*Mini Class video coming at the end
Does your child often ask you to play with her/him and her/his dolls or stuffies?
You might not want to turn down your child’s request and also want to spend some quality time with her/him. BUT do you just hate the doll play? You don’t know what to say during that dramatic play?
Hey, you are not alone. I, an experienced teacher, sometimes feel so, too.😂
Why are we like this?
Hmm, probably we’ve lost much of our imagination and creativity. Also, children don’t really get bored of doing the same things again and again if they are fun for them, however, adults get bored of the same story and the same actions.
So, I thought about this challenge and came up with 5 suggestions!
If you are a busy mom who doesn’t have time to search and set up an activity and just wants to use the opportunity of your child asking to play with her/him and her/his toys, continue reading!
PROJECT YOURSELF ONTO THE DOLL/STUFFIE
or
BECOME THE DOLL/STUFFIE
and
Talk about where you would like to go now.
Hi, Elsa! I’m Dodo. I’m a doggie.
Elsa, what are you doing? I’m thinking of going to the beach today.
Do you like beach?
I love to go to beach now because ……
How about you?
Do you know what we can do on the beach?
We can do ……
Have you ever been on the beach?
The last time when I went to beach was ……
I know that a lot of us can’t go to the beach right now due to the pandemic. But we can imagine at least, right?
Talk about the specific beach that you would like to go and what you want to do there. You (your doll/stuffie) can choose to go to the beach actually.
Hey Elsa, I’m glad that we could come to the beach today. Do you want to go into the water? Let’s go swimming!
TIP: You can add some beach items if they are available at the time of the play.
Talk about the food that you would like to eat now.
If your child has a toy kitchen, s/he must love to cook and serve food there. If your child keeps baking cookies or cupcakes endlessly (😅), be a new customer and actively order something new.
Your cookies are great! But today I’m craving for seafood platter. Can you please make me a seafood platter?
You can teach what seafood is, what can come in a seafood platter and how to cook seafood.
Also think about the place that you had the best seafood and talk about the memory with your child.
Talk about the things that you have been wanting to teach.
Is there anything that you were thinking that you had to teach your child?
For example, not fighting with siblings.
Hi Elsa, how are you?
I’m a little sad today. Do you want to hear why?
You know I have an older brother. I love to play with him. I was waiting for him to come back from the nursery school all morning. I put out trains and tracks to play with him when he came back home. But my brother got upset when he saw the trains out in the play room. I didn’t know why. He yelled at me, “that’s my trains!”.
I know they are my brother’s. I didn’t play with them. I just put them out and was waiting for my brother to come because I wanted to do the train play with him.
I was really sad.
Do you like to play with your sister?
If you just tell your child that her/his younger brother just wanted to play with her/him and he was waiting for the play time all morning, your child might not understand and empathize well.
If you feel that your child has a hard time to understand others’ feelings, you can try a role play with the scenario like above. When there is an actual person/animal who is speaking about her/his thoughts and feelings, it’s easier to understand.
Talk about the things that you want to do now.
Do you want to have an exercise time for yourself? Lead the doll/stuffie play to that direction.
Elsa, after this snow play, do you want to go to gym with me?
I didn’t exercise my muscles for a long time and I think I have to go to gym today.
You can play a short exercise video and try exercising with your child.
BONUS: Birthday Play
If your child is obsessed with making a birthday cake and pretending to blow candles (😂) and ask you to blow candles endlessly, here is a way to make it a little more interesting and educational.
Think about your family members and their ages. Choose one family member and ask your child to make a cake for that person, with candles as many as the member’s age. After the first cake, choose a different family member and ask your child to make the second cake for that member with as many candles as that member’s age. Continue until your child gets bored of this play.😝
Tip: Prepare lots of birthday candles or the number candles for this play.
What We Want to Accomplish from This Doll/Stuffie Play Time
1. Spend a quality time with your child.
When you are more engaged in the play, your child feels more connected with you. Rather than being soulless in a play that you hate, add some factors that you like and make the play time meaningful for both you and your child.
2. Help your child learn through play.
Help your child expand her/his knowledges by being in a new situation or playing with a new scenario. Teach your child that bakers can not only bake cookies but also bake sandwich breads, bagels and biscuits. 😝
3. Give a space to be creative.
Being in a new situation also allows children to be creative. You be creative, provide new situations and let your child be creative!
4. Make the time fun for you, too.
Use this time as an opportunity to express your thoughts and feelings. Yes, we want to let children lead the play. But in a role play, you are another human being and everyone has different thoughts and feelings and all are allowed to share their opinions. It can be a chance to teach social emotional skills.
When your child asks you to do a doll/stuffie play with her/him, I hope you can say “sure” without hesitation.😊
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🦄 Do you want to do a stuffie play with Missangela?
🦄 Let’s play together then!
Happy learning and quality time!
Missangela👩🏻🎀