PictureBook Plays

Although there is an abundance of music and dance classes for young children, it is difficult to find theatre opportunities. Please send me a note about your program or of programs you recommend and I will gladly include a link.

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Children already play pretend so it’s easy to include theatre in your everyday routine: Add a costume bin to your classroom or playroom. Put in several (not too many, it can be overwhelming) pieces of cloth and a couple articles of clothing and maybe even some shoes.

Put it out and see what your child does. You don’t need to put on a play, tell a story or perform, just dress-up together. Feel the different textures. Wear things in different ways. You don’t HAVE to put a shoe on your foot!

Try wrapping the pieces of cloth around you in different ways. One piece can be a dress, a cape, wings, a veil, a hat, and even a horse.

Follow your child’s lead. You can encourage this by asking open-ended questions like, “What happens next?” “How shall I wear this?” “I want to be a sea horse, help me dress up.”

This is a blog designed for several purposes:

• To gather & share theatre resources for the educators and parents of preschool children ages 2-5 years.
• To convince parents and educators that just as we include visual art and music in the early childhood curriculum, so should theatre be included in the curriculum.
• To promote the forthcoming book PictureBook Plays, a resource for parents and educators, based on the practices of SerahRose Roth (that’s me) and co-written by myself and Prof. Sharon A. Roth, Ed.D.