Positive Outlets for Preschoolers' Creative Expressions

Does your child give drama to their mama?  Learn tips on nurturing the creative side of your preschooler.

What You Need to Know

Many children are born actors. We’ve seen their ability to draw tears and change emotions at the drop of a hat. As parents we can foster creative expression through positive outlets. In short, drama without the drama. 

There are widely held expectations for preschoolers in the area of dramatic play and creative arts. Here are some of them.

• Child uses words, actions and materials to portray a role.
• Engages in role play with two or more children.
• Child imagines and clearly describes characters, their relationships and their environment.
• Assumes the role of someone or something else.

How You Can Help

To help improve your child’s dramatic abilities. Encourage play that gets your child’s creative juices flowing.

• Have them express creativity using puppets, storytelling and dance.
• Start a conversation after attending a play with your child.  (Which character did you like best and why?)
• Have your child act out a story while you read it aloud.  (See if your child’s actions match any picture pages and then show them)
• Encourage your child to pretend with friends, stuffed animals and other toys.
• Ask child to tell or act out stories, stressing beginnings and endings to introduce sequencing.

Other ideas:   Take field trips to art events, concerts and theatrical performances. Your local paper online or off is a great resource for all things happening in your area. The website usfamilyguide.com (http://www.usfamilyguide.com/community.php?referralcode=460) can also be a good source of family event information. 

Try and educate your child on other cultures by attending a cultural fair.  Focus on your own family heritage to add personal interest. You can look into music and art of that country for starters.

Drama without the drama makes for some great preschool play.