Observation and analysis 4 Ice cream shop Pretend Play

Child’s/Children’s Name/s: Paige & Ziva

Date: 30/8/2019

What is the context? (Who is present, what are they doing, what
happened prior to this etc.)
Ziva found a toy with buttons of different shapes and colours. She
invited me to play ice cream shop dramatic play with her. After a
while, Paige saw us play and showed her interests in joining in our
play.

What did the child/children do? (Write a detailed observation, and/or include a photograph and/or a
sample -e.g. writing or drawing - and how the child created the sample or what they were doing in the photograph)

Time Observation
9:45 a.m. Ziva asked me what flavour of cake I would like. I asked the options of flavours.
She assigned the flavours according to the colours of the buttons: red for
strawberry, blue for blueberry and yellow for banana. Then I asked her to make
a strawberry ice cream for me. She pushed the red button for a few times and
pulled the retractable chain on the left, pretending she was making an ice-
cream. When she finished, she clenched her fist, imagining she was holding an
ice-cream, and passed it to me. I asked how much it was. She thought for a
while and said thirty dollars. I said it was too expensive and wondered if it could
be cheaper. Then she said ten dollars. I said ‘OK’ and pretended to give her
money.
9:48 a.m. She asked me to play again. This time, when I asked what flavour was
available, she said she could make a rainbow ice-cream. I asked what that was
and she replied that it was an ice-cream with all the flavours. I pretended to be
intrigued and asked her to make one. She pressed all the buttons and pulled
the chain for a few times to make the ice-cream.
9:52 a.m. Paige came by and saw us play for a while. She asked, ‘Excuse me, can I play
with you?’ I said ‘Yes.’ She wanted to grab the toy and Ziva stopped her, saying
‘I am playing with it.’ Paige got upset and said ‘You have played it for a long
time.’ Paige tried to snatch the toy from Ziva. Ziva did not want to let go and
they started to fight. I asked both of them to stop fighting and suggested they
need to share and take turns. I told Ziva that she had already played with it for
a while and it should be fair that Paige had a turn to play with it first. She
agreed and let the toy go.
9:54 a.m. Paige imitated what Ziva and I played before, asking what ice-cream I would
 like. When I asked her what flavours were offered, she answered ‘red, blue and
green ice-cream’. Then, I encouraged her to associate the colours with fruits,
giving her some examples, such as red for watermelon. She followed my lead
and thought of some fruit, such as apples and pineapples. When Paige and I
finished the scene, Ziva said ‘it’s my turn’ and took the toy. I encourage Paige
to be the customer and played with Ziva. They did the play together.

What learning/ development/dispositions/relationships/interactions did I observe? How

does what is happening in this observation link to the Learning Outcomes in the Early Years Learning Framework?
 Ziva and Paige demonstrated their interests in dramatic play (EYLF, LO 4).
 Ziva initiated play and interactions with me, and Paige expressed her willing to join in play,
showing they felt safe, secure and supported (EYLF, LO 1).
 Ziva could associate the colours with flavours, showing her reflexivity and imagination (EYLF,
LO 4).
 Ziva could contribute her ideas in play, used movements to make meaning and engaged in
enjoyable interactions using verbal and non-verbal language (EYLF, LO 5).
 Ziva understood the concept of ‘cheap’ and used a smaller number to demonstrate her
understanding.
 Paige began to think about fair and unfair behaviour (EYLF, LO 2).
 Paige expressed her desire of joining in play (EYLF, LO 3 & 5).
 Paige was able to use her observation and imitation skills to facilitate play (EYLF, LO 4).
 With guidance, Paige used her funds of knowledge to develop her own ice-cream flavours
(EYLF, LO 4).

What can I do to extend the child’s learning or development and/or to promote positive
dispositions and/or build positive relationships and promote interactions?

 Including other colours of the toy which can be linked to other flavours
 Embed opportunities of developing mathematical concepts, such as introducing the size of ice-
cream, using money props and a cashier register prop to strengthen their number symbol
recognition
 Develop their language capacity, using words and expressions with courtesy.
 Plan experiences that promote their awareness of fairness and develop their resilience and
social and emotional competence.
 Develop their creativity as well as drawing and writing literacy via designing a trademark for the
ice-cram shop or creating a price list.