Date: 10/11/17 Location: Housekeeping Center
FOCUSED OBSERVATION
DATA (Field Notes)
 Child A tells another child in the
center that they are playing “house”
and assigns family roles. Child A
says “I am the Mom, you are the
Dad, and you are the child.”
 Child A digs through a plastic bin,
takes out a baby doll, and says “I
have to take care of the baby while
the Dad goes to work.”
 Child A puts the baby “to sleep” and
goes to the kitchen set. Child A
begins to take out food from the
cabinet. Child A says “It is time for
me to make dinner. What do you
want to eat daughter?”
 Child A starts to pretend making
dinner then quickly places the food
on the table. She calls over the other
children in the center and tells them
to eat their food before it gets cold.
 Child A pretended to make a crying
sound then says “Oh no the baby
woke up!” She runs over to the baby
doll and picks it up. She says
“Shhhh!” then puts the baby back
down.
 Child A walks back to the table and
tells the other children that she is
going to the grocery store. She then
proceeds to the cabinet and picks out
food to put in her backpack.
 Child A walks to the table and
empties out her backpack. She says
to the other children “Look at the
food I got! Your favorite!” then puts
the food back in the cabinet that she
got it from.
 Child A told the daughter that it was
time for bed.
Duration: 20 minutes
INTERPRETATION
 Child A is a girl, and usually girls
like to play house more than boys
like to play house. She assigned
family roles, which means she
probably has both a Mom and a Dad.
 Child A was probably taught that
Moms are supposed to care for the
home and the children while Dads
are supposed to work.
 Child A was probably taught that
Moms are supposed to prepare
dinner and do housework. Since she
gives her pretend daughter a choice,
she probably gets a choice for her
own dinner at home.
 Child A learns a lot from her home
life. She is pretending based off of an
example, because she tells the other
students (Dad and daughter) to eat
their food before it gets cold.
 Child A knows that when a baby
starts crying you have to pick the
baby up to make it stop crying. She
does not completely know that when
a baby cries, it probably needs
something (food, diaper, sleep).
 Child A does not use a sense of time
during make believe play. Most
people go grocery shopping during
the day. She also goes grocery
shopping in what was her kitchen.
 Child A took about 30 seconds go to
“grocery shopping,” which also
shows that she doesn’t use a sense of
time during make believe play.
When her parents go grocery
shopping, they probably get what she
likes.
 Child A’s parents probably have a
bed time for her.
Date: 10/11/17 Location: Housekeeping Center
FOCUSED OBSERVATION
DATA (Field Notes)
 Child B pulls over two chairs and
tells another child to sit in one. The
chairs are one in front of the other.
 Child B sat in the back one and
another child sat in the front one.
Child B wrapped a blanket around
the front of the other child like a
hairdresser cutting cape.
 Child B tells the other child that she
is going to give a haircut. She says “I
have to shampoo you first then I
have to condition you second.”
 Child B uses fake corn and a fake
spoon to pretend to brush the other
child’s hair.
 Child B starts to rub the head of the
other child and says “Your hair is so
soft!” Child B pretends to shake a
bottle of conditioner into her hand
and then rub it into the other child’s
hair.
 Child B uses a baby doll blanket to
cover the other child’s head. She
says “It’s time to dry your hair
now!” After rubbing the other child’s
head, Child B says “You’re all done!
Look at your new hair!”
 Child B holds up a toy plate for the
other child to pretend to look in a
mirror. She says “Doesn’t it look
fabulous?”
 Child B tells the other child that she
needs to go to the cash register to
pay for her hair cut. She says “That
will be five dollars!” The other child
pretends to hand her money and
Child B says “Thank you for coming
to my hair cut shop!”
Duration: 20 minutes
INTERPRETATION
 Child B likes to control how the
other children play. The other
children listen without problems.
 Child B might want to be a
hairdresser when she grows up. She
knows how she should set up the
chairs and she knows that they put a
cover on the customer.
 Child B is aware of the correct order
to wash hair. First, you wash with
shampoo then you rinse with
conditioner.
 Child B has a creative imagination
because she doesn’t have a real brush
so she uses other items in the center.
 Child B likes to compliment other
people. Her parents probably teach
her how to use her manners and how
to be nice to other people. Child B
has an idea about how to properly
apply shampoo and conditioner.
 Child B makes do with the items that
she has in the center. She has a great
imagination so she is able to pretend
that things are different than what
they really are. Child B never
actually pretended to cut her hair.
 Child B likes to talk to the other
peers in her centers. She likes to
engage them in her play and she
likes to have them pretend, too.
 Child B has a small knowledge about
the use of money. She knows that
things cost money but she does not
have a good idea about how much
things usually cost. Child B uses
manners, even in pretend play.
 Gober 1

Rebecca Gober
Play Analysis
ECED 323
12 October 2017
Make Believe Play Analysis
Introduction

The children I observed while in my classroom, Child A and Child B, both played in the

Housekeeping center. I observed them at different times, so they weren’t in the center at the

same time. Neither child payed attention to me while I was observing, even though it was

obvious that I was sitting near them for a purpose. Both children used their imagination

creatively while playing in this center.

