Four year olds love pretending they are older than they are. In our classroom, we often set up dramatic play areas. You might see a kitchen in action with toy plates, cups, utensils, pans and food. You see the children making meals, having birthday parties, setting up a restaurant.
I recall my daughter, at age 5, wanting to be a waitress when she grew up. This was an occupation she occasionally witnessed, so it was literally something she might BE when she grew up. How could she have articulated “I want to be a Speech and Language Pathologist” as she is now? This simply was not in the literal world around her when she was five.
Sometimes we set up an office with keyboards, phones, notepads and pencils. As serious as they get in their play, their “work” conversations are often hilarious to us. One of my students who often observes his mom at work on the phone sat with the play phone propped on his shoulder declaring, “Okay, I’ll send over that resume today.”
We might set up a doctor’s office with baby dolls and medical kits. We will see the children giving each other “shots,” taking temperatures and fixing boo boos. One of my students announced that she wanted to be a doctor when she grows up. Another girl chimed in, “I want to be a doctor, too!” After a brief moment of hesitation she changed her thought: “Well actually not a doctor. What I really want to be is a fairy princess.”
Speaking of fairy princesses, I asked 4-year-old Brielle what she wanted to be when she grows up. After deliberate thought, she said “a fairy princess.” After another minute, Brielle corrected her answer: “No, I don’t want to be a fairy princess. I just want to be a fairy.” It was then that Jay put in his two-cents worth. In a completely serious tone he informed the girls, “What you really want to be is a lifeguard.”
A common “grown up aspiration” for preschoolers is to be a TEENAGER. To them, teenagers are larger-than-life, very “grown up.” Teen numbers are very big! My students often guess my age as 17, 18, 19, very big indeed. Can you see why me, a Grammy and a teacher for decades, loves my profession? Where else do you get compliments like this?! During lunch one day, Katie showed us, “I’m learning to be a teenager, so I am taking a big bite.”
It is so fun to watch the pure hope and possibility in a four year old child. She can grow up to be a waitress. A doctor. A fairy princess. Just a fairy. A lifeguard. For sure…a teenager!