solve problems together.

Creating an Environment for Dramatic Play

Think of the Dramatic Play area as a stage. Children can enter the area and immediately take on a role and pretend. Initially it is set up to look like a home with props and furniture that represent a kitchen and perhaps a bedroom and living room. This is because children are most familiar with themes related to family life. Most children share common experiences such as taking care of babies, cooking and serving food, and talking on the telephone. Before long, children extend these themes to situations like shopping at the grocery store, going to the doctor, and other places. To maintain children's interest and support them in extending their ideas, regularly change the props and enhance the setting to incorporate new experiences and interests.

Location

Find an area in the play room that can be defined by walls, shelves, and furniture to create a secluded area and separate spaces - kitchen, living room, bedroom

Furnishings

Familiar furniture (doll bed; child-sized wooden stove, refrigerator, sink, chest of drawers, table and chairs, couch, sink, ironing board and iron; doll carriage or stroller; high chair; full-length mirror)

Suggest Materials

Dress-up clothes for men and women; accessories like hats, shoes, boas, jewelry

Pots, pans, dishes, and other kitchen equipment relevant to different cultures, stored on shelves and/or hung on pegboard

Dolls with clothes and blankets

Child-size broom and mop

Toy telephone

Pocketbook and briefcases

Plastic food and empty food boxes

Calendars, memo pads, address book, pencils, cookbooks, message board

Home-like touches such as curtains, a tablecloth, photographs, a small rug, a plant

Frequently Asked Questions about Dramatic Play

Sometimes children's play makes me uncomfortable. How should I respond?

Children's dramatic play often reflects what they see around them. For many children, violence, sex, and drugs are everyday experiences - either in real life or what they see on TV or in the movies. By taking on a pretend role, you can address children's interest in the topic and redirect behaviors that are not constructive.

What should I do about superhero play that is overly aggressive?

Increasingly, children's dramatic play is heavily influenced by television. Play based on TV shows usually involves a lot of action - jumping, leaping, and fighting. For this reason, sometimes it is smart to limit this kind of play to the outdoors.

If you are seeing a lot of this kind of play, consider that your child may be trying to deal with very real fears about violence they have experienced or seen on the news. For example, after the Pentagon was hit and the World Trade Center destroyed by hijacked planes, preschool children were seen building towers and then taking a toy plane and destroying them. Be aware of what your child is worried about and use the opportunity to talk with them.

What do I say to my parenting partner who does not want their son to use dress-up clothes or play with dolls, or their daughters to play with tools?

First, reassure them that such play is entirely normal during the preschool years. This is the time when children use dramatic play to better understand their world and the different roles people play, both men and women. They enjoy dressing up in clothes they normally wouldn't wear and trying out roles of the people who are important to them, especially mothers and fathers. The Dramatic Play area is a safe place to explore and learn. At the same time, be sure you have included dress-up clothes and props used by men and women in a variety of roles.

Also visit our other Resource Pages:

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Your Child and Dramatic Play | Ladybug Child Care Center, Inc.

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Download the Ladybug Dramatic Play PDF The Importance of Dramatic Play at Ladybug In the Dramatic Play area, children take on different roles and enact real-life experiences. They use props and make-believe to deepen their understandings about the world. Pretending is very important to your child's development.

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This website provides a great list of activities, props, and decor to spice up the fantasy play area! The website makes sure to acknowledge that there can be a choking hazard with many props and to be cautious of this. It is important to have a lot of props for the children, but it is more important to keep them safe. This website also includes how to include culture into fantasy play and different items to change based on the interchanging seasons!

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Dramatic play allows children to rehearse or practice new situations or events that they may be worried about. Children are able to express themselves, be creative, develop their imaginations, and try out new tools as they play. Dramatic play can be used to introduce new concepts and reinforce others. It is a great way to build cooperation and communication between children while extending and building language arts, math, reading, writing, social skills, fine motor and gross motor skills.

Consider other ways children's learning can be enhanced through dramatic play.

Plan dramatic play activities

Observe to find out what interests the children.

Consider ages and abilities of children to ensure safety.

Use low cost or no cost recycled items if possible.

Provide props for children to reenact a favorite story or book.

Create a wish list of items and ask for family and community help in gathering materials.

Include functional print such as magazines, newspapers, receipts, pens, note pads, maps, brochures, calendars, appointment books.

Choose safe, unbreakable props (avoid glass or sharp objects).

Props boxes

Gather items and store them in labeled boxes for easy access. Start here and then add more!

Florist: Silk flowers & plants, baskets, vases, empty seed packets, gift cards, apron, ribbons.

Beach: Umbrella, towel, empty sunscreen bottle, folding chair, beach ball, pail, shovel, hat.

Office: Calculator, pens, paper, telephone, stapler, paper clips, calendar, stickers, envelopes.

Veterinarian: Stuffed animals, stethoscope, lab coat, pet carrier, brush, safety mask, bandages.

Birthday: Party hats, crepe paper, birthday decorations, play dough, party plates and cups.

Camping: Flashlight, pup tent, sleeping bag, sticks for campfire, pot, binoculars, folding chair.

Ice cream shop: Bowls, spoons, large pompoms or cotton balls as the ice cream, paper cones and hats, confetti.

Farmer's market: Baskets, plastic fruits and vegetables, paper for signs, clipboards, pens, bags.

Bath time: Dolls, towels, wash cloths, squeeze bottles, baby shampoo, water table with water.

You decide: Empty cardboard boxes, tubes, markers, tape, scissors, paint, paper, etc.

Consider culture

Visit area restaurants for menus, boxes, and other props such as chop sticks.

Cut up yarn for spaghetti or Chinese noodles.

Make tacos from felt circles.

Include items printed in different languages.

Provide dolls with different skin and hair coloring.

Look for clothing, musical instruments, and other props representing various cultures.

Ask families to share photos, traditions, and materials

Follow their lead
If no one is engaging in the dramatic play that is offered, change it or add to it. The activities are only valuable when children choose to play with them.

Look to the season

Add clothing that is seasonally appropriate.

Provide seasonal decorations that children can use.

Add photographs and pictures related to the season.

Display seasonal books for role playing.

Enhance the sensorial table with seasonal items:

Fall - pinecones, colored leaves, acorns.

Winter - ice cubes and mittens for building ice sculptures.

Spring - sand, pots, plastic flowers, shovels.

Summer - water, toy boats, buckets, and shovels.

Keep that housekeeping corner but jazz it up with:
Choking Cautions
Young children can choke on small objects and toy parts. All items used for children under three years of age and any children who put toys in their mouths should be at least 1¼ inch in diameter and between 1 inch and 2¼ inches in length. Oval balls and toys should be at least 1¾ inch in diameter. Toys should meet federal small parts standards. Any toys or games labeled as unsuitable for children under three should not be used.

Other items that pose a safety risk and should not be accessible to children under three include, but are not limited to: button batteries, magnets, plastic bags, styrofoam objects, coins, balloons, latex gloves, and glitter.
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Dramatic play: Let's think beyond the housekeeping corner! (Better Kid Care)

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Dramatic play allows children to rehearse or practice new situations or events that they may be worried about. Children are able to express themselves, be creative, develop their imaginations, and try out new tools as they play. Dramatic play can be used to introduce new concepts and reinforce others.