This week for one Small Group activity, we used fabric squares and Little People to create a story about friends. First we chose which person we wanted to be. Then we looked at the fabric squares and decided where our story would happen. We used blue fabric to be a swimming pool; the balloon fabric pieces were for the birthday party; the flower fabric is where we would picnic.
Ms. Harmony chose to be this boy named "Nick." He was six and introduced himself to everyone at the park. He especially liked jumping off the diving board at the pool.
Friend "S" chose to be the baby and Mommy in the story. The baby wasn't big enough to jump off the diving board, so "Nick" played with the baby on the steps of the water. We can play with people who are smaller than us.
Friend "B" was a girl named "Sophie" who was three. She liked jumping off the diving board with "Nick" and carried the PBJ sandwiches in her purse for the picnic. She shared sandwiches with everyone at the park.
Friend "K" was a girl named "Kaylee." She didn't want to join us in the pool, but she did participate at the picnic in the garden. Sometimes friends like to do the same activities as you, and sometimes they'd rather do something else. To be a good friend, you have listen to other's ideas too. This is why "Nick," "Sophie, "baby," and "Mommy" went to the garden after swimming, instead of swimming the whole time.
What makes this activity so interesting is that it is 100% open-ended. From the Little People to the setting to the plot, the school friends use their imaginations, language, and real life experience to tell a story. Through play, they met the developmental objectives to
- make a plan
- use objects to symbolically represent something real
- balance the rights of self and others
- take turns in conversation
- use empathy to animate the characters
- develop a story with a beginning, middle, and end
- practice elements of friendship including self-introductions, invitations to play, joining others in play, playing with children of different ages and abilities, talking about sharing, taking turns, and trading, etc.
That's a whole lot of objectives that we practiced in a simple activity for a few minutes! But the benefits are immediately obvious when the school friends leave the table and begin Work Time. They take the language and ideas and apply them to their own plans. Following this activity, we saw more collaborative play between the three school friends and they were more successful in including Baby "K" in their plans as well.
