Stage an area of the preschool classroom as a kitchen for make-believe activities. Arrange a durable table, chairs, sink, refrigerator and stove that are preschool size. Urge children to pretend to make food for other children, wash dishes and clean up to encourage this assistance for mom at home and learn life skills.
Create plastic tubs of dress-up clothes that are taken out as needed to avoid taking up too much space in the classroom. Share these among all preschool classes in the facility. The items should be worn over each child's clothing. Wash the items regularly to keep it sanitary. Divide the pretend items according to theme. For example, for a unit on community helpers, include construction hats and vests, hand-held stop signs and a police hat and badge.
Include a variety of finger, stick and hand puppets to encourage story retelling. A puppet-show frame is helpful for students, but puppets do not require a stage if space is limited. Students act out picture books, nursery rhymes and life situations with the puppets to learn story sequencing and positive reactions.
Use role-playing to help students learn how to behave in certain situations. For example, you may ask two students to react as they normally would if a friend took a toy from them. This type of activity teaches self-control, speech development and how to interact with others.
Integrate short and simple reader's theater presentations with preschoolers pretending to be characters in a play. The teacher may need to help students remember their lines. Add dress-up costumes to the reader's theater presentations.