Making a Dress Up Kit

Children of all ages love to dress up!

This box will provide your little one hours of fun and entertainment, especially when teamed up with a mirror, tea set or cubby house. You can include anything you like from your old wardrobe - hats, bags, shoes, the bigger the variety the better. Don't forget to take some photos to use in 'making your own book' or at the very least for your child's 21st Birthday.

Some items to include:

• Wigs
• Hats
• Shoes
• Gloves
• Socks
• Bags and wallets (especially for Toddlers!)
• Shirts
• Skirts
• Tops
• Trousers
• Wraps and scarves
• Beads and costume jewellery
• Disposable caps and gloves
• Jackets
• Plastic sunglasses (lenses removed)
• Brushes and combs
• Make up (if you feel brave!)

Dramatic Play Ideas to encourage your child could also include:

Making a Shop

When selecting materials and items to use in your shop, make sure you include your child's valuable input. Ask your child what type of shop they would like to set up (for example: a cake shop or bakery; a grocery shop; a clothing shop; a toy shop). You could write a list together of things to sell. Include any one of the following:

• Empty cereal boxes
• Rinsed milk containers
• Empty tins with lids (for example Milo, etc)
• Tissue boxes
• Egg cartons
• Shoe box for cash register
• Make your own paper money or use your Monopoly money
• Cane basket to use as a shopping basket
• Make a sign for your shop front
• Use an old phone (see Emergency Toy Box) to take shop orders
• Old clothing and accessories arranged for a clothing store (use your Dress Up Box above)
• Gather your old toys to sell
• The only limit is your imagination

Making a Restaurant

All children love to pretend being grown up. What better way to imitate the adults in your life than at your very own Restaurant! Make sure you have enough seats for everyone, and a cash register (made from a shoe box) for collecting the takings at the end of the session. This is a great Dramatic Play scenario to use with more than one child, so contact the cousins or your local Mother's Group and get busy!

Here are some great things to include in your Restaurant:

• Make your own Menu - Before you start, sit down with your child and discuss what types of food you will serve at the Restaurant. Locate pictures of food in old magazines and paste them onto paper to use as the menu. As an alternative, your child might like to draw the pictures for the menu themselves. Make sure you label each food type.
• Place mats
• Serviettes or napkins
• Plastic cutlery
• Chop sticks or other multicultural eating utensils
• Dish cloths (clean) for wiping tables
• Tongs or other serving utensils
• Aprons
• Chef's Hats
• Pencils and Notepad (for taking orders)
• Cash register
• Telephone (with the cord removed for safety)
• Plastic or pretend food (if you are feeling brave, serve real food that the children have helped make prior to playing)
• Empty salt and pepper shakers
• Artificial or real flowers in small vases for table decorations
• Pots and pans for the kitchen
• Table cloths
• Bowls, cups and plates

Make a Hospital or Doctors Surgery

Line the teddies up in your waiting room and get ready to treat some sick toys! This particular Dramatic play scenario is great as it helps children to act out their fears and concerns about going to the Doctor of Hospital. They are able to explore what they like about the doctor's, what frightens them, and all the things in between. Listen carefully, you might hear yourself reflected in some of these moments.

Things to include for your Doctor's Surgery or Hospital could be:

• Teddies or toys to use as patients (you could also use a few play-mates or willing adults instead!)
• A bed (you can use a lounge cushion or old pillow and blanket) for examining
• A desk or reception area for booking and greeting appointments or admitting patients
• A telephone (with the cord removed for safety)
• Waiting area (with something to sit on)
• Bandages (make sure they are ones that you no longer intend to use for your First Aid Kit)
• Plastic wound dressings and strips
• Cotton wool
• A white overcoat (any old white men's shirt will be fine)
• A stethoscope (store-bought or home made is fine)
• Wooden tongue depressors (use clean paddle pop sticks as a substitute)
• Doctor's prescription pad and a pencil (use a blank writing pad)
• Jar of sweets for good behaviour
• Pretend Medicine (a great idea for this is to use empty 600ml water bottles filled with coloured water) - Please note: NEVER give your child empty medication bottles to play with as they are dangerous and potential harmful.
• Empty soap dispenser for pretend hand washing (you are never too young to start good hygiene!)

Create A Farm!

Some suggested materials could include:

• Safe plastic garden tools, such as bucket, plastic rake, broom, children’s tools
• Wheelbarrows
• Pictures of farm animals from magazines
• Story books on farms
• Garden hose
• Straw hats
• Old socks
• Picnic Rug
• Plastic farm animals
• Boxes to make barn and farmhouses
• Work boots
• Old flannelette shirts
• Paints
• Cellophane
• Scissors
• Glue
• Sticky tape
• String
• Velcro
• Favourite CD or music about farm songs. For example: Old MacDonald had a farm, Down on the Farm Riding on a Bumpy Tractor

Set up your farm in an area of your garden or a room in the house. Have your child assist in making a barn for the animals and a farm house using cardboard boxes. Decorate the boxes with paint. Cut out windows and glue or sticky tape the cellophane over the holes to represent windows. Remember that the animals will need water, so why not make a dam using the blue cellophane for the water. Have your child dress up in their farm attire and discuss with them the type of clothing you might wear on a farm for comfort and the type of work people do on a farm. Talk to your child about animals on a farm, the type of noises they make, and colours they could be. Cut out pictures of animals and laminate them. Attach Velcro to them so you might secure them in the barn.

Other ideas for your farm could include:

• Make a picture book using your magazine cut outs of farm animals and farm machinery.
• Make a jigsaw puzzle. Paste your paper onto a thin cardboard and laminate your works of art. Cut out the laminated pictures into shapes to make your jigsaw.
• Make a placement of farm animals or farm machinery. Place cut outs of animals and or machinery and paste onto a thin sheet of card. Print the name of the animal or machine under each item. Laminate your picture and use as your child’s placemat at the table.
• Remember to take lots of photos for your child’s scrapbook.

Making A Scarecrow For Your Farm

Some suggested materials are:

• Old Clothes, such as shirt, hat, trousers, skirt, dress, gloves, belt, socks and boots
• Wool or cellophane for hair
• String for securing
• Panty hose or stockings for the body
• Old pair of boots
• Old Newspapers
• Textas
• Pens

Sticky tape or masking tape
Using the panty hose or stockings, form the body, head, arms and legs of the scarecrow. Fill each section with newspaper. Then assemble the scarecrow securing each part to the body with string. Add wool or cellophane paper for the hair, and using the textas, draw on a face. Once you have formed the body of the scarecrow, dress him or her up to represent a person. Display your scarecrow in your garden (or make believe farm). You may need a stick to prop him or her up!

Other ideas for to continue on with your scarecrow theme could be:

• Make a picture book using your magazine cut outs of scarecrows.
• Make a jigsaw puzzle. Paste your paper onto a thin cardboard and laminate your works of art. Cut out the laminated pictures into shapes to make your jigsaw.
• Make a placement of scarecrows. Place cut outs of scarecrows and other related topics, such as birds, and clothing and paste onto a thin sheet of card. Laminate your picture and use as your child’s placemat at the table.
• Remember to take lots of photos for your child’s scrapbook.

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