Ready, set, play! We're on our way to the All Things Small Ball!
In the form of dramatic play, drama is often the key to opening up your child’s ability to imagine, empathize, and self-regulate.
If you have a kiddo with a flair for the dramatic or who is fascinated by bugs and other tiny things, read on for more about the benefits of dramatic play and a fun, structured dramatic play activity everyone can enjoy.
Items recommended (but not required) for the “All Things Small Ball” activity
- Bottle of shrinking potion
- 2 Puppets, one for introducing the activity and one puppet for giving instructions (one puppet is also fine!)
- Table children can crawl under
- Bell to ring for transitions (a pot or pan to bang on can also be used here!)
- Names and descriptions for each animal the children will meet
- Music and Speaker for Freeze Dance
- Mat or an item to designate a gateway
- Freeze Dance Song
- Wand, scarf, magical object to dancing with at the ball
Magic Bug Jars Art Activity
Below, available for download, are our hand-drawn illustrations for your kiddo to color their Magic Bug Jar, including bugs
Without further ado, we introduce our dramatic play adventure:
“THE ALL THINGS SMALL BALL!”
2.5 - 6
20 minutes
25 - 35 minutes
Dramatic Play Activity
Invitation to All Things Small Ball
This adventure will begin with a bottle of shrinking potion (see our supplies list to see how to make this!)
Activate shrinking potion
Do this by shaking the magic onto the child. To complete the activation and shrink themselves down, the children must jump 10 times, twirl 3 times, and clap twice!
A puppet welcomes them to an obstacle course
Kids get to take turns:
• Jumping to giant flower and smelling it
• Tiptoeing to a huge raindrop puddle and jumping over it
• Crawling under an enormous shoe (a table)
• Spin-steps to meet another puppet who has the next set of instructions ring a bell when they complete the obstacle course!
For each obstacle listed above, children can use their imagination to visualize the flower, puddle, or shoe, or you can get creative and find objects around your house to use for these!
Ride their favorite little creature
Now each child will pretend to ride to the ball on a beautiful small creature. Think caterpillars, mice, fairies, dragonflies, and ladybugs! Each child may choose their own creature, or you can choose one small creature they think the entire group would enjoy.
Introduce the creatures
After your children’s creature of choice is made, dramatically introduce the imaginary creatures and pretend to lead by the reins over to the group. Each creature gets a name, a brief description of how they look, and what they like to eat.
Ex: Ah! This caterpillar is named Sparklehorse. As you can see (and hear!), she moves gracefully on all one hundred feet and wears purple tap shoes. She is golden and very fuzzy with rosy cheeks. Her favorite food is chocolate-covered pizza — do you have some to feed her?”
Feed their creatures
The children watch the display as an audience, as the you bring over all the imaginary creatures until every child has one by the reins, and they feed their special creature.
After your children’s creature of choice is made, dramatically introduce the imaginary creatures and pretend to lead by the reins over to the group. Each creature gets a name, a brief description of how they look, and what they like to eat.
Ex: Ah! This caterpillar is named Sparklehorse. As you can see (and hear!), she moves gracefully on all one hundred feet and wears purple tap shoes. She is golden and very fuzzy with rosy cheeks. Her favorite food is chocolate-covered pizza — do you have some to feed her?”
Ride to All Things Small Ball
Finally, you will say, “It’s time to head to the All Things Small Ball!” Play music as everyone pretends to ride their animal to the ball. A good tip here is to have the children in a circle going in the same direction.
You can stop for obstacles along the way. Such as, “Watch out—it’s a giant puppy!” or “Be careful—it’s a child’s foot!” Ride through the Wildflower Forest, and then arrive at the ball!
Enter ballroom
Finally, you will say, “It’s time to head to the All Things Small Ball!” Play music as everyone pretends to ride their animal to the ball. A good tip here is to have the children in a circle going in the same direction.
You can stop for obstacles along the way. Such as, “Watch out—it’s a giant puppy!” or “Be careful—it’s a child’s foot!” Ride through the Wildflower Forest, and then arrive at the ball!
DANCE PARTY!!!
Finally, you will say, “It’s time to head to the All Things Small Ball!” Play music as everyone pretends to ride their animal to the ball. A good tip here is to have the children in a circle going in the same direction.
You can stop for obstacles along the way. Such as, “Watch out—it’s a giant puppy!” or “Be careful—it’s a child’s foot!” Ride through the Wildflower Forest, and then arrive at the ball!
What is Dramatic Play?
Dramatic play is when children assign roles to toys or other objects and then act out different scenarios. It allows children to imagine situations outside of their normal lives. They can pretend to be someone different, feel different feelings, and imagine all kinds of situations for themselves!
There are two types of dramatic play, called structured and unstructured. Unstructured dramatic play is when children can assign their own roles and create their own situations.
Our All Things Small activity is an example of structured play, where children are pre-assigned roles and are provided with a scenario they have to navigate through and make their own decisions!
Both types of dramatic play are fun and exciting for children! They provide an enriching activity for their development!
Benefits of Dramatic Play
Dramatic play allows children’s imagination to expand and helps to build skills they will use for the rest of their lives. Here are some ways dramatic play is beneficial for children:
- Conflict-resolution – Dramatic play encourages children to consider a problem and come up with solutions on their own. Usually, during unstructured dramatic play, children will resolve their conflicts naturally because they can consider alternative perspectives.
- Allows you to support your kids and encourage their ideas – From a parent’s perspective, you can learn a lot about what makes your child happy, sad, excited, or frustrated by watching how they move through dramatic play.
Now that we know why dramatic play is beneficial to helping your kids step into their imaginations and creativity enjoy our structured dramatic play activity called “All Things Small: Bug Dramatic Play!”
Dramatic play additional activities
story time
Kids love listening to imaginative and creative stories. Here are a few stories that we read in the studio to transition between activities:
- Pomelo Begins to Grow by Romano Badescu
- Tiny, Perfect Things by M.H. Clark
- A Fairy Friend by Sue Fliess
Closing circle
Below are a few of The Rabbit Hole original songs to learn and sing-along with your kids while the All Things Small Ball comes to an end:
Thank you for exploring all things small with us through dramatic play!
We hope that this structured activity helps your child feel free to imagine, create, and experiment with new ideas through play.
Check out our other blog entries for more activities and information about the developmental benefits of and uses for dramatic play!
