Summer is in full swing!

Throughout the year the children's play has included imagination, exploration, and heroism. They have fought fires, built restaurants, protected the school from "bad guys," created fairy houses, and so much more.  Over the summer we have been exploring these interests in meaningful ways. Eric Hoffman, the author of Magic, Capes, and Amazing Powers, describes this type of play as a way for children to test out their power and relate to the adults in their world. Children see adults as powerful figures that "take charge, make decisions, solve problems and think about adult problems such as power, wisdom, bravery, and fairness" (Hoffman, 2004). Children also engage in this type of play because it involves all areas of development: social, emotional, physical, and cognitive. Our role as educators is to help them navigate this world in a positive and successful way.

When faced with this topic, many children will first relate to familiar figures that they have seen in the media. However, we are asking the children to think beyond what they see and hear in the media. For example, we decided to define what it meant to be a hero. We asked the children to define a hero and their answer was "someone who fights the bad guys", "someone who wears a costume," and "someone you see in movies and books." Immediately following this discussion we read Lila and the Secret of the Rain by David Conway and Jude Daly. Lila is a child in an African village that is plagued by drought. In the end, she makes the rain come to her village, thereby saving her town. After we read this book, the children realized that Lila was a hero, even if she did not wear a costume or fight bad guys. 

We have also been encouraging the children to use their imagination and creativity to empower their dramatic play. One way we’ve been doing this is with the creation of the Green Zone area outside our door. In this area children are encouraged to use large body movements—running, jumping, hopping—as much as they want. Next to the Green Zone is the Creation Station, where children are encouraged to make props that they could use in the Green Zone. So far we have seen baseballs/bats, newspaper swords, and new inventions. In the past week we also brought out a large box which the children decided to turn into a hideout. They spent two days decorating the outside of the box and making the inside cozy.