Props, Accessories, and Themes
To properly facilitate and encourage rich and complex dramatic play, teachers provide materials and accessories or props that children use, just like actors in a play or film, to lend credibility and realism to their language and actions. Artificial props and dress-up clothing for dramatic play may be purchased, but as noted previously, real-life items may be easily acquired and adapted if necessary, with a little help from families, neighbors, and local thrift shops and businesses. Play props should be sorted, organized, and stored in labeled boxes (copy paper cartons work well) or clear plastic storage tubs so they can be rotated in and out of the classroom as needed.
A prop box focuses on a single or set of closely related themes. Because storage can be a challenge in some settings, teachers keep a primary collection of prop boxes for themes that are predictably popular with children, such as the grocery store or a restaurant, but are always ready to create temporary collections of props by borrowing items from families or friends when an interest or theme emerges unexpectedly. Teachers should also expect that as play around a theme develops, additional props may be requested or larger items may be needed that arent suitable for storage in a box (like a car seat for travel play or folding beach chairs).
Teachers anticipate opportunities to involve children in making incidental or unique props when possible. A single theme, such as a bakery, can take many possible directionsone group of children might pretend to be the local cupcake store, wanting pictures of cupcakes with which to create menus, name tags, and signs for the shop; they might also need a basket for deliveries. Another group might not care about cupcakes but would have great interest in designing wedding cakes, which would call for a different set of items to personalize theirplay.
Table 7.3 lists examples of commonly used themes and basic items to support them.