A Vygotskian approach to developing mature dramatic
play also illustrates the value of tangible play
plans for helping children to self-regulate their behaviors,
to remember on purpose, and to deliberately focus
their attention on play activity—foundational cognitive
skills of reading and writing (Bodrova & Leong 1998).
We have found that preschoolers often spend more time
preparing for their dramatizations than they spend
acting out the stories. For example, one group of fouryear-
olds spent more than 30 minutes preparing for a
pizza parlor story (organizing felt pizza ingredients,
arranging furniture for the pizza kitchen, making play
money, and deciding on roles) and less than 10 minutes
acting out the cooking, serving, and eating of the pizza
meal. One would be hard pressed to find another type
of activity that can keep young children focused and
“on task” for this length of time.