Plan

When Child A was playing in the Housekeeping Center, she demonstrated stage three

level of Make-Believe Play. Stage three includes roles with rules and beginning scenarios. Child

A did not have a whole plan of how she was going to play “House,” but she knew the general

idea. I categorized her in stage three because the events that took place while she was playing

were out of logical order. For example, when Child A decided to go grocery shopping while the

rest of her family was eating, it was not in logical order. She was coming up with things to do as

she played.

On the other hand, Child B demonstrated stage four level of Make-Believe Play. Stage

four includes mature roles, planned scenarios, and symbolic props. Child B seemed to have a

very organized plan of how she was going to play in the center. She was constantly using the

words “first” and “second,” showing that she was using sequencing. Child B was also using

more props that were specific to her plan, which was playing Hairdresser. All of the things that

Child B did while playing were planned in advance, whereas Child A made up things to do as

she played.
 Gober 2

Roles

When Child A was playing in the Housekeeping Center, she demonstrated stage five

level of Make-Believe Play. Stage five includes dramatization, multiple themes, multiple roles,

and director’s play. Child A used many different roles in her play, and she played two different

roles herself. She had the other children only play one role each. All of the roles that the children

played were based on social expectations. For example, the Mom was in charge of taking care of

the kids and taking care of house duties. The Dad was in charge of working and making money

for the family.

On the other hand, Child B demonstrated stage four level of Make-Believe Play. Stage

four includes mature roles, planned scenarios, and symbolic props. While playing, Child B

included multiple roles. She was the hairdresser, while another child was the customer. Child B

demonstrated a lower level of play than Child A because the roles did not seem as strict and each

child was only playing one role.

Props

When Child A was playing in the Housekeeping Center, she demonstrated stage two

level of Make-Believe Play. Stage two includes roles in action. Child A played with objects as

props, and the use of these props led to the assignment of roles. The props that Child A used

helped to form her role as the Mom. She used the baby doll and the food as props to her

imaginative play. She was able to act like she was taking care of a real baby, and she was able to

pretend to go grocery shopping with the food.

On the other hand, Child B demonstrated stage four level of Make-Believe Play. Stage

four includes mature roles, planned scenarios, and symbolic props. While playing, Child B used

a few different props as different objects. For example, she used corn and a spoon to brush the
 Gober 3

customer’s hair. Although the children are supposed to use corn as a food and spoon to eat food,

Child B had the imagination to pretend they were something different.

Extended Time Frame

When Child A was playing in the Housekeeping Center, she demonstrated stage three

level of Make-Believe Play. Stage three includes roles with rules and beginning scenarios. Child

A demonstrated stage three because the scenario that she created, which was playing house, only

lasted about fifteen to twenty minutes. After she told her daughter it was time for bed, the

scenario ended and she started a new scenario.

Similar to Child A, Child B also demonstrated stage three level of Make-Believe Play

when it came to an extended time frame. Child B demonstrated stage three by having a planned

scenario, but only having it last about fifteen to twenty minutes. Child B started off playing

hairdresser, and ended with telling the customer to have a good day. After that, the scenario was

over and she started a new one.

Language

While playing “House” in the Housekeeping Center, Child A demonstrated stage four

level of Make-Believe Play. Stage four includes mature roles, planned scenarios, and symbolic

props. Child A used language to describe roles and actions, while also using role speech. For

example, she talked to the other children to explain what she wanted to do, and she also used

dialogue to talk how a Mom would talk. Instead of using vocabulary that a child would use, she

talked to the other children how her parents probably talk to her.

Similar to Child A, Child B also demonstrated stage four level of Make-Believe Play

when it came to language. Child B demonstrated stage four by explaining her role and telling the

other children the scenario. In addition to explaining to the other children what she wanted to do,
 Gober 4

she also spoke to them in character, such as saying “First, shampoo. Then, conditioner.” She is

demonstrating her role as a hairdresser by using vocabulary that a hairdresser would use.

Scenario

While playing “House” in the Housekeeping Center, Child A demonstrated stage two

level of Make-Believe Play. Stage two includes roles in action. Child A demonstrates stage two

because the scenario that she created is very stereotypical. The family roles and the schedule are

based off of social norms. The Mom is supposed to stay home to take care of the children and to

make food for the rest of the family, while the Dad works to make money for the family. Child A

seemed to control exactly what was happening during this scenario, so she didn’t leave any room

for different behaviors.

On the other hand, Child B demonstrated stage three level of Make-Believe Play. Stage

three consists of roles with rules and beginning scenarios. The scenario that Child B acted out

was a customer going to the hairdresser to get a haircut. Child B seemed very familiar with the

order of things that happen during a haircut. For example, Child B knew that shampooing comes

before conditioning, and Child B knew that after the haircut, the customer needs to pay for the

services.

Conclusion

Overall, Child B used more advanced stages of Make-Believe Play than Child A. Child A

seemed to be slightly more controlling and wanted everything to happen the way she wanted it

to. Child B seemed more open to other’s ideas, even though she was the one to make the decision

of playing hairdresser. I think that Child A was demonstrating more of the lower stages of

Make-Believe Play because she is younger than Child B. Over time, children develop higher

stages of Make-Believe Play by watching and learning from others.

 Gober 5

Scoring Rubric