toys and that our next step is to build a rocket ship dramatic play.
I’ve been waiting for a large fridge box to use to make the rocket but
it hasn’t arrived yet.
This morning some of the children arrived saying they were excited
to play in the rocket ship. Their caregiver had warned them that it
might not be ready yet, which was true.
The children hovered around the area where the rocket will be, our
slide will be the frame of the rocket and we’ll wrap the cardboard
box around it.
I found a large piece of fabric and draped it over the slide. Immediately they dove inside, up the slide and in from behind. I thought, why wait to bring out the pieces that we’ve been collecting?
So I carried out a large box full of loose parts that may be used on our rocket. The boys began to explore the materials.
They began to create different scenarios.
Working together to figure out how to make the props work in their play.
Figuring out how to work with disruptions. A much younger child became interested in the hose. The boys stopped their play and watched her. Her mother encouraged her to move around to climb the slide. Play began again.
Cooperative. Imaginative. Role playing. Learning.
Today I learned that I don’t need to have everything set up for the children to play. They reminded me, again, that much more learning can happen with loose parts then with a finished product. We’ll still build a rocket ship but the children have had time to play with the parts and may have a better understanding of how they might use those parts in the construction of our rocket ship.