VHFLC Preschool Dramatic Play Transformations

Here at VHFLC, we love to present our students with new challenges –– and what better way to encourage out-of-the-box thinking than to bring the outside world into our sites with dramatic play? Much like traditional play, dramatic play allows young children to safely explore daily life practices (typically reserved for the adult world) through reenactment and recreation. This can mean an activity as simple as playing "Mr. CVS Man" (like one of our admins, who enjoyed playing a CVS cashier as a child), or performing a rousing rendition of "Let it Go" from Frozen for the 10,000th time. Most kids do dramatic play without even realizing it, but actively creating an immersive environment for this purpose can add a new layer of depth and color to the experience.

Beginning this school year, each of our four preschool sites has been tasked with creating a unique dramatic play environment for VHFLC students. Site teachers can do anything they wish –– making transformations that are fantastical, like an enchanted forest, or more akin to an everyday encounter, like a bank.

As you'll see in the pictures below, staff and kids really grasped this opportunity to stretch their creative wings! We were amazed at the level of detail provided by teachers, and taken aback by the investment and interest from students. Under director Adina Walls-Arnout's guidance, students at St. Luke Preschool created a flower shop play area. This not only gave them a chance to play with a cash register and to run a store, but also to care for their flowers and take responsibility for their plants. Take a glimpse at these cuties as they clearly relish the opportunity to explore things generally outside the limits of their school environment. 

This student is caring for his plants with the watering can.

The desk with all the necessary supplies.

Under director Jane Williams and assistant director Laura Dubrow, St. Andrew's preschool area underwent two major transformations –– "St. Andrew's Cafe", where our kids were able to make-believe that they were running a real coffee shop (complete with a sign, table, chairs, and play food to 'make' and 'serve'!), and "Trader Andrews." This grocery store gave students a chance to explore shopping with a selection of realistic products, pushable kid-sized carts, and registers where they could make their 'purchase'...

 

Meanwhile, at the VHFLC VA site, director Abbey Lutskovsky and assistant director Maureen Parra left the real world of cafes and stores behind to escape to a more 'natural' setting. Instead of exploring an 'everyday' location, these students had what they called an "explorer ocean lab", where they could adventure through the dark depths of the sea and read about the various kinds of creatures they might encounter. They even made decorations to mimic the ocean floor, with coral, fish, eels, sea stars, and more!

Director Cala Richman and lead teacher Akari Anderson and their students over at our University of Portland preschool thought they'd get a head start in preparing for seasonal festivities –– with their very own Thanksgiving harvest table! Children were given the appropriate tools and accessories to practice setting up their own feast, which included cooking, setting the table, hosting, and most importantly... table manners! What a great way to highlight and explore the many merits of dramatic play. Well done VHFLC preschoolers and teachers for your diverse interpretations! We're excited to check back to see what you've created next.