Fishing Observation Paper

Currently at my practicum, there is a designated room for dramatic play, which is referred to as the “House Corner.” Within the room there is a vast amount of food and housekeeping materials that are accessible to the children at all times. For examples, pots, pans, cutlery, stove, sink, food, tea set and so forth. Along side the housing materials there is aprons, ball caps, purses, dress shoes for the children to wear. All these materials and dress up items must be kept and used in the room. On rare occasions the children are given a doctor play kit to play with in the area, which includes all the doctor’s tools.

The children’s dramatic play interests I have observed tend to be anything related to baking, cooking, family role-playing, or

tea parties. I believe this is revolved around the center being limited with the creativity provided in the dramatic play area and referring to it as the “House Corner.” There are a prominent number of girls compared to boys at the center, which is mostly occupied and used more than the boys at the center. Majority boys show very little interest in wanting to play house, or family and I feel only think the room and materials can be used for that. Outside of the dramatic play area the children’s interest are to pretend to be characters from the movie Frozen or Cars. These two movies are a vital theme throughout the center and are dominant interests of the children.
I choose to create a fishing play kit because the spark of a conversation I had with a group of children.

A child at my center was sharing his weekend at his cabin on the lake, and I proceed to ask questions, but one question that sparked a lot of interest was “Did you go fishing?” The child shared in great detail his fishing experience, which attracted other children to share their stories. The conversation brought out great memories and similar interactions the children faced, which sparked a discussion of camping and summer holidays. The joy the little boy shared when describing his fishing experience made it very easy for me to decide on what create my dramatic play kit on. I also thought it would be a fun stepping stone for the children to have a different materials and theme within the area. It as well would be a great idea for the children who haven’t gone fishing before to be able to experience it and for the children who have to share their knowledge. Going fishing is something different that all children can get to pretend to play other than what they are use to at

daycare.
The objectives and values of this kit are to allow children to be able to explore and be exposed to an experience that is practiced within their community and world.

This dramatic play kit is something different that will enter the center and that is mainly my objective for the children to have something new to play with. Stated in the Early Learning Framework my main objective is to provide a fun and engaging experience to the children while helping the “understand how their own actions may affect nature and the plant (36). This will be done by discussion of what animals live in the water and how everything has a home, and the water is home to many animals. Though fishing is a fun activity, it isn’t our job to take all the fish from their homes forever, practicing catch and release. We can also ask the children how we can keep the water clean for the animals and what is our role in the environment to keep the animals in the

water?
The fishing play kit fosters and supports all the areas of the Early Learning. The first area being well-being and belonging is practiced by the children being able to choose to be physically active and encouraging them to explore different activities in nature. Also building healthy relationships with friends and families and sharing time together. The second area of exploration and creativity is accomplished by the children being able to explore and experiment different ways to catch fish. The exploration of going fishing can expand into other areas for the children to think of. The connection of the kit also supports the area for children to “develop a sense of wonder for natural environments and express a zest for living (27). Languages and literacies are promoted with this dramatic kit such as being able to share stories and experiences fishing. Children can also count their fish, “use numbers measurement’s and form meaningful contexts (32). Last area the fishing kit supports is social responsibility and diversity. The kit having only three fishing rods they will practice turn taking, and “express a positive regard for others and respect for self, others and property (34). Overall the dramatic play kit makes connections with each area of learning, each child being unique may learn or support a certain area more than another.
The fishing kit can be set up inside or outside; the area should have enough room for the children to walk around freely. One must lie out the sheet of water that is cut into a circle to represent a pond, and place the lily pad on the water and scattered the water creatures on the water. Around the water place a few chairs for the children to sit on if they choose to and display the fishing vest and boots for them to wear. Also display the coolers beside the fishing rods for the children to keep food in or what they caught. This experience is very open-ended, and is encouraged for the children to use the materials however they please to.
The materials within the kit are developmentally appropriate for children 3-5 years of age but I feel toddlers would enjoy this activity as well. The children can dress up in their fishing gear, and can fish for different water creatures, by extending their fishing rod into the water and hooking the ends to the mouth and pulling it up. The children can use the coolers to sit on, keep food in, keep their animals in. The sea creatures are all familiar by majority of the children such as a fish, seahorse, turtle, alligator and crab. Most importantly I believe the entire kit is inclusive to all children. This dramatic play kit can be linked to also exploring math by counting the, sorting, matching, one to one corresponding and sizing. Another curricular area it could support would be social studies, being able to take a trip to an actual pond, discussing different water animals, when to go fishing and safety precautions.
In conclusion I believe this dramatic play kit will be a new experience for the children at my center and will be able to be used throughout my practice as a early childhood educator. It will support the objectives and values of the Early Learning Framework and be another resource to use within a center to introduce a new activity or further explore another.