North Carolina Early Learning and Development Progressions: Birth to Five

Domain: NC Foundations for Early Learning: Cognitive Development (CD)

Subdomain: Creative Expression

Goal: Children demonstrate self-expression and creativity in a variety of forms and contexts, including play, visual arts, music, drama, and dance.

Skill Progression: Drama

Age: 21-24 Months

Click here to go to all skills for ages 21-24 Months.

Dramatizes remembered events, and directs dramatic play to self, doll, and/or adult

Situations for Observation of Skill

Observe the child in play related to household routines. Use whatever toys are in the child’s play area plus add a few real kitchen materials (plastic or paper plates and bowls, spoons, pot and lid, dish cloths, wash basin, etc.)

Elicitation Strategy

Wait until the child has had time to demonstrate her spontaneous play ideas, then the adult can enter as a play partner.

Behavior Observed

Any routines the child acts out show memory. Look at how the child includes others in the sequences related to the events. Does the child initiate play with the doll, pretend to play a role, include the adult?

Routines-based Intervention (Embedded Instruction)

Explain to early childhood educators and parents that dramatic play provides a means for children to recreate their memories of experiences. Dramatic play also enables them to have a reason to interact in imaginative ways with others. Suggestions include costumes and materials that can be used in multiple ways in the child’s play area.

 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2015

©2015 by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.