Setting Your Vet Dramatic Play Center
Hi! Today I wanted to share how to set up a pretend play Vet Clinic in your classroom, or even at your home! There are so many benefits of pretend play, and I absolutely love setting up “areas” for pretend play. When our students or children have a set space and engaging tools, you’ll be amazed at the ways their imaginations take over and the skills they will practice!
I’m going to share alot of my favorite materials, and you can also find them in my Amazon Storefront. All of the printables shown are from my Vet Clinic Dramatic Play Center. The following links are affiliate links, so I receive a small stipend when you purchase through my link. It’s at no cost to you, and I use those funds to keep my blog running!
Collect Materials
There are a lot of things you can add to your Vet Clinic Dramatic Play Center to make it engaging and purposeful! If you’re looking for a super easy “one stop shop,” you might purchase this Sven Vet Clinic or this Melissa and Doug set. My printable resources will add a literacy and math component to any of the sets. I shared about my favorite set ups on this post.
If you’re hoping to save money, you probably already have most of what you need to set up this center. In my printable resource, I included a list of things you can find around your home or school. Here’s atea quick list of some things you might want to add. You can also find all of these here.
- stuffed animals
- stethoscope
- thermometer
- bandaids
- bandages
- medicine bottles
- ointment or cream
- q tips
- cotton balls
- plastic syringe or medicine dropper
- popsicle sticks or tongue depressors
- vet coat
Organize Clinic Materials
I blogged about some of my favorite set ups on this post, but you definitely don’t need anything special! I love using the Ikea storage system as a pretend play set up…it’s so easy to organize their “supplies,” and it feels very official, like an office space.
You can also find great little storage bins at the dollar store, and just set them on a table! In my experience, having the materials organized will lead to much longer play than all in one bucket. Having things separated, also offers the opportunity to label them and build print awareness. If your students are writing, they can even create their own labels!
My Vet Dramatic Play Center Resource includes all of the labels you could EVER need. I’ve included a version with the labels pre-made (like above) and some without the words for your students to write on their own. They also come in color and black/white so you can decide what’s best to print. Little glass or plastic jars are great for organizing small supplies you have around your house. We love this set, and use them frequently in all sorts of play.
Display Resources
A project board is a great way to display your vet clinic, and I love how it sits nicely on any table or storage unit you already have. You can easily add it to a cube storage system, or the Ikea system I mentioned above. You could also just attach these to any white board you have in your classroom!
I added magnetic tape and hung our x-rays and diagrams from a filing cabinet. Your vet or doctor clinic is a great time to introduce diagrams, as well as body and science vocabulary.
In my Vet Clinic Unit, I’ve also included blank diagrams for your students to label on their own. This is a great extension for those who are ready!
Prepare Writing Materials
After your “center” is set up, you can start adding the materials your students should use to write on and pretend. I’ve included prescriptions, appointment reminds, shot records, patient forms, and so much more in my Vet Clinic Dramatic Play Resource. You can also just add blank paper or note cards if you think your students will enjoy creating their own “forms.” I have found that providing a model first leads to longer and more engaged play. After they have practice using the teacher created forms, they will likely be more successful creating their own.
It is up to you if you want to laminate the resources or leave them as regular paper. Developmentally, I think preschoolers do better with markers or thick pencils and regular paper. Using dry erase markers is a little more challenging, but you can decide what is best for them! If you decide to laminate, I love this laminator and laminating sheets.
Add Animals
If you’re a teacher, I would encourage you to ask families to send favorite stuffed animals in. Students can write about their “pet” and they will love taking care of them at the vet clinic! You can also find some for a great price at your local thrift store. This set from Learning Resources is easy to clean, so it’s a great choice for the classroom. If you’re setting this center up at your home, any stuffed animals or plastic animals will work great! The Melissa and Doug set comes with a cute dog and cat, and is a good price for all that you get.
Add Picture Books
This is one of the best ways to add learning to dramatic play. They will ABSOLUTELY learn just by playing…it is the number one way young children learn. But adding quality fiction and nonfiction books will increase vocabulary, introduce academic skills, build their literacy skills while they play. I blogged about my favorite books to read aloud and to have as a resource in your vet clinic. You can read that post here and find them all on this Amazon list.
