Dramatic Role Play

June 2013

"In play a child is always above his average age, above his daily behaviour; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself…in play it is as though the child were trying to jump above the level of his normal behaviour." (Vygotsky, 2002).

At Petone Kindergarten, our new focus is on ‘Dramatic Role Play’ we have chosen this because we noticed a lot of dressing up and pretend play happening around the place. This is not anything new but we can see it happening in just about every context area – Playdough, blocks, dancing, sandpit, literacy and outdoor play to name a few.  Also, it seems to be more prevalent than normal at the moment.  There are many names for this dramatic play: imaginative play, make believe, fantasy play and socio-dramatic play.

Sociodramatic play is recognised as the highest level of dramatic play, (Christie, 1982) because it requires the combination of social and dramatic play skills.

It requires creation of imaginary common sense field

Smilansky (1968) described six elements of play which must be present in order for play to be considered sociodramatic:

·         Imaginative role play

·         Make-believe with objects

·         Make-believe with actions and situations

·         Interaction

·         Verbal communication

·         Persistence

There are people who underestimate the value and incredible richness of children’s play, but we want to dispel this myth and let you know the amazing learning that goes on whilst children play. First, let’s think about why children play. Donaldson (1978) would say it was: “To make sense of and derive meaning from the contexts of their lives”

Children are naturally curious and have this amazing sense of wonder for the world around them. They desperately want to find out and make sense of the world.  Playing is a big part of how they do this.

Play is a fundamental human activity (it occurs across life span as well as across cultures)

Play is an expression of the child/s developing personality, sense of self, intellect, social capacity and physicality.

Play is essential for optimal development and learning in young children.

Why do children play?

To make sense of and derive meaning from the contexts of their lives (Donaldson, 1978)

To keep control of their lives at least of that part which is their play (Garvey, 1977).

Play is the leading source of development in preschool years (Vygotsky, 2001).

What are the main functions of play activity?

·         Thinking

·         Imagination

·         Intention

·         Generalised emotions

Evolving memory 'gives birth' for imagination

Imagination is the new formation that is not present in the consciousness of the very young child, (Vygotsky 2002).

Imagination manifests itself through play activity

Imagination is usually creating a picture of something in our heads and holding it there while we think about it, (Hughes, 1998).

Absolutely everything that was created by the hand of man is the product of human imagination and of creation based on the imagination (Vygotsky, 2002).

Construct Mode  
  
Instead of here/now or there/then, the mind begins to concern itself with somewhere/sometime or anywhere/anytime, (Donaldson, 1992).

Iljenkov (1977) underlined that social play with peers enables children to overcome their egocentrism. Only through a situation of controversy, hot discussion or most often a conflict children are able to accept others point of view.

The child moves forward essentially through play activity, Vygotsky 2002

Vygotsky (2002) Play is converted to internal processes at school age, going over to:

-      Internal speech

-      Logical memory

-      Abstract though

-      Rule based activities such as learning tasks and work

All forms of human activities spring out from play activity

All the research has backed up our ideas and thoughts about children’s play here at Petone Kindergarten. We hope to educate parents about the importance of play through the blog. Let us know what you think….post your comments here.

Family / Whānau involvement at Petone Kindergarten

('Whānau' - pronounced "FAA-no" - is a Maori term meaning family).

We appreciate family / whānau involvement at kindergarten. When we build relationships with families we learn more about our children and connect with their worlds.

Our early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki states "Children's learning and development are fostered if the well-being of their family and community is supported; if their family, culture, knowledge and community are respected; and there is a strong connection and consistency among all aspects of the child's world. The curriculum builds on what children bring to it and makes links with the everyday activities and special events of families, whānau, local communities and cultures"


During term one, we had some families take part in the following ways:

Hana's mother Mayumi came and taught the children how to make delicious sushi.

Many children said they eat sushi at the shoppingmall and some said their parents have made sushi.

