More than just a game, dramatic play builds brains. That’s the message to child care providers and parents of young children. The quality of care a child receives before entering school can make a big difference in how ready the child is to succeed when kindergarten begins. Quality experiences include having access to and experiencing dramatic play time.
Dramatic play items are a very important component of a quality child care curriculum. Items like dress up clothes, hats, pots, pans, toy tools, career dolls, etc. help children develop social, emotional, and motor skills and builds their problem solving skills. Research shows that this type of play is a necessary part of a child’s language development and contributes strongly to their intellectual growth…and it is a lot of fun.
Items like dress up clothes, hats, pots, pans, toy tools, career dolls, etc. help children develop social, emotional, and motor skills and builds their problem solving skills.
The United Way Women’s Leadership Initiative collected hundreds of dramatic play items for pre-school children. These items were distributed recently to child care programs that participate in the Virginia Star Quality Initiative—an initiative to help improve the quality of child care programs, especially programs that serve children in low-income families.
Berkley Jenkins, a United Way Women’s Leadership Initiative volunteer and pre-med student at Spelman College in Atlanta, was home for the holiday and spent some of her vacation time delivering dramatic play items and playing dress up with children at the Formative Years Child Care Center in Richmond.
“They’re not just playing” Berkley stated. “Children are learning to make sense of the world around them when they pretend and imitate. I can recall playing dress up as a child and now I’m on my way to becoming a doctor.” Berkley’s sister McKinley was also involved in the toy distribution.
For a parent information flyer about quality related child care matters, go to http://www.smartbeginnings.org/Home/StarQualityInitiative/AbouttheVSQI.aspx or call Lisa Thompson at (804) 591-3918.
