by Bobby Coles

Created on: February 27, 2008   Last Updated: January 27, 2009

The preschool classroom is the perfect place to introduce drama activities as a learning tool. Selecting the appropriate drama activities is essential when dealing with preschool classrooms. The best drama activities involve the most flexibility, since any rigid structure is not particularly feasible when dealing with preschool children. Role playing, improvisation, mirroring, tableaux, voice, and puppetry are all fantastic and easy to perform in the preschool classroom. Self-esteem can be nurtured and fostered through drama activities, and during preschool the children have not yet truly come across peer pressure, and they are willing to perform in front of people, not yet feeling insecure or shy for the most part.

The dramatic arts are a wonderful way to allow preschool children the opportunity to learn about themselves. Drama is a fun way to interact with the children, and to have them interact with each other. Drama provides an artistic release for preschool children, and they will be having fun while they are learning, which will grow inside of them a lifelong yearning for learning. Drama activities are also a positive place to release energy, so performing these activities is best when the students are at their most rambunctious.

Role-playing is a wonderful drama activity for preschool children. By having the children play roles, they will be forced to think differently than they themselves might think about something. Their body and spatial senses will be utilized as well through role-playing. Learning about their own body and how it is able to move can teach them valuable lessons. Role-playing allows children to hide behind a mask and carve out their own niche within the class. Assuming the role of a character also enhances the creative juices, forcing children to think about what certain people might think, say, or do in a given situation.

Mirroring is a great drama activity for preschooler's. Mirroring is funny, but it also provides the children an opportunity to be silly, all the while challenging them intellectually and physically. Having two children stand in front of each other, facing one another is mirroring. One child should be told what to do ahead of time, and the other child is faced with the daunting task of doing exactly as the other child does. The physical awareness associated with mirroring is very beneficial to the preschool child. It also instills the lesson of following the leader, and doing what is appropriate at a certain time. This

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