Another Running Record from my class

This time I had to observe and write down everything my subject child (Anna) did while engaged in sociodramatic play. (She was playing house with her cousin, T.) I wish I could fit the video on here, but it was too long. Their facial expressions are hysterical to watch. I did a dramatic reading of this to Dave. He was cracking up and saying, You can't make this stuff up!

July 23, 2009 Recorder: Jamie Dooley
Child: ANNA DOB: 12/22/05
Setting: Anna & her 4 year old cousin T. playing house together.
A: Let’s play baby dolls, T! T: I wanna play Vampire House! A: NO! T! I wanna play regular house! I want to play baby dolls together! T: NO! VAMPIRE HOUSE! A: IT’ WHAT I SAY! Not a vampire house! T: Anna, it’s just called a vampire house, we just like to scare people! A: Oh, okay. We’ll just call it that.
A sits in rocking chair, holding baby in lap. T. stands at nearby play kitchen, cooking with pots and pans. A taps the top of the toy counter and says: Pretend this is the oven. T takes play food and sits it on top of the counter. A: DON’T TOUCH THE OVEN! T stops and looks at her. A: It’s hot! T shrugs his shoulders. T: I don’t care if it’s hot! T touches the “oven” again. A: This is a real oven, I not kidding you!!! T: It doesn’t look like it! A: It doesn’t look like it, but it’s really, really real! T: I don’t care! T. walks away. A: standing up from the rocker, It’s really really real! It’ll KILL you! T: I don’t care if it kills me!
A: Hey! We can put our babies in that! T. has walked over and selected a toy stroller to push. T: I don’t want to push our babies! I have to mow the lawn! Anna and T get in a struggle over the stroller, her pulling the front, and him pulling the handle from the back. A: I don’t want it to be a lawnmower! T: I had it first! A: It’s not a lawnmower! T, it’s for our baby walking! T: I had it first Anna! A: No! Gimme it! T: I HAD IT FIRST! T: How about we share it? A: I don’t want to make it a lawnmower! A takes it forcefully, puts her baby doll inside, and runs away. T: Maybe I can ask Jonathan for help. T
then finds a shopping cart. To himself, he says, Oh! He picks up a baby doll carrier, and runs after A. T: Anna, here you go, it’s for you to take care of the babies. A: Thank you, T. But you can’t have the stroller! T: No! I don’t need it! I’m going to use the shopping cart for lawnmowing! A: OK! T comes back into room, jumping up and down, pushing the shopping cart. T: I’m a jumping bunny rabbit! A: We can be a jumping bunny rabbit family! T: Ok! A: You be the daddy bunny, and I’ll be the mommy bunny. T and A sit down together and play with an Ernie doll. T: I didn’t know this can zip up! A: We can take off the coat! A: Can we take off the coat, T? T: Yeah. A: How??? I’m the Mommy, and you are the Daddy, T, and we have a baby. Her name is still Ballerina. A: Hey, I have a new baby! T: Where? A: Here, I’ll show you! T leaves room. A follows him: Let’s play house! T: I have to go potty. A: Oh, I do too! T uses potty. A: T, you shouldn’t touch the sides, ‘cause it has germs on it. T: I know! A: Are you done, cause I have to go potty too! T: Well, go use the other one! A: No, that one pinches me. T: Yeah, it pinches me too. A: Do you have 2 bathrooms at your house? T: Yeah, One doesn’t pinches my butt, and one does. T gets up. A: Here, can you hold this please? T: Sure, I’ll hold the baby, you go potty. T holds the baby while A takes a turn at the potty. Then they swap the baby back and forth while they take turns washing hands. T: I am an alien. A: That baby is not an alien! WE ARE PLAYING HOUSE! T. throws the baby down, takes his shirt off, and says, I’m done! I’m going to have a fightdown! A. sighs and stomps her foot, picks baby back up, and goes to sit down by herself.

One of the funniest things about this was how carefully Anna and T swapped the baby back and forth while they were taking turns using the potty, and washing their hands (I know this wasn't sanitary!) but then T abruptly ended the game, and threw the baby down. He was over playing house! He rips his shirt off, all Incredible Hulk-like, and ran off to find Jonathan and have a "fightdown."