Kayla's mother Melinda led a music, movement and gymnastics session with our Kea group.

Kayla and Melinda shared some songs they knew

Children had a go copying, listening and following the instructions from a new adult

Kyle's mother Karen taught the children about water safety - safety around baths, pools, beaches and rivers.

The Seagull children sat wonderfully outside as they listened to Karen.

Some children already knew Karen as she teaches swim lessons to a few of our families.

Children had fun trying on the child-sized life jacket, which we borrowed for a week.

There are many ways in which families are welcome to take part in our community:

• Talking, emailing, or writing in your child's profile book  about your child's learning and development is valuable to us - we encourage sharing ideas and opinions
• Being part of our Kindergarten Committee -  this is made up of volunteer parents who meet twice a term to discuss children's learning at kindergarten and support fundraising initiative. Some families / parents choose to support the kindergarten by taking part in fundraising activities but are not members of the Committee, which is also helpful
• Helping with regular or one-off jobs around the kindergarten - e.g. making morning tea for children, cleaning, sweeping leaves, fixing items
• Sharing knowledge and experiences with children during session - e.g. teaching children new skills, leading an activity, taking part in outings and events 

Thank you to our wonderful families / whānau for supporting the learning that happens at kindergarten!

Children love having their families take a part in our kindergarten community. You are welcome to spend some time with us during our kindergarten sessions. If you have particular ideas you would like to share, please feel free to chat with one of the teaching staff.

Teina / Tuakana - Teaching other people new knowledge and skills

Teina / Tuakana 

Young children engage in powerful learning through their relationships with others and their environment. Often children learn new knowledge or skills by being taught by another person who is more experienced at the task, or holds more knowledge of a subject. Being taught by a more-experienced person is a Maori theory Teina / Tuakana (which means, literally, an older person helping / teaching someone younger). 

Teina / tuakana can take many forms, such as:

* between same-aged peers

* between different aged children

* between adults and children. 

* teachers also learn a lot from the children and families

Each individual who is part of our kindergarten community has knowledge that can be imparted and guide others for learning.

We notice a lot of teina / tuakana at our kindergarten each day. Some skills that are developed through teina / tuakana are based on responsibility...

(taken from “How children learn responsibility - Teina –tuakana” by Dr A. Meade and N. Grazier)

Te whai takohanga

- having responsibility

- having designated roles and positions of responsibility.

For example, Fadila and Lilivasarosa showed other children how to wipe our tables for preparation for lunch time.

Another example is when Harry showed children at mat time how to do exercises.

Te mouri takohanga

- being responsible

- refers to an individual’s attitude and actions

For example, children remind teachers that the GO sign by the front door needs changing to the STOP sign. It's great that children learn and remember our rules.

Te kawe takohanga

- taking responsibility

- is about courage, risk-taking, having a go, trying new things.

For example, some children need help to walk across the balancing beam. Some children offer help by role modelling to how to balance, others hold another child's hands and some give verbal encouragement.

Te tuku takohanga

- sharing responsibility

- is about relationships, interaction and engagement with others, sharing power, and asking for and providing assistance.

For example, often children ask teachers to help swing them on the swings. Lucas could see that a teacher was busy at that moment, so he said he would help Harper swing. The two of them had fun as Lucas swung Harper. Lucas then showed Harper how to swing his legs up and down so he could learn to do so independently. "It's easy!" said Lucas, and Harper laughed as he swung.

Another example is when a child is new and transitioning into kindergarten, other children are happy to be the expert and support newcomers. Kyle and Juri are friends outside of kindergarten. Kyle has kindly taken Juri under his wing as she gets used to her new environment.

 

We are excited to see children learning from one another, from adults and the wider community. We too, enjoy learning from everyone. We will continue to support tuakana / teina learning by recognising anyone taking or sharing responsibility by acknowledging and describing the helpful behaviours. Describing positive behaviours helps enrich children’s vocabularies, and reinforces to children social expectations about relating to each other.