learning through role play

Alain and I held the end-of-year parent/teacher meeting this week. We are very proud of Luca for completing his first year of pre-school. During the year, he's learned to use the bathroom and left diapers far behind. He's also learned all the letters in the alphabet and he read and write his name and a few other words. The list of positive changes that we have seen in him as he's matured and learned the ropes of pre-school life makes us happy about our decision to enroll him.

During our meeting, we were also interested in discussing how we can help him continue his growth during the summer and the teacher shared a wonderful idea: role play with dolls.

Luca is a free spirit, energetic and very much a boy. This can get him in trouble sometimes when he tries to play with other children, especially girls, and he is too rough. He's still learning to understand the subtleties of social interaction so his teacher suggested we get a few dolls that represent him and other children and adults.

Some of the scenarios we'll undertake are:
- Greeting everyone in the room upon arrival
- Approaching other children to engage in play
- Determining the other children's desires and respecting them (not everyone likes to play soccer as much as Luca does!)
- Sharing

We are looking forward to it. I think he will benefit from the exercises and start school next year with new social skills to share.