Be Prepared: Situate this play interaction in blocks, housekeeping, or an area that is of interest to the toddler who participates. Make sure items the toddler likes to play with are fully available. The activity description assumes play occurs in blocks. This is for illustration purposes only.

Be Prepared: Add materials that are not typically available in your room and that you anticipate will be of interest to toddlers who participate in this activity. Examples: real food boxes and containers, dress-up clothes such as scarves and hats, or real baby items such as small diapers and bottles.

Invite several toddlers to join you to play in the housekeeping area. Point to or display the additional new items as you describe each with enthusiasm. Suggest some ways toddlers may want to play with new items.

Encourage toddlers to use materials as they wish. The toddlers may engage in a joint activity or, more likely, pursue parallel play. Engage in your own play with several items as a way of informally demonstrating their possible use. Describe what you are doing and what others are doing.

Use the following strategies, as appropriate, to promote positive social interactions:

• Demonstrate sharing an item with a toddler by offering to pass on an item you are using. Example: “Xander, you are watching me use this baby bottle. Would you like to use the baby bottle now?”
• Point out instances of a toddler sharing a play item, especially an item related to another toddler’s play. Example: “Hilary gave a doll to Sammy. Sammy is taking some dolls for a ride in a cart. Hilary is sharing her doll with Sammy.”
• Encourage toddlers to notice what each other is doing by offering brief descriptions at periodic intervals during the activity. Examples: “Our friend Tenisha is cooking something.” “Our friend Samantha is putting on a big hat.” “Our friend Hudson is putting a diaper on a baby doll.”
• Suggest words for a toddler to use in describing his/her interests. Example: “Hilary, you can say to Sammy, ‘I want the doll back after the ride.’”
• Suggest toddlers engage in a shared activity and/or take turns. Examples: “Maybe both of you can put things in the cart. Then you can take turns pushing the cart. I can help you take turns.” “Samantha and Xander, you are both playing with an animal figure. Maybe the dog and the cat would like to play together.”