Be Prepared: Provide the dollhouse and people figures for toddlers’ open-ended exploration for several days prior to implementing this activity. Children’s familiarity with the materials will enhance their engagement of the activity and reduce the likelihood of other toddlers wanting to join an activity designed to be one-to-one. On the day you implement the activity described below, set out a barn or similar prop plus people and animal figures for toddlers to explore as an alternative to joining the activity intended for one toddler. Place the dollhouse and its furnishings on a low table or the floor.

Invite a toddler to share a book and play together. Read the book, pausing on each page to talk about the pictures. Help the toddler connect the bedtime routine to his/her own experiences.

At the conclusion of the book sharing, invite the toddler to explore the dollhouse. Point out some of the items available, especially parts of the dollhouse you think would be of interest to the toddler. Encourage the toddler to begin playing with the materials. Support engagement and interaction during the play with strategies, such as the following:

• Describe the toddler’s actions. Example: “You are holding a baby and a mommy. You are moving the baby and mommy to the dollhouse bedroom.”
• Invite the toddler to tell you about his/her play. Example: “What are the baby and mommy doing in the bedroom?”
• Repeat and extend the toddler’s words. Example: “Your baby is going night night. The mommy put the baby in the bed to go night night.”
• Ask the toddler if he/she would like you to join the play. If the toddler invites you to hold a figure, imitate his/her actions or join their play theme. Example: “You are putting all the people to bed. What would you like me to do with my person?”
• Suggest a familiar play theme, such as bedtime, for a toddler who seems unsure how to interact with the materials. Example: “You are holding a boy. What is the boy going to do? Maybe it is time for the boy to go to bed. Let’s look in our dollhouse and see if we can find a bed for the boy.”

End the session by briefly summarizing what happened during the play segment, including the toddler’s interaction with you. Example: “You put the people in the dollhouse, and then you took the people out. You had fun playing with the people figures. Thank you for letting me play with you!”

Be Prepared: Arrange the dollhouse and its furnishings on a low table or the floor. Place the people and animal figures throughout the play area.

Invite two toddlers to play with the dollhouse. Introduce the items available and encourage the toddlers to interact with the materials as they wish. Toddlers may choose to play with the materials individually or together. Encourage the toddlers to notice one another’s actions as they play. Example: “Stefan is putting all the animals in the dollhouse kitchen. I wonder if the animals are going to eat!” Encourage toddlers to play together when there is a natural opportunity to do so. Example: “Aisha and Eli, you are both playing with an animal figure. Maybe the dog and the cat would like to play together!” Acknowledge positive social interaction as it is happening. Example: “You are playing together with animals in the dollhouse.”