Remember that time I was supposed to be making soup and omelettes for dinner but instead I was transforming our living room into a firehouse? Good think my husband, an amazing (and slightly more on-task) cook, had made a huge pot of vegetarian chili the night before. So we had leftovers for dinner and a great evening playing and learning in our new Fire Station Dramatic Play Center.
Yes, setting up new
dramatic play themes is time and labor intensive. There is the cleaning up and storing of previous setups, the gathering, organizing and preparing of new materials and ideas and then the actual execution of setup. It usually takes me a few hours and sometimes multiple installments if that can't happen in one time-slot. I have also picked up a few time-saving tricks great for the home and classroom and seen incredible benefits of these playroom transformations in both of my boys.
Both S and Y have gained so much in their symbolic play skills through engaging in our recent playroom themes. Y has picked up an enormous amount of language and vocabulary. (How many 22 month olds do you know who know the word
Zamboni?) S has greatly increased his ability to talk through characters and expand on our play-themes in his own imagination (rather than through adult directed suggestions).
And here are some time and sanity saving strategies:
- Pack and store theme related materials together in 2 gallon ziplock bags so they can be pulled out and easily accessed when we're ready to use them again
- Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. When you transition themes, try to do so in a way that allows you to keep some materials from the previous theme out. For one thing, this is less shocking to your young audience than a complete playroom overhaul. It also allows them to expand on the previous theme and their own critical thinking skills. And, lastly, it's just easier for you! Having a couple of firehouse dogs and some accessories to care for them helped ease the transition from Vet & Pet Center to Fire Station. out our doctor tools and costume props also incorporated the idea that sometimes firefighters do medical aid and emergency relief work as well, an all encompassing way to play about community helpers (which is also the theme in S's preschool curriculum right now).
- Less is more! Introduce new props and activities incrementally. When I started doing these more elaborate setups, I felt I had to have everything out and ready at the get-go. This was overwhelming for me and by the time our play theme had run its course, there would be things the boys had never discovered or played with. Now I do a basic setup initially and gradually add in new things over the course of the days and weeks to come. This expands the shelf-life of my boys' interest in the play-theme and also spares my energy level! Sometimes setting up right before Shabbos is helpful because anything that is muktzah (not permissible to use on Shabbos) gets set out afterward, allowing the boys to explore the bare bones first. Even though I set this up in the middle of the week, I followed the same concept. Activities and materials related to writing were set aside for later. We ordered a pop-up fire truck that didn't arrive until right before Shabbos. And watching the boys explore and engage in play helped me to know what we needed to add in or shift around.
And now, without further ado, come on in and take a peek inside our playroom!
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| A basket is stocked with fire extinguishers (made from labeled dollar store spray bottles) and hoses (recycled medical equipment, you can also use plastic tubing from your hardware or pet supply store or even recycled cardboard tubes). A bucket and some cones are also available as well as a basket of "fire" (silk scarves in shades of red, yellow and orange for building and setting up fires). |
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| Costumes, our kitchen and housekeeping area and an emergency response center, ready for action... |
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The Emergency Response Center is stocked with firefighter costumes, helmets, boots (the boys' rainboots), walkie talkies and phones (dollar tree calculators) and a "computer" (cash register) as well as a few items for writing down important notes. More specific writing materials and props would be added later on... Our drawers also store some pet food for the firehouse pups and some pots, pans and dishes for cooking up snacks for hungry firefighters.
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| Our shelves are stocked with tools, flashlights, gloves and goggles, sponges and medical equipment. A firefighter does a lot more in a day's work than just fight fires! |
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| Costume lover! |
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| S had the idea to build a firetruck using the chairs. He steered it with his helmet as he responded to emergencies including a "broken smoke detector," a "burning pizza," and more! |
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| Firefighters also use tools for building and handling emergency situations. S decided to build a house using wood scraps from our STEAM Cart and tools. |
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| Whatever the reason or time of day... |
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| Y and S are on their way! |
For more ideas on playing about community helpers and firefighters/fire safety, check out these old posts:
We'll see you next time and until then...
Happy Playing!
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