Let's Pretend! Dramatic Play and Early Childhood Development
My students need items to incorporate into their dramatic play to help them learn about real world things, such as community jobs and taking care of others with baby dolls, and a food and grocery store center.
$632 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Give this project a boost!
A chain reaction of support starts with one share.
My kindergarten students are curious about the world around them. They are masters at using their imagination and creativity to explore everything from jobs that sound interesting, the roles they see the adults in their lives playing, and dramatically acting out favorite stories from read alouds.
My students are a diverse group of learners speaking many languages and coming from an array of backgrounds.
They are curious and engaged learners, hungry to discover the magic of the world around them. Creativity and imagination are highly valued in my school and classroom. It is particularly important to me to create an environment where students feel encouraged to try out new ideas and use their imagination widely. Students spend time each day exploring different areas of the classroom through a guided choice time. During this time, students are supported to try new things (building with legos, using different art supplies, creating designs with cardboard, setting up a store or home in the playhouse area, etc.) to help them stretch their minds to the many different types of things that are possible, not only in our classroom, but out in the wider world.
My Project
As students learn new things throughout the year (all about themselves and their community, what money is and how much it is worth, the different jobs people can have, etc.) they make these new ideas their own through dramatic play in the classroom. For example, when learning about money, we will set up a classroom restaurant where students will take orders. These types of experiences create opportunities for my students to make this new learning their own, by creating relevancy and engagement. To make these experiences a reality, I need to provide my students with exciting and creative tools such as the dolls, pretend food, restaurant cards, and dramatic play items I am requesting. If my students are able to use their imagination freely and let their creativity go, they will become more creative and engaged students not only in my classroom as kindergarteners, but in all of their education yet to come.
By receiving the materials I am requesting, students in my classroom will have the freedom to create new and exciting
types of dramatic play.
By providing opportunities for students to use their imagination and creativity with their peers, they become more open as learners, they are more likely to engage in challenging work with a positive attitude and will ultimately contribute to their communities with insightful, creative problem solving skills.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Gibson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.