ygotsky advocated that a teacher's active involvement in children's verbalization of planning and evaluating play activities facilitates the development of their mental processes. Through verbal exchange, children internalize the psychological tools for thinking and move from regulation by others to self-regulation. From this Vygotskian perspective, I have developed the Verbal Plan and Evaluation (VPE) program, an instructional model applicable for free play time. Teaching strategies for implementing the program in an early childhood classroom are presented.