{"id":956,"date":"2019-01-28T17:44:22","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T17:44:22","guid":{"rendered":"https://theempoweredprovider.com/?p=956"},"modified":"2020-02-04T19:53:43","modified_gmt":"2020-02-04T19:53:43","slug":"dramatic-play-how-to-set-up-a-dentist-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https://theempoweredprovider.com/dramatic-play-how-to-set-up-a-dentist-office/","title":{"rendered":"Dramatic Play: How to Set Up a Dentist Office"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the best dental health month activities is to transform your dramatic play area into a dentist office! The supplies you need to make this happen are minimal, but the fun and learning that occur are big time! In this post, I’ll show you how transform your dramatic play area by showing you how to set up a dentist office.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read Now or Pin to Your February Theme Board!\n<\/a><\/center>\n\n\n\n

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\"dramatic<\/figure><\/center>\n\n\n\n

What is Dramatic Play?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dramatic play is term used in the early childhood world that basically means ‘pretend play’. If you ever played ‘school’ or ‘house’ or ‘store’ as a kid…you were partaking in dramatic play, my friend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love this explanation of dramatic play by Children’s Factory<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dramatic play<\/strong>\u00a0is a type of\u00a0play<\/strong>\u00a0in which children accept and designate roles, and then act them out. It is an activity where they break through their norms, pretend to be someone or something different from themselves and dramatize situations and feelings for the characters they have chosen. <\/p>CHILDREN’S FACTORY<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Why do young kids love to pretend?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The dramatic play area in our play space was one of the busiest areas of the room. Toddlers and preschoolers alike gravitated toward whatever was out to use for pretend play. Whether it be our pretend kitchen, the market stand or whatever happened to be featured at the moment…they were in it for the long haul; making plans with friends, divvying up roles and getting to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The folks over at Rasmussen College<\/a> say that kids use dramatic play to explore their own thoughts and feelings. Kids need a space to do this kind of exploration and it feels good to figure out the world in a way that is familiar—PLAY!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How is setting up a dentist office for dramatic play helpful to children?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If dramatic play allows kids to safely explore their thoughts and feelings, than the same is true if they are allowed to play out the scenario of going to the dentist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"boys<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Talk about an anxiety-ridden time for some kids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting up a play ‘office’ in which kids can pretend to be the dentist or the patient allows them to practice how they will manage these moments in real life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going to the dentist is something many kids worry about because going to the dentist is rather unfamiliar territory as it typically only happens 1-2 times per year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting up a pretend dentist office will help kids become more comfortable with the concept of going to the dentist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Other Ideas for your dramatic play area<\/h2>\n\n\n\n