It is all started with Alex reading “Dr. Dog”by BabetteCole. It is quiet a funny book where the family dog is a doctor explaining different organs of our body in a fun interactive way. Related to this theme we also read “Daisy the Doctor” by Felicity Brooks, “Vicky the Vet” by Felicity Brooks, “Harry and the Dinosaurs says Raahh” by Ian Whybrow, “Deep Sea Doctor” by Leo Trimmers.

The whole family have been sick at some point this winter. We had a few trips to the local GP which gets Alex excited. He saw our doctor use the Stethoscope to check his chest, Auriscope to check his ears, etc. Then he saw the human organ body chart on the wall at the clinic. Alex finds all this very intriguing.

So, I borrowed a Doctor playset from our local toy library, plus some real equipment in the play area. We can pretend to play doctors and patient. Later I added a body chart made from felt (from our local toy library). We also bought some squidgy model of the brain & whole body. I even downloaded and printed out some games from www.homeschoolcreation.com. They have a whole pack on doctor activities.

Recommended for children age 18months +.

This activity lasted us about 2 months. Dramatic Play plays an important role in children development. As Alex pretended to be a doctor, he mimics behaviour and verbal expression observed on others. He incorporated other objects into the pretend play.

During make-believe play, children tries to picture and recreate past experiences. This is a form of abstract thinking. He practices using new words to explain what he is doing, learn to ask questions as well as answering it. His personal vocabulary grows with new words like oesophagus, intestine etc. Next time he goes into the toilet, he says, “When I want to go pee pee, my bladder is full of water.”

I also added some real X-Ray film and a memory game to find matching shadow using the DIY lightbox. Imagine… from one simple book and one visit to the doctor is where this all started! Be enthusiastic about every little experience moment that we do with our children because you never know where it would take you.

Materials

• Stethoscope
• DIY Lightbox
• X-rays
• Thermometer
• Empty packages of different medicines
• Bandages
• Band-aids
• Auriscope
• Body Felt Chart
• Medical-Themed Images / Printouts