PLAY

CENTE

R: PET

STORE

BE

CC

A O

WE

N

RATIONALE

• Based on case study Jack’s interest in animals, particularly dogs

• His best friend, Gorge, got a dog at the beginning of this semester

• A lot of conversations about pets during breakfast – with Gorge and Jack as well as many of the other students in the classroom.

• Home visit to friends house resulted in us playing with the puppy

• Had shown interest in a pet store when we went past one on a previous field trip

• Doesn’t have pets because family doesn’t have time or resources for an animal

STORY BOX IMPLEMENTATION• Conversation during circle time about what pets people have in other

countries, particularly in China, since we spent the most time with that storybox.

SET UP OF THE PLAY CENTER

MATERIALS PROVIDED

• Makeshift cages

• Empty bags of cat food

• Stuffed animals: dogs, cats, fish, rabbits, etc

• Cash register with play money (great for counting skills)

• Notepad and pencil for writing down what people are buying

• Leashes and collars

• Dog toys

• Dog and cat clothing

• Medical materials used for pets

Students used medical materials

for pets on themselves and

the stuffed animals in the pet

store casita.

LITERACY

• Several casitas we have had in our classroom have incorporated notepads – in the restaurant to take orders, in the house to write down notes, in the doctors office to write prescriptions, and for the pet store to write what people are buying and how much things cost.

• Animal/pet books by the front of the center and around the room.

• Pictures of dogs/cats/birds with writing about them.

• Puppies for Sale sign

SUCCESSES • Children were initially very interested in the center – They interacted with

all of the stuffed animals and put leashes and collars onto them.

• Case study child, who does not usually play in the casita, did so on one day.

• Loved the play money – interacted with that more than anything else, and were counting out coins and dollar bills to give to their friends

• Assigned different roles in their play – cashier, customer, etc.

• Used the notepad frequently to play write notes about different animals

STRUGGLES• Interest only held for about a week and a half

• We had to intervene because one girl stole all the money and started attempting to take stuffed animals home with her as well