Role Play, Dressing Up and Make Believe

The dress-up box is a unique and always changing aspect to the waldorf child playroom. The playsilks, fairy skirts, magic wands and hooded cloaks; the elfin headbands and the knight costumes with swords, shields and bows and arrows all bring about such excitement and imagination. As one item is outgrown and passed down to the next child, new garments must be added for the older children. They want to be an elf this time, not a knight, so new garments must be sewn or obtained.

Five of my six children are old enough to dress-up. They start doing this at a very young age. They interact and play well together. Their love of costumes and role-playing inspired them to write their own play. My oldest daughter (the tall elf  with the bow and arrow in the last picture) is quite a talented writer. She has written a wonderful plot for their story and each child is a different character, with the oldest boy being two characters.

They have included cousins and friends, to play other parts. They have asked me to film their play. They will gladly act it out for anyone interested. They practice daily, dressing up and pretending to sword-fight or running through the hills of our property on a quest. This just goes to show how very creative role-play and dressing up can be. They also want to join in period piece role-play at the local civil war re-enactment. My middle girls love their prairie costumes and bonnets. They also use these outfits in their play for they are village maidens and the costumes work well for that also.

In role-play, the child(ren) can be whomever they choose, making their costumes as elaborate or simple as they prefer. They can be knights in the middle ages or fantasy elves and gnomes. My children often act like they are the characters from the Lord of the Rings novels, with the four year old being the dwarf, since he is indeed rather small.

These are magical times, filled with adventure in the great outdoors. Play silks and play stands become fairy homes or hidden rooms. Ponds become oceans, trees are sectioned off into the Elf Realm here and the Troll Forest there. 

Here are some lovely dress-up things you may consider for your children, from my lovely friends here at the NaturalKids Team:

These boots from FeltedwithFlourish may very well be elf boots! They would fit my ten year old daughter perfectly!

This beautiful rainbow silk cape from DesertDyeworks would make a lovely fairy cape!

This felt crown from mycakies would look beautiful on a little princess!

Every noble knight or dwarf needs one of these, from birchleafdesigns ...Three of my children have one (in the photos above) and they are truly beautiful! 

This beautiful hemp child's dress from consciousclothing would look lovely on a village maiden!

I can really see a little village baby wearing one of these from shelleycaskey ! My children love to dress up their baby sister and carry her around. She is the baby hobbit in our play! :0)

This felted wool cuff from  tizib would look really awesome on an elf-princess, don't you think? 

And lastly, this beautiful flower bouquet would look sweet held by a little flower girl at a fairy wedding! 

I made this (it's available in my shop) and have made similar bouquets for my daughters in the past. They are very well-loved and played with for all sorts of different make-believe scenarios.

Throw everything into a big wooden treasure chest toy box or a cedar chest and let their imaginations run wild! Capture what you can on film, for their play is sweet and their time with us fleeting.

~Here's to heroes and heroines, noble knights and fair princesses, dwarves and elves~