Creative experiences for Children

Creative Experiences for Children 2(1+1)

Lesson 15 : Role of Creativity in over All Development

Dramatic play is their way of understanding and dealing with the world. The dramatic play of most children progress through 3 themes:

• First theme - Domestic scenes: children in the home living center who cook, clean and care for the dolls are exploring domestic situations. They are role playing from experience.
• Second theme - Rescue: the family is busy in the house keeping center when suddenly the doll becomes sick or daddy is away from work. The children have to solve the problem. Often the most socially mature children will introduce the conflict and solve it as the rescue theme begins to emerge in role-play.
• Third theme – monsters come out from under beds as the mother is sweeping, or a mean animal chases the children as they play outside.

Children’s age does not influence the themes they play out as much as opportunities they have to engage in any dramatic play. One of the best ways to engage in any dramatic play is to provide young children with some simple props and the freedom to experiments.

Dramatic play kits are created by assembling a variety of available everyday items into groups that have a common use or theme. Children can select the props and use them in groups or alone to play kits are:

1. Super market: Old cash register, play money, paper pads, pencils/crayons, punchers, empty food cartons, wax food, grocery boxes etc.
2. Post office: Index card file, stamp pads, stampers, crayons, pencils, old impression stamps and envelopes etc.
3. Cooking : Pots, pans, egg beaters, spoons, salt and flour shakers, aprons, play vessels etc

Similarly kit can be created for doctor, fire fighter, farmer, plumber etc.

Guidelines for promoting dramatic play experiences:

1. Select a simple idea for the dramatic play of a particular child from the child’s past experiences. To pretend to do something, the child must have already experienced first-hand.
2. Do not allow too much time gap between original experience and dramatic play. If the experience is not repeated often in the child’s everyday life, help the child recall the original experiment before introducing the activity.
3. Set the stage with a few simple but fairly realistic props. Expensive toys are not the key to success.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Do not over plan. Remember the key words flexibility and freedom. The child must be free to introduce his own ideas into the role playing.
5. Start the role playing by taking part in it. Keep your part simple so that the child (especially very young children) can at least imitate your ideas.
6. Once the playing gets going, try to reduce adult/teacher participation.
7. In general, keep the dramatic play and game activities short, especially for young children whose attention span is very small.
8. In both, dramatic play and game playing, do not force a child to participate. If you are working with a small group of children, let an unwilling child watch from the sidelines.

Pictures can be excellent starting points for experiments with role playing. A picture showing the action or conversation between 2 or more people can be used, and it is helpful if one of them is a child. The picture may be of a doctor talking with a young child. While showing the picture, the teacher asks questions to create a thinking atmosphere.

The reading of a story can be stopped midway, and the children can act out its finish. Role-playing is also a way to help children see the viewpoints of other people. When feelings and emotions come out, sensitive and open discussions after the role playing can offer new insights and enhance language skills.