Little Miss Ali's Dramatic Play

Ali will be turning 3 in just one week. She began taking Kindermusik at Musikandmotion last summer. And since then, Ali's been incorporating a lot of kindermusik in her dramatic play at home. In the following video, Ali takes on the role of "Miss Sunny for real" and helps us peek inside the process of her imaginative play. If you watch and listen carefully, you'll notice that Ali's pretend play is more than just acting out or imitating "Miss Sunny" (although she does a mighty fine job of that as well). No, she constructs and negotiates meaning while exploring many complex skills such as sequencing of events (beginning, middle and end of class), creative and logical thinking-- how to respond to the big table in the middle of "her Kindermusik classroom"-- Ali's response: "It's okay if we sit on my table for Carnival of Music if there's no room!" and notice the way Ali's mom, Kristin skillfully offers encouragement and suggestions to keep the play going especially when Ali seems "stuck" singing the goodbye song to all her friends. Asking Ali if "the children had their turn playing the guitar" helps her soon-to-be three year old to continue her play into the next logical step-- offering the goodbye stamp to everyone.



For more on the the benefits of pretend play check out: "Dramatic play is not, as some parents and teachers fear, a waste of time; in fact it is the best predictor of a child's capacity for creative thinking and future social success."
The Power of Pretend Play By Adele M. Brodkin, Ph.D.

Thanks for sharing Ali with us, Kristin!