Who's That Lady (weensie alert)

Walk into any preschool classroom and you're likely to see a dress up area of some sort. Young children absolutely love dramatic play! It allows them to be anyone or anything- a mommy, a ship captain, a dog, or a doctor. It encourages the development of imagination and it provides a wonderful opportunity to try on adult roles and "practice" being grown up in a safe environment. Best of all, its just fun!

Setting up a dress up box is a great way to encourage this type of play at home. It's also a good way to thin out those bulging closets of yours. If you dig around at home you're bound to find some old scarves, a pocket book or two and maybe some old neckties for the cause. Whatever else you want to include can easily be picked up for pennies at your local thrift shop or salvation army.

If you have an underutilized toy chest around, use that for your dress up box. Otherwise, a large plastic tub or basket would be great or an old suitcase would be even better and can double as a prop for the play! Once you have designated a container, all you need to do is fill it with clothing and accessories of all sorts. Keep in mind that the more variety you have, the more roles your child can try on. Shy away from store bought "dress up clothes"- they tend to be very limiting in play possibilities. Some great things to include are:

• shawls and scarves in a variety of colors and patterns
• a variety of different hats
• purses, briefcases, computer bags, old diaper bags
• shoes (high heels are a scream)
• sunglasses
  
• necklaces and/or bangle bracelets that can slip on and off easily (no fasteners)
• skirts with elastic waists
• old prom (or wedding) dresses
• suit jackets
• neckties
• gloves
• aprons
• old cellphones!!!
  

If you happen to gather a huge collection of stuff, you might want to rotate some of the items in and out from time-to-time. Also, be sure to wash everything before you put it out for play and make sure that all of the items will fit into the box easily. Now sit back and let the good times role (you might want your video camera at hand).