Over the past few weeks the children of School-age 1 engaged in dramatic play by conducting and facilitating their very own puppet show. To create the stage, they carefully followed the lines drawn by their educator, and cut out the cardboard stage with a pair of scissors. This enhanced their fine motor skills and hand eye coordination by controlling and guiding the scissors along the cardboard. Next, they chose the colours yellow and blue to paint the stage. After the stage was finished drying they were all eager to get started with creating a show. They were provided with puppets, barbies, and books to spark their imaginations and create a storyline.
From fairy tales, real life scenarios, and happily ever after, the children got the opportunity to express themselves and share with each other their stories. They also bounced ideas off of each other, and allowed each other to take the lead in different situations. This exemplified cooperation and collaboration by taking turns and by working together, as well as problem solving. “Let’s pretend that they are sisters and that they wanted to go play at the park,” Claire said. The two girls decided to go play on the swings and take turns pushing each other.
Claire’s puppet accidentally slipped and fell off the swing. Seerat’s puppet ran to her and asked, “Are you okay?” She comforted Claire’s puppet and their puppets gave each other a hug. They decided to move on and slide down the slide. This demonstrates empathy for the characters by putting yourself in other people’s shoes and by making sure they are safe and unhurt. They had fun using their creative and innovative imaginations during this child-led experience, and the school-age 1 children as a whole were able to work together and use communication in creating their puppet show.
