Creating Doll Play items with your child (or in my case my nieces) to enhance doll play

This week all 5 of my nieces are in the same town, My nieces shown above, Hannah 4, Trinity 6 and Cadence 4 are staying with me this week and last night we made our dolls their own pizza's from my blog post on Karen Mom of Three posted on January 13th, to see that post click here

The girls had a great time making this very fast and easy craft and then playing with what they made in my doll room.

Creating their own doll play items enhances doll play and builds confidence. Today on her own my niece Trinity shown above created her own doll cookies with paper and crayons. She was very proud.
Quick and easy re usable doll play items you can create together will help build your doll play collection, confidence and memories.

As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Doll play and the under 2 year old

My niece Thea is almost 2. She loves my "doll room". I have the privilege of watching her and her sister twice a week and it has been so much fun to watch her grow and watch how she plays.
Thea, as you can tell by the photo, prefers to play with all my doll stuff, on her own. Uninterrupted that is! Just before I snapped this photo she was feeding her doll (seated to the right)  an apple. She set the entire scene her self and as you can see she was not pleased to have me interrupt her.
 Thea is very much independent with her doll play and I wanted to know more about how 2 year olds develop and play. I found this interesting article at http://lisahwarren.hubpages.com/hub/Two-Year-Olds-and-Play and I thought that these passages were worth sharing
On  2 year old's and playing on their own...
"They need to learn to play, and they need things kept simple. Not only does a little sit-down play help offer a calm time during a frazzling day, but it can help a child learn that playing quietly can be enjoyable. Play offers a young child time without struggles for independence or worries about control."
I think that Thea has wonderful independent play skills, even giving me a few minutes to write while she plays! (For which I am very thankful!)
I wanted to share a bit more of Lisa H Warren's  article on how 2 year olds play and this passage explains how a two year old becomes aware of their independence.
"At two years old, these little folks have just recently become aware of their own independence. They know what they like and don't like, and what they want and don't want. They want to assert their new-found sense of independence, but because they're so little it isn't always possible to let them have/do what they want (because, to be honest, they sometimes want ridiculous stuff). Not being allowed to assert their independence, however, means that having a sense of control becomes very important for two-year-olds
Rules and too much structure aren't things for which two-year-olds are well equipped or ready."

"...Two-year-olds have a very short attention span, which might lead parents to think they aren't interested in sitting down and playing for any length of time. Surprisingly, though, a two-year-old will often sit and play for quite a while under some circumstances. Sometimes it may actually be more accurate to describe a two-year-old's attention span as "challenged", rather than "short"; because what can make the difference between whether a child will engage in any activity for any length of time is whether the child's interest has been captured. Yet something else to understand about a two-year-old is what will not only capture his interest, but maintain it for a while. Also important to recognize is that two-year-olds have a really easy sense of humor, and making use of that can help keep them entertained"

While I am not an expert in early childhood development I found the article from which I have posted parts of, to be informative and educational.
I believe in the power of play and the power of Doll Play, and thank you for taking the time to visit my blog.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Thought for the day

A friend of mine on Facebook Rebecca A. took this photo at the Imagine Children's Museum in Everett. I wanted to share it with you as I thought it was so fitting.
Enjoy.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Doll play essentials

I love doll play, imaginative and creative. Both are so important. The best way to foster Doll play for your little ones is by providing the opportunity for play and imagination. Turn off the tv, set out a blanket on the floor to define the space, give your child a doll and a few every day items and sit back to see what your child comes up with.

With my niece Thea who is 19 months old, give her a doll, a face cloth and a spoon and she is busy washing the doll, feeding the doll and putting the doll to sleep. She even makes slurping noises with the spoon when she feeds her doll.
My niece Laura who is 4, will use the spoon as a microphone and the facecloth as a piece of clothing.
The possibilities for them are endless. As we get older we loose much of our imagination, I often watch them and think, now why did I not think of that.

Creative play is something I prefer, I love to make doll play items for my nieces and find every day items that I can re-purpose into doll play items. The dollar stores and thrift stores are fantastic for this.

Last February I set up a doll party for my niece Laura and her doll Soccer dolly and all the doll friends. Using a table and chairs I found at the thrift store, doll size cups and dishes from the dollar store, balloons I made from chopsticks, Styrofoam and tissue paper, and party hats made by tracing a side salad plate, cutting it in half thus creating two party hats. Add tape and place on your dolls head.
I also made "doll food" out of polymer clay. Having this pre made and set up meant that Laura could play for hours with her dolls, Okay let's face it, most of the dolls shown are mine but you know what I mean.

Acquiring great doll play items at great prices is easy, if you shop post season sales and take advantage of coupons offered by shops like Micheal's the craft store.
I really wanted a sleigh for my doll and at $30 in November I could not justify the price, though boxing week specials her in Canada meant a 70% savings for me.

The Springfield Doll Collection    offered at most Micheal's stores make wonderful items for doll play and with Micheal's coupons you can stock up on great doll play items to use now or save for holidays or birthdays. I made a advent calendar this year all of doll items and picking up Springfield Doll items to place in each pocket along with handmade items made the advent calendar a success! A wonderful surprise awaited my niece each day. What fun!

Doll play can be planned or spontaneous. Sometimes a little planning goes a long long way, and sometimes the best moments in life are unscripted. You choose and remember to keep calm and play with dolls.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Keep calm and Play with Dolls

I decided to snag this blog address before someone else did. I truly believe in the power and importance of doll play. I try to promote it where ever I can. I have several blog posts I have written about doll play on my own blog, The Queen's Treasures blogs  and through crafts on www.dolldiaries.com I hope I can encourage creative and imaginative play in girls and adults alike. If you would like me to write for your blog, review your products or if you have a story to share please email me at karenmowen@gmail.com or leave me a comment here.
Remember to Keep Calm and play with Dolls.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Welcome and always remember....