Often when we think of dramatic play in a classroom setting, dress-up centers and play kitchens quickly come to mind. But there are so many opportunities to work dramatic play into your learning environment, and the benefits for children are endless. 

Dramatic play happens through structured scenarios with more predefined settings, like within the housekeeping center, or unstructured scenarios where children are free to create their own experience, such as turning a table and chairs into a campsite. Both are important to incorporate into your everyday learning atmosphere; we’ve included some of our favorites below.

Nurturing mental health at a young age is essential in creating a foundation of stability that supports all other aspects of human development such as forming friendship and the ability to cope with challenges and adversity. It also plays into achievement in school, work and the community long term.  By starting to teach healthy coping mechanisms and learning to identify emotions at an early age we can set up our children for bright futures. We have a few simple steps to help begin the journey to mental health.