Imaginative Play with Classroom Furniture

Encourage Imaginative Play with Open-Ended Classroom Furniture

Imaginative play in a preschool classroom likely calls to mind child-sized kitchen sets, pretend-play food, dolls and dress-up clothing. These classic dramatic play props are an important staple in early childhood learning spaces and help young children act out familiar routines to integrate their understanding of the world around them.

In many early childhood classrooms, there isn’t space for a traditional housekeeping area in addition to a more thematic imaginative play space. Early childhood teachers are savvy at transforming traditional dramatic play furniture into more specialized props. I’ve witnessed a kitchen set transformed into a science lab and a changing table repurposed as pet crates for an imaginary veterinary clinic! Teachers’ resourcefulness and creativity are never in doubt, but wouldn’t it be lovely to begin with an intentionally open-ended and flexible imaginative play base?

Open-Ended Play Possibilities

While the humble cardboard box will always top the open-ended play possibilities, Becker’s Imagination Station is a welcome addition to any preschool classroom. This versatile and attractive furniture frame can be a puppet theater, a drive through window, a farmer’s market or a lemonade stand. The only limit is your – and the children’s – imagination! Whiteboard or felt board panels make for quick and easy updates to add detail s to enhance the imaginative play. Nurture literacy connections by encouraging children to illustrate menus, signs, or price lists.

When choosing imaginative play accessories like dollhouses, more streamlined options offer opportunities for extending play themes. Could this simple wooden dollhouse be reimagined as a barn, a firehouse, or a school? Swap out dollhouse figures and props to extend play opportunities to support your classroom’s current investigations.

For infants and toddlers, soft indoor climber sets offer the ultimate in flexible pretend play setups. These soft climbing cushions are easy to reposition to follow wherever the imagination leads. Children might become green and yellow frogs on a log, ducklings following their mama, or monkeys jumping on a bed! The nature-inspired colors lend themselves to outdoor imaginings, but who’s to say the components couldn’t become a car, a boat, or a spaceship?

Imaginative play is a foundational element of children’s early childhood experience. Through these experiences, children can make predictions, test ideas, and build a toolbox of social and emotional skills. Materials and furnishings that encourage expansive pretend play scenarios open up a variety of opportunities to connect literacy, numeracy, fine and gross motor, and STEM thinking.

Do you have a favorite open-ended imaginative play component? Or are you a transformation wizard?

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Christine Murray is an Early Childhood Education Specialist with Becker’s Education Team.
As an educator, coach and leader, Christine is inspired by the curiosity, joy and wonder that children so generously model for us. She earned her M.A. in Innovative Early Childhood Education at the University of Colorado Denver and loves collaborating with and supporting others in the field. Grounded in relationships and guided by empathy, Christine is always learning, connecting and creating.